| By Maureen O'Gara | Article Rating: |
|
| August 20, 2008 04:45 PM EDT | Reads: |
1,535 |
Microsoft is going to pump up to $100 million more into Novell for additional certificates that it will sell or give to customers to redeem for SUSE Linux support. Novell should get the money on November 1 right before the second anniversary of the widely loathed Microsoft-Novell pact that indemnifies SUSE users against infringing Microsoft patents under a so-called covenant not to sue and got the open source community’s knickers in a twist.
Microsoft initially bought $240 million worth of certificates under the five-year arrangement. Within 18 months, Novell invoiced upwards of $157 million in certificate revenues, or 65% of the original allotment, money that's been a life saver for the company.
Novell has also gotten cross-platform interoperability out of the deal in areas such as virtualization and Active Directory - as well as Linux client version of Microsoft's Silverlight technology called Moonlight - along with an argument against other Linux distribution
Microsoft says certificates have gone to Wal-Mart, Renault, Southwest Airlines and BMW.
Microsoft said "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 Linux Enterprise Server from Novell."
Between now and November Microsoft and Novell are supposed to "solicit customer input and identify aspects of the support programs that will be most useful to organizations running mixed-source environments."
Published August 20, 2008 Reads 1,535
Copyright © 2008 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
Syndicated stories and blog feeds, all rights reserved by the author.
About Maureen O'Gara
Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.
- Ulitzer’s Amazing First 30 Days in Public Beta
- Why an Application Grid?
- Will Ulitzer Dominate News Content on The Web? -Gartner
- Building Private and Hybrid Clouds with Ubuntu 9.04
- Ulitzer Responds to Published Reports
- Ubuntu-based Open Source Linux Mint Tests KDE Version
- Is Cloud Computing Like Teenage Sex?
- Sun Upgrades VirtualBox
- Should Developers Care About Cloud Computing?
- Ted Weissman and Lois Paul & Partners PR Firm
- How to Rebuild a Home Network Integrating Ubuntu and Mac OS X
- Ulitzer’s Amazing First 30 Days in Public Beta
- Initial Thoughts on IBM Acquisition of Sun Microsystems
- Amazon Fiddles with Utility Pricing
- Why an Application Grid?
- Will Ulitzer Dominate News Content on The Web? -Gartner
- Micro Focus Offers Micro Focus COBOL for Eclipse
- Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz Scopes Out Future for Sun's Cloud
- Building Private and Hybrid Clouds with Ubuntu 9.04
- SCO Files Reorg Plan
- The i-Technology Right Stuff
- Linux.SYS-CON.com Exclusive: Linus Discloses *Real* Fathers of Linux
- After Ubuntu, Windows Looks Increasingly Bad, Increasingly Archaic, Increasingly Unfriendly
- Linus' Top Ten SCO Barbs
- Netscape Co-Founder's 12 Reasons for Growth of Open Source
- A Closer Look at Damn Small Linux
- Introducing "Cooperative Linux" - Linux for Windows, No Less
- *POINT - COUNTERPOINT SPECIAL* What's Wrong with the Open Source Community?
- Linux.SYS-CON.com Exclusive: What Would UserLinux Look Like?
- i-Technology Viewpoint: The New Paradigm of IT Buying





































