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Microsoft Expands Interoperability Commitment with Virtualisation Technology

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Microsoft has announced that its Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) Image Format specification will be made available under the company's Open Specification Promise (OSP), allowing customers to use the patented technology for free. This move is part of the company's commitment to interoperability and follows the announcement of the OSP for web services specifications in September 2006. The VHD format allows IT professionals to pool resources, increase agility, and reduce costs by virtualising multiple operating systems and applications on a single computer.

Key Takeaways:

  • Microsoft's Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) Image Format specification will be made available under the Open Specification Promise (OSP), allowing customers to use the patented technology for free.
  • The OSP will enable customers to freely use the VHD format for implementing specified open standards, contributing to the expansion of the virtualisation market and fostering interoperability among all commercial software solutions, including open source.
  • The VHD format has been adopted by over 60 vendors, including Brocade Communications Systems Inc, BMC Software Inc, Diskeeper Corp, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Network Appliance Inc, Virtual Iron, and XenSource.
  • Microsoft's OSP for web services specifications was announced in September 2006, and has since been praised by industry figures such as Red Hat Deputy General Counsel Mark Webbink and former General Counsel for the Open Source Initiative Larry Rosen.
  • The OSP has been expanded to include the VHD format, building on Microsoft's commitment to interoperability through projects such as the open source Open XML Translator, technical collaborations with AOL LLC and Yahoo! Inc, and the release of the OSP for 35 web services protocols.
  • Microsoft's VHD format captures the entire virtual machine operating system and the application stack in a single file, allowing for better management of complexity, increased agility, and reduced costs.
  • The company's focus on interoperability by design enables customers to have control over their data while vendors provide technologies that connect diverse systems, making the VHD specification viable for any development or business model.

Statistics:

  • The VHD format has been adopted by over 60 vendors.
  • Microsoft's Open Specification Promise (OSP) was announced for web services specifications in September 2006.
  • The OSP has been praised by industry figures such as Red Hat Deputy General Counsel Mark Webbink and former General Counsel for the Open Source Initiative Larry Rosen.
  • Microsoft's commitment to interoperability has led to the formation of the Interoperability Customer Executive Council in June 2006.
  • The company has released the OSP for 35 web services protocols.

Sources:

  • Microsoft Corp, October 17 PRNewswire, Brussels, Belgium
  • Microsoft EMEA Response Centre, +44-870-243-0515, emearesponse@waggeneredstrom.com
  • Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com/interop
  • Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com/emea/contactus
  • Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com/presspass
  • Red Hat, http://www.redhat.com
  • Open Source Initiative, http://www.opensource.org
  • Microsoft EMEA, http://www.microsoft.com/emea

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