In recent years, Microsoft has made significant investments to empower organizations to transform their businesses through innovation by running their Linux workloads on Microsoft Azure.
At Microsoft, the open-source software development model helps us create sustainable and successful projects. Some of our most widely adopted and vibrant developer tools and frameworks, such as GitHub, Visual Studio Code, and .NET, are open source.
Our product teams actively contribute across various open-source domains, from operating systems to programming languages, and from data and AI to the web. A good example is the Azure Database for PostgreSQL engineering team that actively contributes to various PostgreSQL development projects and participates in numerous initiatives aimed at enhancing code quality. This includes modernizing PostgreSQL APIs, improving the build system, enhancing continuous integration and continuous delivery, handling bug reports, and addressing performance regressions. You can read more about the team’s contributions here.
As a Microsoft partner, you play a crucial role in guiding, educating, and supporting customers as they learn to leverage these advancements. In this blog, we’ll delve into the opportunity for you to help customers speed up innovation and gain a competitive edge.
How open source fuels business innovation
AI is transforming business processes, and open source can be a key lever for accelerating innovation. Over the past year alone, generative AI usage among business leaders and decision-makers has surged from 55% to 75% according to IDC.1
To innovate with solutions like AI, organizations need the cloud to rely on an elastic, more robust, available, and secure infrastructure. With open source on Azure, organizations across industries can innovate faster and more securely through enhanced collaboration, strengthened security, and application development flexibility.
Organizations can also obtain more savings running Linux on Azure, as shown by the Microsoft-sponsored IDC white paper, “The Business Value of Ubuntu on Microsoft Azure,” which highlights an average 306% return on investment and a 35% lower three-year cost of operations.2
Whether your customers are looking to save costs, strengthen security, maintain compliance and control, or innovate, Azure offers customers a secure, broad ecosystem of open-source software, including Linux running in Virtual Machines and fully managed databases like Azure Database for PostgreSQL and Azure Database for MySQL.
The latest investments from Microsoft include enhanced AI and security features, which can help customers accelerate their migration and innovation projects. As MediaKind’s Chief Executive Officer, Allen Broome, can attest from their move to Linux on Azure, “By moving our video operations to Azure and opening up new capabilities, we’re now able to dynamically dub programming into any language and caption videos to open up new audiences who don’t speak the original language in a matter of minutes.”
Successful migrations start with you
As a Microsoft partner, you have access to a wealth of resources to help customers thrive. By guiding customers through an evaluation, realization, and maximization of the value of Linux on Azure, you can assist them in achieving their business ambitions. Start with SPARK Propensity in Partner Center Insights, a solution that identifies high-propensity customers for unique FY25 solution plays across small and midsize enterprise and corporate customers. Marketing resources you might want to leverage as you engage customers include the Migrate Linux and OSS DBs campaign in a box, the Linux Migration Workshop, and Solution Assessments.
Partners across the globe are guiding customers to use the best of open source on Azure, including Quadrant Technologies: “Linux Migration Workshops are making a real impact, generating significant engagement, and positioning us as a go-to partner for cloud migrations. These interactive, hands-on sessions help organizations seamlessly transition their Linux workloads to Microsoft Azure, addressing key migration challenges with expert guidance. With each workshop, we are building stronger industry connections, fostering collaboration with Microsoft teams, and equipping businesses with the knowledge and tools to accelerate their cloud journey. The overwhelming response highlights Quadrant’s expertise and credibility in cloud transformation, reinforcing our role as a trusted partner in the migration space,” shared Manikyam Thukkapuram, Director, Alliances and Engineering.
Tap into the power of our partnership
As you guide more customers through their migration journeys, we have the skilling opportunities and go-to-market resources to support you along the way.
Build your skills: Grow your practice with Linux and open-source database migrations, starting with these learning paths: Linux on Azure, Configure and migrate to Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure Database for MySQL.
Differentiate your organization: Showcase your proven capabilities by attaining the Solutions Partner designations for Data & AI (Azure) and Infrastructure (Azure) and by earning the Infra and Database Migration to Microsoft Azure specialization.
Leverage partner-led offerings for customers: Through Azure Innovate & Azure Migrate and Modernize, access comprehensive sales resources and tailored incentives to help you drive more migrations to Linux on Azure.
1IDC, sponsored by Microsoft, “2024 Business Opportunity of AI,” IDC #US52699124, November 2024.
2IDC white paper, sponsored by Microsoft, “The Business Value of Ubuntu on Microsoft Azure,” IDC #US52857024, January 2025.