Microsoft and Novell sitting in a tree: What does it mean for Linux?

Microsoft and Novell sitting in a tree: What does it mean for Linux?

It's a good time to be a proponent of open-source in the enterprise. Just last week, Oracle announced that they would distribute a re-branded version of Red Hat Linux. Then, Canonical announced their plans to aggressively market Ubuntu to enterprise customers. And just yesterday, Microsoft announced an unexpected and completely unprecedented partnership with Novell to support SUSE Linux and to foster interoperability between Linux and Windows through the joint development of software solutions. No, seriously, here's a photo of Ballmer and Hovsepian making nice, if you don't believe me. This is huge news for Novell and the SUSE Linux platform and it's also big news for the open-source community as a whole.

First and foremost, Novell and Microsoft's announcement will go a long way to legitimize Linux in the enterprise. Microsoft's stamp of approval carries a lot of weight and even a limited degree of sales support from the Redmond giant will make decision-makers feel a lot more confident about installing and supporting SUSE Linux. Enterprises that use or plan to use both Windows and Linux in the server room stand to benefit the most here--here are the areas where we can expect to see the biggest gains:

Virtualization

I've been a proponent of server virtualization for a while now: What enterprise wouldn't want to save on both physical space and power consumption--two of the most coveted resources in the data center? By co-developing a virtualization solution, Microsoft can continue to push the Windows Server family of products while giving enterprises the flexibility that they need.

Web-based server management

Remember the great NetWare lawsuit of the mid-90s? Remember the headaches that came with trying to support NetWare on Windows NT or 2000? For those of you who don't, I can tell you that watching Windows and NetWare fight over permissions was like watching two kids in a sandbox fighting over a lollipop. Now imagine the opposite: a world where Microsoft Active Directory and Novell eDirectory play nice, where administrating a mixed Windows and SUSE Linux environment is a snap. It might be closer than you think.

Document format compatibility

Rumors of Office for Linux have been floating around for a while and if you think about it, it really isn't that far-fetched of an idea: Microsoft already develops and supports Office for OS X and it's consistently one of the best-selling pieces of Mac software. So why wouldn't they do the same for Linux? Many enterprises would love to have an alternative to OpenOffice and Microsoft could easily make a killing, selling Office across all of the major platforms. Even if Office for Linux doesn't come to fruition, inter-compatibility and document portability wouldn't be half bad either.

Obviously both Microsoft and Novell stand to benefit from this announcement but it's big news for the open-source community as a whole: Increased support in the enterprise will only drive adoption in the enterprise. What's more, Microsoft has announced that as a part of the agreement, they'll contribute to certain open-source projects and won't attack noncommercial open-source developers with their patent portfolio of doom. Who stands to lose? Well, UNIX, which has already been losing market share in the server room to Linux and Windows, for one. Who wants to deploy a UNIX server when a cheaper x86-based Linux or Windows box can accomplish the same tasks--and when the Linux and Windows servers can be administered though the same interface? Red Hat had better look out too, they're already feeling the heat from Oracle's announcement and now, one of their major competitors is getting a leg up in the race for the enterprise.

While this particular announcement is limited in scope to the server side, I'd be a fool not to point out the possible ramifications on the desktop. Just earlier this week I wrote about the viability for Linux on the enterprise desktop, especially in developing economies. The folks at ZDnet, however, disagreed, citing a lack of software and hardware support as well as the potential confusion caused by the numerous Linux flavors on the market. With this most recent announcement, however, SUSE Linux could become the one distribution to rule them all--in the enterprise, at least. And with that would undoubtedly come increased hardware and software support. Care to recant, anyone? -Mehan