Once bitter rivals, Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. entered into an agreement on Thursday to allow open-source Linux software to work with Windows. Microsoft and Novell's announcement of collaboration agreements for greater interoperability between their products marks a milestone in the evolution of open source software's (OSS) place in the corporate data center, says Info-Tech Research Group. Tim Jennings, Head of Research Butler Group says: “This is good news for the industry, as it improves the ability for enterprise customers to deliver value from mixed environments. Deal is certainly good for Novell – it has been playing second fiddle to Red Hat in the enterprise Linux market (and very bad for Red Hat, coming on the back of its Oracle issues of last week). For Microsoft, it puts it in a stronger position to support large heterogeneous environments and strengthens both its enterprise play and its positioning re open source (part of a longer term trend, following deals with XenSource, SugarCRM, Zend). I think this is also a smart move, in that it makes it easier for Microsoft to defend its market position against Oracle, IBM, and Sun, by partnering with a credible player that is not a top-tier competitor. The partnership serves to legitimize Novell's Linux solution as an enterprise-grade platform and recognizes that businesses are already using a mixed Windows/Linux approach. From a technology standpoint, the deal will be welcomed by those evaluating and implementing server virtualisation solutions, which Butler Group sees as a key technology for improved infrastructure flexibility. It will simplify virtualisation of mixed Windows and Linux environments, and provide organisations with the reassurance of vendor support. It also promises improved interoperability in terms of identity and access management solutions, and office document formats, both of which will be welcomed by enterprise IT customers.” After years of trying to crush open-source rivals, Microsoft said it will provide support and technology to allow Linux to work on Windows. At the same time, it agreed not to assert patent claims against customers of Suse Linux, Novell's operating system. In its second major partnership with an open-source software company this week, Microsoft sought to assure a growing number of Linux users, especially in the computer server market, that the two platforms can co-exist. "We appreciate that open-source software plays an important role in our industry and it's here to stay," said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel. "This will enable a new level of cooperation between open source and proprietary software."