Microsoft recently announced that it will be launching SQL Server for Linux mid-2017, with a private preview already active. Many within the tech industry are excited to finally be able to explore Microsoft’s technology within a Linux environment; this will lead for more options for businesses and ultimately more versatile server environments. Microsoft’s SQL Server technology has become one of only a handful of industry standard SQL services and previously was locked into Microsoft-only environments and emulated systems.
Microsoft’s Change of Heart
Microsoft has previously been extremely hesitant to interface with Linux, for a variety of reasons. Linux has long been Microsoft’s leading open source competitor and Microsoft’s technology has never “played well” with open source. And of course there are some technical challenges as well; there are a number of popular Linux distributions, which can make support for the product a challenge. To that end, Microsoft will be working directly with popular Linux distributions in order to ensure a standard of compatibility. Microsoft may be changing the way they think due to the proliferation of cloud technology, much of which runs across Linux platforms. In order to take advantage of modern systems, Microsoft may not be able to relegate its leading products to its own native operating system any longer. SQL Server for Linux may be the first of a new line of products targeted towards Linux environments, assuming that all goes well.
An Open Source World for Microsoft
Open source solutions do have some major advantages over the closed, proprietary commercial systems that Microsoft has developed its foundation upon. Open source systems tend to be adopted faster and improved upon more readily, with stronger communities and better overall stability and support. Microsoft has steadily been moving towards acquiring more open support, with the Microsoft Openness project. Today Microsoft boasts that one out of four Azure machines are Linux-based and many Azure systems utilize open source technologies. Microsoft has been able to leverage open source technology for improved performance and reduced cost while still being able to maintain control over its commercial systems. For consumers, an open source world means better products and a larger variety of products; moving forward, users will be able to develop their infrastructures with the technology that they desire rather than having to rely upon a single environment.
Microsoft’s SQL Server for Linux is only one of many initiatives that Microsoft is currently developing to create a more open and free environment. Developers will soon be able to integrate Microsoft’s products far more easily, thereby increasing the usability of their services and lowering the total cost of ownership for their infrastructures. Microsoft is poising its Azure platform to dominate the cloud computing market, and consequently has to use all of the resources at its disposal. Linux has long shown itself to be more resource-efficient and stable than other forms of computing environment, thereby making it an excellent choice for the extension of the brand.
As Microsoft expands its offerings, there will always be new positions opening in the world of cloud computing and SQL technology. If you’re interested in some of the positions that we have open, contact us at Software Specialists today.
