Microsoft recognized the popularity of Linux

The result of a series of negotiations was the signing of agreements between Microsoft and Novell to develop, promote and support new solutions to improve the collaboration of Novell and Microsoft products.

Thanks to the new collaboration model of leading software vendors, customers will have 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 CEO,“and we’re excited to work with Novell, which has traditionally been strong at developing technology for mixed environments . ”

The agreement with Novell was the second precedent for agreements between Microsoft and open-source software developers. The company entered into its first such contract with Zend. An interesting fact is that Microsoft stopped working with Zend two days before the announcement of partnerships with Novell.