Microsoft revealed that Windows is the only choice when it comes down to the offer of operating systems available on the market. Applauding the Windows platform as an epitome of reliability, security, total cost of ownership (TCO), interoperability and manageability, the Redmond company downplayed the relevance of the rival open source operating system. Of course that Microsoft's perspective is not only valid for client products, but especially on the server side. While the Windows client accounts for the lion's share of the operating system market with a percentage of more than 93%, Linux is yet to pass the 1% milestone. However, as far as servers are concerned, Linux is considered a viable alternative to Microsoft Server.

And with the company gearing up in order to release Windows Server 2008 - formerly codenamed Longhorn - to manufacturing, and for the final release on February 28, 2008, Microsoft underscored the fact that it is not competing with open source solutions. "It's important to clarify that we don't compete with OSS per se, but with some products or technologies that may come out of open source. There will naturally be products that compete with Microsoft products, from commercial or open-source companies. Open source is a software development model; it's a way of licensing technology, and it's something that Microsoft participates in. We [too] have open-source projects," explained Ryan Gavin, director of Platform Strategy at Microsoft, focusing on pushing the idea that Linux is in fact no competition at all.

Still, while Linux is no competition for Windows Server, in Microsoft's view, Gavin did emphasize that in a server operating system measuring contest, its proprietary platform would come up on top with no issues. "Simply put, we believe that Windows Server provides greater business value and lower long-term costs for customers than competing platforms, including Linux. We always want Windows Server to be the operating system of choice," Gavin stated adding that, in fact, Microsoft is offering all the support it can for heterogeneous environments running both Windows Server and Linux solutions. "We understand many of our customers operate in mixed environments. In the enterprise in particular, heterogeneous environments are a de facto standard, so we are committed to working together with our customers, partners and the industry to provide solutions that meet customer needs via interoperability," he added.