Novell CEO: We're Going to 'Attack' Vista

The 'alliance' between Novell and Microsoft got a bit weirder after Novell's CEO indicated that he was pleased by Vista's slow rate of adoption, and will continue to battle the company directly in the marketplace.

Ron Hovespian made the comments to reporters in Australia on Thursday. He mentioned that Vista took over five years to produce, while open source is much easier to develop for. Also, the agreement brings Novell closer to Microsoft's customers.

Although many IT administrators will openly voice their dislike, the reality of the matter is most use the Windows operating system to run their servers. With Novell closer to the customer, the chance of migrating to Linux is much greater, he claims.

Hovespian defended the deal, saying that while the company itself did not have to do it, it was in the best interest of its customers. Additionally, he refuted the misconception that the two companies signed a patent cross-licensing agreement.

"We did not sign a patent cross licensing agreement, what we agreed to was not to sue any customers over patents," he was quoted by news sources as telling reporters. Microsoft and Novell could still sue each other, he added.

Novell says that the agreement has proven to be a positive move for the company, citing some "big wins" it has seen. Following the agreement, the company sold about 35,000 SUSE Linux support certificates, one of the more lucrative parts of its Linux business.

Microsoft has also held up its end of the pact by hiring sales and marketing staff to support SUSE Linux. An interoperability lab is still in the works as well, Hovespian says.

But after all the good feelings, don't expect Novell to take it easy on Vista. Hovespian said that Novell is "going to attack Vista" head on in the years to come.