Microsoft, once known for its adamant anti-Linux stance, plans to release its SQL Server database management product for the open source platform, building on other recent moves to accommodate Linux users.
The move is Microsoft’s latest acknowledgement that Linux, which powers the Android platform runs on more than half of the world’s smartphones, can’t be ignored.
The SQL Server move will allow system administrators to run the same software across Windows Server and Linux server installations, according to Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise group.
“This will enable SQL Server to deliver a consistent data platform across Windows Server and Linux, as well as on-premises and cloud,” he said in a blog post. “SQL Server on Linux will provide customers with even more flexibility in their data solution.”
Microsoft released the core SQL relational database capabilities in preview form on Monday, and the company said it plans a final release in the middle of next year.
Microsoft was previously known for giving a privileged place to its own Windows operating system, although it has released software for other platforms, notably Apple’s Mac OS X, since the 1980s.
More recently, however, the company has made efforts to accommodate the prominent place now taken by non-Windows operating systems, in part due to the rise in popularity of smartphones and other mobile devices, nearly all of which run either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Linux-based Android.
Last week Microsoft announced it would acquire iOS and Android developer tools maker Xamarin. The company has developed close relationships with Linux makers such as Red Hat and Canonical, and recently released its analytics software R Server with support for Linux.
Microsoft said it would release more information about SQL Server for Linux, as well as the SQL Server 2016 release, at its Data Driven event in New York City later this week.
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