Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. announced that Dell Inc. is the first PC vendor to join the business collaboration that was formed by Microsoft and Novell in response to customer demand for greater interoperability and intellectual property (IP) assurance.
As part of the agreement, Dell will purchase SUSE Linux Enterprise Server certificates from Microsoft and establish a services and marketing program to migrate existing Linux users who are not Dell Linux customers to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Rick Becker, vice president of solutions at Dell Product Group, said we’re focused on delivering solutions that help simplify customers’ IT operations. Customers have told Dell they want interoperability and expect technology vendors to work better together.
Under the agreement, Dell will establish a customer marketing team for migrating Linux users who are not Dell Linux customers to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The marketing effort will focus on three areas: Interoperability Workshops, Migration Proof of Concepts and Migration Services.