Is Microsoft becoming a kinder, gentler giant? Perhaps. The company has created a group to promote software interoperability and has recruited some of the industry's biggest players. Sun Microsystems, Novell and BEA Systems are a few of the 25 companies who have signed on for the Interoperability Vendor Alliance. The idea is to make it easier for tech companies to ensure their products are compatible with Microsoft systems—which of course, puts the Redmond, Wash., company firmly at the center of the Interop Alliance universe.

All this is not to say Microsoft won't battle fiercely to protect its turf. As Danny Fortson reported in Corporate Dealmaker, Microsoft has been sparring with European government over interoperability issues amid widening sentiment in Europe that IP protections suppress competition. — Suzanne Stevens

Join Corporate Dealmaker's LinkedIn forum