Apache Software Foundation today announced a surprising news that Microsoft has joined it platinum sponsor club that include Google and Yahoo. Microsoft will contribute $100,000 annually to the foundation. The ASF is a nonprofit organization that manages software projects like Apache web server, host of web libraries, frameworks and programs. The foundation’s president Justin Erenkrantz said this participation of Microsoft would increase interoperability between the two platforms. This would benefit both sides, as with increased interoperability users of both platforms will find in easier to port functionality for both the platforms. It is largely believed that Microsoft interest in funding Apache projects is driven by consumer demand for interoperability. The use of Apache based technology on top on Windows servers has been increasing in businesses. For Microsoft to keep growing it has to understand and support open source adoption in enterprise environment. Right now it seems that this collaboration will be beneficial to both Microsoft and Apache.
[Via Ars Technica]