Microsoft Becomes a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation
We thought that 2016 couldn’t get any more surprising, but here we are finding out that Microsoft announced that it is joining the Linux Foundation. Not only is Microsoft joining the Linux Foundation, but they are joining it as a Platinum member.
This means that Microsoft will be joining the ranks of giants as Fujitsu, Oracle, Cisco, IBM, Qualcomm, and more.
The Linux Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes, protects, and standardizes Linux. It is no secret that Microsoft wasn’t a big fan of the organization, especially since it has been confirmed by the Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin. Despite the past, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella seems to want to open up a new chapter in Microsoft’s history.
We have to remind you that today’s Microsoft is one of the biggest open source contributors. During the past few years, Microsoft has brought SQL Server to Linux, open-sourced core parts of the .NET platform, partnered with Red Hat, SUSE, and others. Linux Foundation-managed projects like the Open API Initiative, OpenDaylight, Node.js, and others have received contributions from Microsoft in the past.
Even though Microsoft has contributed a lot to the open source, the announcement of Microsoft becoming a Platinum member of the Linux Foundation has come as a surprise to many. It is not a secret that Microsoft and Linux community didn’t share the mutual love in the past, but things seem to be changing.
Yes, there will be skepticism, it is expected, especially from smaller anti-establishment groups within the open source movement.
Microsoft has increased its support of the open source development in the past ten years, which is a large change for a software company built on closed-source proprietary software.
Whatever happens next, it is obvious that things are changing, and we are looking forward to learning more about Microsoft’s plans and how the latest surprising news will influence the company.
