The glorious alliance of proprietary and open source is turning into huge wodges of cash for Micorosft and Novell.

The pair claim to have signed more than 100 joint customers in the past six months. This is more than double what the pair managed in 2006. As a result they have flogged $200 million worth of Novell support and maintenance certificates to more than 300 customers.

According to Microsoft is is all because customers are “looking to derive the greatest value from their IT investments”... hang on, is Microsoft now saying that Open Source is cheaper? Tell me it can't be so.

Microsoft added that it was seeing an increased rate of demand for the interoperability solutions and IP peace of mind benefits provided by our
collaboration. Who are the customers signing up for such mixed answers? Honeywell Aerospace, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The Microsoft-Novell deal is often held up by Microsoft as an example of how open source and proprietary software makers can work together.