At the time, the news that Novell and Microsoft were becoming partners was shocking. But, a year into the alliance, what has really come from it? The analysts give their two cents on the first, and most surprising, of the Microsoft and Linux vendor partnerships.
According to the companies, the deal has exceeded its original business targets. "This agreement has been about the customer since day one," said Jeff Jaffe, Novell"s executive vice president and chief technology officer in a statement. "Customers told us they wanted Linux and Windows to work better together so they could focus on their businesses. By taking a leading position in delivering interoperability with Microsoft, Novell is becoming the preferred Linux choice for the integrated enterprise, a fact borne out by the significant sales increase we"ve seen over the past year." Bob Muglia, Microsoft"s senior vice president of the server and tools business group, focused on Linux and Windows interoperability. "As we mark the one-year anniversary of our relationship, we are very pleased with the customer support we have received for a solution that provides cross-platform interoperability," he said.