Banking giants back Microsoft-Novell deal

Three banking giants are among the first companies to back the deal between Microsoft and Novell on Windows-Linux interoperability.

In three separate deals Microsoft will provide Suse Linux Enterprise subscription certificates to AIG Technologies, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, allowing them to take advantage of the Microsoft-Novell agreement.

In November Novell and Microsoft said they will collaborate on developing specific cross-platform technologies - for example helping Microsoft's Windows work with Novell's Suse Linux, which is based on open source code. The two companies also said they will provide each other's customers with patent litigation indemnification for their respective products.

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Credit Suisse CIO Tom Sanzone said "interoperability is key" as the bank sees both Windows and Suse Linux as strategic platforms. He said he was pleased to see Microsoft and Novell "step up" and work on interoperability.

"This is a great model because it provides a bridge to connect the open source and proprietary software to benefit customers," he said in a statement.

Deutsche Bank CTO Clemens Jochum said the Microsoft-Novell deal gives the bank the benefit of platform choice and better interoperability: "Employing both Windows and Linux in our company always seemed the right thing to do, but making the systems work together would require a significant amount of time and resources," he said in a statement.

Mark Popolano, global chief information officer for AIG, said the company's involvement in the pilot programme is to explore "how we can become a more flexible organisation".