Thursday, 21 August 2008

Novell and Microsoft Expand Interoperability Relationship

Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. are announcing an incremental investment in their relationship to meet accelerating customer demand for their business model solution, which is designed to build a bridge between open source and proprietary software to deliver interoperability and intellectual property (IP) peace of mind for organizations operating mixed-source IT environments.

The investment focuses on enhanced programs from Novell to provide tools, support, training and resources for customers seeking an enterprise-class Linux platform and specifically, the optimal interoperability solution between Microsoft Windows Server and SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise Server from Novell(R).

"The collaboration between Microsoft and Novell has been built on our desire to meet our customers's real-life IT requirements as well as give our partners greater breadth in their solution offerings," said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft.

On the other hand, Ulrich Koch, Head of License Management T-Systems Enterprise Services said that cross-platform interoperability is something that we all want and need to achieve. The pragmatic approach Microsoft and Novell are taking to address this complex challenge, including IP assurance, through engineering as well as offering tangible support and training programs, will make it easier to develop a path forward.

"The strategic partnership between our companies continues to attract customers by building a bridge between proprietary and open source software," said Ron Hovsepian, president and CEO of Novell.