Microsoft Joins The Linux Foundation In Latest Open Source Commitment

Microsoft has joined the Linux Foundation as a platinum member, cementing the company’s commitment to open source.

Under the stewardship of CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has become a more open company, in stark contrast to the era of Steve Ballmer who was especially hostile to Linux, describing the platform as a “cancer.”

However even Ballmer has revised that view and only yesterday, Microsoft entered into a partnership with OpenAI, which will use the Azure cloud platform for its research and development because of Redmond’s open source investments.

Microsoft open source

Microsoft has also worked with Canonical to bring some Linux features to Windows 10.

The Linux Foundation acknowledged Microsoft’s efforts, including the open source NET Core 1.0, FreeBSD for Azure and the fact that after acquiring Xamarin, Microsoft open sourced the SDK.

The company contributes to several Linux Foundation project including Node.js Foundation, OpenDaylight, Open Container Initiative, R Consortium and Open API Initiative.

“Microsoft has grown and matured in its use of and contributions to open source technology,” said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of The Linux Foundation, who confirmed John Gossman, architect on the Azure team, would join the Linux Foundation board of directors.

“The company has become an enthusiastic supporter of Linux and of open source and a very active member of many important projects. Membership is an important step for Microsoft, but also for the open source community at large, which stands to benefit from the company’s expanding range of contributions.”

Building bridges between Windows and Linux

“As a cloud platform company we aim to help developers achieve more using the platforms and languages they know,” said Scott Guthrie, head of the Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise Group.

“The Linux Foundation is home not only to Linux, but many of the community’s most innovative open source projects. We are excited to join The Linux Foundation and partner with the community to help developers capitalise on the shift to intelligent cloud and mobile experiences.”

Separately, Microsoft has just announced the public preview for the next version of SQL Server and has made the preview available for Ubuntu.

Canonical said SQL Server for Ubuntu would provide cost savings thanks to cloud efficiencies, higher performance because of optimised resources and the ability to scale and deploy using containers and databases without the need for additional hardware.

“Microsoft and Canonical continue to build bridges between the Windows world and the Linux world,” declared Dustin Kirkland, Microsoft lead at Canonical. “SQL Server on Ubuntu is another demonstration of that momentum.”

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