Novacoast, Inc., an IT professional services and product development firm announces the acquisition of Integrated Network Systems, LLC, a privately held company that has served the Gulf Coast market since 1997. Integrated Network Systems' core competencies include desktop management, email, and groupware solutions as well as designing and deploying complex networks.

Bill Long, President of Integrated Network Systems, commented, "We look forward to becoming part of the Novacoast family and are eager to continue and grow our relationship with Novell. This partnership will provide us access to greater resources and expertise in order to grow our business and provide a broader range of solutions and expertise to our customers through Novell product offerings."

Tim Wolfe, North American President of software manufacturer Novell, Inc., said, "The growth of Novacoast into these new markets is good news for Novell and our customers. Novacoast is one of our top solution partners in North America and Integrated Network Systems has been a strong Novell partner in the Gulf Coast for over a decade. The merging of these two great partners will result in a broader adoption of Novell technologies into new and existing customers. It's great to see our partners successfully growing their business by partnering with Novell to develop world-class solutions to their customers' business problems."

Paul Anderson, the President and CEO of Novacoast, added, "Our acquisition of Integrated Network Systems gives us broader coverage in the South and Gulf Coast, and accelerates our growth into Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In addition to the new customers and employees this provides Novacoast, Bill Long personally brings with him a long history of honesty, integrity, and a deep conviction to do what's right for his customers. The combination of Novacoast's depth and breadth of expertise and Bill Long's long standing reputation for delivering excellent solutions for his customers will be a huge factor for our growth in a geographic region where we previously had little coverage."

This is Novacoast's third acquisition in the last six months, including Eiseman Consulting group in New York, and Ricoh Systems in Portland, Oregon.