Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell's Technical Strategy

Jeff Jaffe has posted "Novell's Technical Strategy and progress in 2006" on his CTO Blog at Novell.com.

The Microsoft agreement gets much coverage, but no mention of the advantages of the infamous patent covenant, instead focusing on interoperability and virtualization.

3. The Microsoft agreement

We have already alluded to the fact that our virtualization and interoperability strategy is strengthened with our agreement with Microsoft.

It should be clear that, for the next twenty years, Windows and Linux are the two key operating environments for customers. Before this deal there were Linux focused companies and Windows focused companies like Microsoft. No company had legitimacy to assert itself as key to both environments.

That has irrevocably changed. Novell is the company which stands at the nexus of both of these key platforms. (In addition to bringing the NetWare base forward on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as part of Open Enterprise Server.)

Why is that? Only Novell has Microsoft’s endorsement as its partner to drive Linux-Windows interoperability. So – of the Linux vendors - only we can speak authoritatively about Windows. With our virtualized solutions, we are linked even closer with the solution that customers need.

Of course, Microsoft is also at the base of Linux and Windows since we will work with them to optimize SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on Veridian. However, although they endorse SUSE at the Linux level, they do not aspire to manage heterogeneity at higher levels. Novell, on the other hand – has made multi-platform support a key requirement from day 1.

Other aspects of the Microsoft agreement

While we have focused on virtualization, there are several other significant pieces of our agreement with Microsoft. Our business collaboration (sales and marketing) is significant. Beyond that, we are collaborating technically in three additional areas related to interoperability and management.

One component is collaboration with Microsoft on standards for Web services management. Technically, there is a great deal of synergy between our two companies on how we see the proper architecture for the future. This collaboration will simplify our systems management products, since the management architectures for Linux and Windows will come together.

Another component is directories. Here, the open source world, Microsoft with Active directory, and traditional Novell products based on eDirectory require considerable joint activity. Customers regularly ask for greater interoperability. We have agreed to move this space forward.

Finally, in the area of document interoperability, we have already provided technology that allows interoperability between Open Office and Open Office XML, the basis for Vista’s Office products.

Feel free to read the entirety of the blog posting, I have to say if you look at Novell's 2006 year in review and there was no patent covenant, I would be impressed.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Slop Images in VentureBeat, Linux Foundation Spam Made With LLM Slop and Slop Images
The only relief or upside - if any exists - is that the pace of slop was down a bit this week
Richard Stallman (RMS) Talk in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress Will be Remote
This past week RMS received lots of accolades online
Links 28/08/2025: Chatbots Distorting/Fabricating History and Also Driving Suicide
Links for the day
 
In Many Places in the World Vista 11 "Market Share" is Going Down, Not Up
In some countries Windows is already down to third place or lower
More Microsoft-Connected Layoffs, at Least Third Time This Month! (Also Another Death on Campus)
Microsoft as a "gaming" company is where studios, projects, games, and even developers come to die
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 28, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 28, 2025
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Poems, Games, and Java 25 Performance
Links for the day
Links 28/08/2025: Greenland 'Interferences' by US and Skinnerboxes to Get Banned in Korean Schools
Links for the day
The Register MS (Run by Microsoft Operatives): Free Software is Putin, Hence Evil and Dangerous
The current editor in chief is an American Microsofter, the previous one went to work for Google (US)
Gemini Links 28/08/2025: Back in Japan and Why "Hacker News" Sucks
Links for the day
A Much-Needed Wake-up Call to Users of Wordpress.com, Blogspot, Substack and All Those Other Outsourced (and Centralised) Platforms
There are several lessons in there
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Resists Software Freedom, Even by Attacking Its Own
The OSI is compromised
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Slopwatch: linuxsecurity.com, Slopfarms in Google News, and More
Some readers of ours end up sending us links that are from slopfarms, not realising those are slopfarms
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Katrina Memories and Google Versus Software Freedom
Links for the day
Links 27/08/2025: Police Against Media Freedom in the UK, Energy-Hungry Countries Targeted by China
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows Fell to All-Time Lows in Egypt This Summer, Vista 11 Adoption Decreases While GNU/Linux Increases
Vista 11 is going down rather than up
Links 27/08/2025: Microsoft Demoralises Staff With Slop Demands, Leaving Mastodon Explained
Links for the day
12 Hours Ago The Register MS Published a Fake (Paid-for) Article, But This One for a Change Did Not Promote a Ponzi Scheme
There are also Free software alternatives, but they don't pay The Register MS for "synthetic" so-called 'journalism'
More People Need to Call Out and Put a Stop to Serial Sloppers
Unless slopfarms are stopped, people will read and share Microsoft propaganda made by chatbots
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Headphones and Tartarus
Links for the day
Morale at Microsoft is Terrible (Proprietary Plagiarism Machines Have No Future, LLM Slop is a Bubble)
The slop sceptics/critics are going to have lots of "told you so" moments
GNOME "governance issues, staff reduction, etc." amidst Albanian whistleblowing and women trafficking
Notice the connection to Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) and GNOME
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 26, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 26, 2025