Significant step for Microsoft, which becomes a Platinum member and by paying $500,000 annually will sit on the board of the Linux Foundation
Microsoft and Linux were once seen as two opposite worlds. They were almost life choices rather than just computing options. Something is changing, however. So much so that Microsoft has recently announced that it will join the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member.
The new bond between Microsoft and Linux.
Microsoft may seem like the multinational corporation that eats all the small fish in the sea, and in fact the reality doesn't deviate much from this view. But in recent times the company has embarked on a path of sponsorship towards companies that offer open-source services. And currently it is among the biggest financiers in the world. Even if we must not forget that in 2001 the then Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer defined Linux as a "cancer". Now the relationships between the two realities seem very different and it's confirmed by the money spent by Microsoft to become Platinum member: 500 thousand dollars per year.
The projects developed together
The news can be disconcerting but in recent times in fact Microsoft had already collaborated on several projects related to the Linux Foundation. For example Node.js Foundation, OpenDaylight, Open Container Initiative, or R Consortium and Open API Initiative. From now on John Goosman, architect of the Microsoft Azure team, will sit on the board of the Linux Foundation and obviously will have his say in the investments of the same. Scott Guthrie, Vice President of Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise Executive, commented: "The Linux Foundation is home not only to Linux, but also to the most innovative projects in the open-source community. We are excited to join the Linux Foundation." And Kim Zemlin, the Foundation's director, also described Microsoft as having matured under the open-source services profile. Other companies that are Platinum members of the Linux Foundation include: Cisco, Fujitsu, HPE, Huawei, IBM, Intel, NEC, Oracle, Qualcomm and Samsung. While Google and Facebook are Gold sponsors.