X(andros) marks spot for Microsoft

One step closer to open source this week is none other than Microsoft Corporation. Yesterday, Microsoft and Linux platform provider Xandros Inc. have announced a broad collaboration agreement.

The agreement calls for technical, business, marketing and intellectual property commitments. Joint solutions promise to “extend a bridge between open source and commercial software…”

Xandros officials called the agreement “a major milestone” in its vision to deliver end-to-end Linux desktop and server solutions; Windows and Linux cross-platform management; and interoperability tools.

Primary efforts between Microsoft and Xandros promise to focus on systems management interoperability; server interoperability, with Xandros enhancing Xandros Server, seeking to allow smoother interoperation with Windows Server in a network setting; office document compatibility, to foster interoperability between Open XML and Open Document Format documents; intellectual property assurance; and Microsoft sales and marketing support.

Microsoft has, as of late, made a number of agreements with Linux platform and open source software providers., including Novell Inc., JBoss, XenSource Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Zend Technologies Inc.