"Our customers have been asking for enterprise ready Open Source Software on Windows. We are pleased to be working with Microsoft and the Open Source community to deliver this choice to customers."
– Ali Shadman, Vice President, Unisys
Partnering to Build Bridges
Microsoft is committed to building bridges to other software providers, including open source technologies and products. This is accomplished through business and technical partnerships with open source-based businesses and communities, including JBoss, MySQL, Novell, SugarCRM, XenSource, and Zend. This also includes technology access programs, such as the Open Specifications Promise and Shared Source code access programs.
Microsoft also helps customers solve complex interoperability challenges by providing documentation that supports the coexistence of Windows and open source applications, through communities such as the Open Source Software Lab's Port 25.
When the Open Source Software Lab at Microsoft reached out to Mozilla last summer, the lab offered support in getting Firefox and Thunderbird running on Windows Vista. A year later, the relationship with Mozilla has resulted in a number of beneficial changes at both firms, including a new Windows Media Player Plugin for the open source browser. Read the PDF (243 KB)
SugarCRM wanted to enhance the ability of its open source software to work with Microsoft technologies; SugarCRM partnered with Microsoft, gaining technology and marketing assistance. A year after releasing its enhanced-for-Microsoft product, SugarCRM saw the total number of its Windows customers climb by 10 percent, and go from 33 to 40 percent of the installed base. Read the PDF (90.2 KB)
Microsoft partners with open source-based businesses and communities to make it easier for customers to develop and deploy a mix of open source and Microsoft technologies. Read more...
