Microsoft, Novell sign joint deal with Renault

While many deals on operating systems for corporations result in a loss for one side or the other, this case could be seen as a net benefit for both.

Instead of Renault switching over to Linux completely, the French car manufacturer will purchase more than 1,000 priority support certificates from Microsoft to use with Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Renault is consolidating its Linux distributions in order to improve its inoperability and virtualization options. SUSE is a logical choice, since Novell is working so closely with Microsoft through its joint partnership.

"With growing marketplace understanding of the solutions we are providing to the interoperability challenges in a world of mixed-source software, we expect to continue to see growth of SUSE Linux Enterprise in the market," Novell vice president Susan Heystee said in a statement.

Of course those deeply skeptical of the partnership see deals like this as not good for Linux overall, and in some cases they believe that Microsoft may have ulterior motives for promoting one flavor of Linux over the other.

Microsoft Watch's Joe Wilcox appears to be one of them. "What if interoperability licensing agreements like the one with Novell are a new twist on the embrace, extend and extinguish strategy? The goal could be to consolidate the market around one or two major enterprise Linux distributors and marginalize the rest."

"My advice to Novell: be careful of the friends you make," he quipped.