Back in 2006, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Ron Hovsepian, president and CEO of Novell, inked a five-year Windows and Linux interoperability and intellectual property assurance agreement, designed to provide increased support for customers running heterogeneous IT infrastructures.

On November 18, 2008, Microsoft indicated that, on the two year anniversary of the partnership with Novell, customer demand continues to be strong for what the duo has to offer. Despite the interoperability bridge between SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Windows, the Microsoft and Novell agreement faced a wave of criticism, due to the IP assurance aspect designed to protect customers from legal actions for patent infringement.

“Customer interest and uptake has far exceeded our expectations,” revealed Susan Heystee, general manager for global strategic alliances at Novell. “This continued momentum from our strategic relationship with Microsoft is the catalyst driving the innovative solutions and technologies our two companies are announcing today. We’re seeing especially strong demand in the datacenter, where a mixed-source environment is increasingly the norm, and where our delivery of true interoperability is compelling.”

Microsoft is committed to continuing offering customers Novell service certificates, providing support for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Subscription with Expanded Support program. At the same time, the Redmond company is working to deliver an Advanced Management Pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise, for the Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, which is currently planned to be released in the first half of 2009. Additionally, work is advancing on the open source implementation of Microsoft Silverlight, designed for the Linux operating system via the Moonlight project.

“The interoperability and IP peace of mind that our agreement provides is clearly resonating with customers,” added Susan Hauser, general manager of strategic partnerships and licensing at Microsoft. “After two highly successful years, we’ve demonstrated that our business model works, and we will continue collaborating to provide innovative solutions for our customers. And with our sale of certificates for Novell’s new Expanded Support program, even more customers, including those running Red Hat Enterprise Linux, will be able to access the benefits of our relationship with Novell.”