Microsoft’s commitment to open-source reached a new high Wednesday when the company announced it’s joining the Linux Foundation.
The company that once sought to build a wall around its proprietary software kingdom will now join corporations like Intel, Huawei and Samsung as high-paying Platinum Level members of the foundation, according to TechCrunch. The Linux Foundation supports the scaling of open-source projects including Node.Js, drawing on the 25-year history of the most popular open-source operating system.
Microsoft has been cozying up to the Linux community under CEO Satya Nadella, surprising developers by adding Linux command lines to Windows 10 and bringing SQL Server to Linux. Redmond has also open-sourced Visual Studio Code and the entire Xamarin SDK, among other company resources.
As Microsoft shifts its focus to the cloud, company leaders have realized that shared software development is the key to success in that arena.
“As a cloud platform company we aim to help developers achieve more using the platforms and languages they know,” Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise Group, said in announcing the Linux Foundation membership.
Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin noted Microsoft’s evolution on open source: “Microsoft has grown and matured in its use of and contributions to open source technology,” Zemlin said. “Membership is an important step for Microsoft, but also for the open source community at large, which stands to benefit from the company’s expanding range of contributions.”