Microsoft recognized the popularity of Linux

The result of the last series of negotiations was the signing of agreements between Microsoft and Novell on the development, promotion and support of new solutions to improve the collaboration of Novell and Microsoft products.

Thanks to a new model of collaboration between leading software vendors, customers will receive an unprecedented choice of flexible solutions with improved interoperability between Windows and Linux and the management of these systems.

“They said it was impossible, but now it is a reality. The new collaboration model represents a true evolution of our relationship, and we are confident that customers will immediately appreciate all of its benefits, ” says Steve Ballmer , Microsoft 's chief executive officer,“ and we are pleased to work with Novell, which is traditionally strong in developing technologies for mixed environments. ” .

The agreement with Novell was the second precedent for an agreement between Microsoft and open source software developers. The first such contract the company entered into with Zend. Another interesting fact is that Microsoft ceased cooperation with Zend two days before the announcement of a partnership with Novell.