Microsoft and China’s domestic Linux operating system provider, China Standard Software Co. (CS2C), have signed an agreement to jointly develop, market and sell cloud-computing offerings in China.
Microsoft said that the primary goal of this agreement is to provide public and private cloud offerings to different industries through a rich partner ecosystem.
The mixed source offerings stemming from this collaboration will be built on Microsoft’s Hyper-V Open Cloud architecture and will include support to run CS2C NeoKylin Linux Server products, said the company.
The two companies have also signed a customer legal covenant agreement.
Microsoft Greater China Region chairman and CEO Simon Leung said, "We have come together with CS2C through our shared belief that technology is both a critical mechanism for organisations to realise their potential, as well as a catalyst for innovation and economic growth."
"Through this collaboration, we seek to support our joint customers in China with solutions for the cloud, which will help them build upon their existing operational investments, yet also allow them the flexibility to capitalise on strategic opportunities that may arise during this period of expansive change and growth," said Leung.
CS2C has three product brands "NeoKylin", "NeoLite", "NeoShine" targeted for server and the desktop operating systems market, the mobile operating systems market and the office market.
CS2C president Han Naiping said, "Organisations are constantly looking for new ways to help them adapt and thrive in the marketplace, and nowhere is that more relevant than in the China market today."
"Building on our heritage of providing CS2C NeoKylin Operating System and customised solutions for customers, we are seizing the important opportunity to collaborate with Microsoft to deliver comprehensive, flexible, cloud-based solutions that will serve as a platform for business growth."
Microsoft and CS2C have also pledged to sponsor a joint virtual technology lab in Beijing for development and testing of cloud offerings that will allow customers to move to virtualisation and a cloud-based IT infrastructure, said Microsoft.
The lab will focus on the certification of CS2C NeoKylin Operating System on Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V, creating Microsoft Systems Centre management packs for CS2C NeoKylin Operating System application workloads, and incorporating support for CS2C NeoKylin Operating System within the Hyper-V Cloud architecture.
As part of the collaboration, CS2C will also take part in the Interop Vendor Alliance, announced Microsoft.
