14 DAY TRIAL // The weak economy provides plenty of new customers for Microsoft and Novell, the Redmond company revealed, as it provided an insight into its successful partnership with the Linux vendor. In fact, Microsoft pointed to the global financial crisis as the specific reason why customers were crowding to offerings that came to support their mixed source environments. Since the duo inked their alliance at the end of 2006, Microsoft and Novell sold in excess of $200 million worth of Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server support and maintenance certificates. The software giant explained that the increased demand came with customers looking for solutions capable of delivering Windows and Linux interoperability.
“In today’s economic environment, when customers are looking to derive the greatest value from their IT investments, we are seeing an increased rate of demand for the interoperability solutions and IP peace of mind benefits provided by our collaboration,” explained Ted MacLean, general manager for Strategic Partnerships and Licensing at Microsoft.
According to statistics, Microsoft and Novell have signed no less than 100 new customers just in the last half a year. This takes the total number of customers that have jumped aboard the companies' Windows-Linux interoperability and intellectual property assurance to over 300. “Consistently positive feedback and sales results demonstrate that our relationship with Novell has been successful in delivering interoperability solutions that help our customers showcase the value IT contributes to their business,” MacLean added.
The software giant was little shy of flaunting some of the latest customers to benefit from its partnership with Novell, including: Boise, Idaho Power Company, Honeywell Aerospace, La Poste, Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G), SC Johnson, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sky TV and St. Jude Medical Center.
“The relationship has substantially benefited Microsoft’s Linux integration story and has driven Linux revenue for Novell,” commented analyst Jay Lyman of 451 Group. “The development and work by the two companies to improve Linux and Windows interoperability addresses the reality of mixed enterprise environments for customers, who were largely the impetus for this collaboration and are now benefiting from the resulting technology and support.”