Microsoft hijacks Linux support gravy train

Stan Beer
Friday, 03 November 2006 04:32

Opinion and Analysis

The stunning announcement today from Microsoft that it has gotten into bed with Novell and will support Suse Linux has got industry tongues wagging all over the world as to what it will mean. Two things spring to mind. Coming on the back of Oracle's Red Hat support announcement, it signals a move by the big hitters to muscle in and hijack the Linux support gravy train and it ends the aspirations of smaller Linux players.

Red Hat, the Linux distribution market leader, went into a state of shock a few days ago when Oracle announced it would provide Red Hat support at half price. Red Hat shares plummeted and now sit at less than half their price of just six months ago. The fact that a few words from Larry Ellison could have such an effect demonstrates the vulnerability of the independent Linux players.

The collaborative agreement with Microsoft and Novell, however, is somewhat different. It provides Novell with access to Microsoft customers and gives Microsoft an entry into the Linux support market.

Microsoft is due to release Windows Vista at the end of this month. However, the Windows operating system market is near saturation point and growing very slowly. Meanwhile, Linux is moving into areas that Windows has been unable to reach.

Microsoft recognizes that it is missing out on business by not opening up Windows to open source applications like PHP, which is why it announced its partnership with Zend Technologies yesterday. It is also missing out on business by not using its huge workforce, market reach, financial resources and on-board expertise to offer Linux support.

Novell, a company which has a long history of working with Windows users, is more natural partner for Microsoft than Red Hat and its move into the Linux space should provide a significant boost for Suse Linux.

The latest move by Microsoft is a long time coming recognition that Linux and open source software are here to stay, so it's time for Microsoft to jump in and take its cut.