Microsoft and Linux, Windows and Linux for that matter, seemed until not too long ago less than complementary concepts. Still, the Redmond company was forced into a corner by its own customers and by the need to provide support for heterogeneous environments. This is why in November 2006, Microsoft and Novell inked an interoperability and patent assurance agreement bridging Windows and Linux. One aspect of the partnership specifies that Microsoft will sell Novell SUSE Linux support certificates. BMW and Siemens are just the latest names to jump on board the Windows - Linux interoperability wagon because of their mixed-source environments.

"Interoperability remains one of the top challenges for our customers, and through our current alliance with Microsoft we are providing solutions to meet this challenge," said Susan Heystee, vice president and general manager of global strategic alliances for Novell. "These two companies - BMW and Siemens - have dramatically different businesses, yet the same technology platform can be leveraged to increase their efficiencies internally, and for us that equates to continued growth of SUSE Linux Enterprise in the market."

"Customers have asked us for solutions that make Microsoft products work better with other platforms and for IP assurance that enables vendors to build technical bridges," said Susan Hauser, general manager of strategic partnerships and licensing at Microsoft. "By responding to customers with real-world, pragmatic solutions, we have seen a steady increase worldwide in customers signing up to take advantage of this relationship."

Microsoft still claims that its involvement with support certificates for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server does in no way bound it to the third version of the GNU General Public License, a scenario contradicted by the Free Software Foundation. Following the agreements with Siemens and BMW, the Redmond company will deliver no less than three years worth of priority support subscriptions to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell.

"Siemens customers operate in a heterogeneous environment, and our ability to harness the interoperability work between Novell and Microsoft brings immense value to our business," said Dr. Manfred Wangler, vice president, Corporate Research and Technology, Siemens. "Agreements like this allow us to focus on innovating, working with partners to improve processes and efficiencies by providing the framework for collaboration."