Microsoft and Linux Collaborates For Open-Source Game; As Rivals Unite, How Could Linux Benefit From This?

By Roy Narra - 17 Nov '16 05:00AM

To add more twists in 2016, Microsoft joined one of its rival, the Linux foundation, in a bid to improve its open-source game.

A day after announcing a partnership with an Elon Musk nonprofit research organization called OpenAl, Microsoft joined the Linux Foundation to have a step-up open-source technology.

The collaboration is considered as "uncanny" and "odd" as the longstanding rivalry between the two giant companies. The free Linux has been a threat to Microsoft's Windows for a long time.

Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of Linux, said Microsoft has grown and matured in its use and contributions to open source technology.

He added how Microsoft supports Linux now and open source has been actively participating in most major projects.

Linux helped in shaping the development of not just only them but also other software built for open-source community. It allows everybody to use and modify the software in order to benefit from its advantages.

Scott Guthrie, EVP of Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise, said they want to help developers achieve more and capitalize on the industry's shift to cloud-first and mobile-first experiences using the tools of their choice.

He also added that the collaboration with the open-source community will enable Microsoft to offer smart, flexible, and open tools and cloud services in order to help developers to provide innovation at a huge scale.

Microsoft seeks to improve its innovation and collaboration in a massive ecosystem by working closely with the open-source community for their subscribers to take advantage of mobile ad cloud experiences. Those are the benefits of joining Linux as Platinum member.

Innovations under Nadella

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella saw the move as a significant change in the attitude and strategy of Microsoft. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was openly against Linux from way back.

The company has started releasing some of its own tools under open-source terms for its users. Microsoft also announced a version of SQL Server that would come to Linux next year.

Start of Azure App Service Beta

Linux developers can now start working with the Azure App Service beta. This is designed to handle the infrastructure management for cloud-based apps.

It could make it easier for developers working on PHP and Node.js running under Linux in building web and mobile apps with easy scaling and integration with other services.