Microsoft, Novell love-in spawns 100 joint customers

Microsoft and Novell say they have signed more than 100 joint customers in the past six months.

That's twice the rate at which they had been signing folks as part of an 2006 accord, the two companies said.

In total, the two companies say they have sold $200m worth of Novell support and maintenance certificates to more than 300 customers.

The new customers include Honeywell Aerospace, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, Sky and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Microsoft and Novell inked an agreement three years ago to collaborate on the development of some specific technologies and promote each other's products.

The arrangement has led to technical co-operation between the two, including a plug-in for Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager software which lets IT workers monitor their Linux and Windows system environments all within Microsoft's management software. That module is due out later this month, the companies said.

Original article: Microsoft and Novell: We're raking in business from CNET News.com