Believe it or not, Microsoft and JBoss have formed an alliance to work on the interoperability of their server software to take on IBM. Normally rivals, the two firms will provide assistance and guidance for customers using Jboss with Microsoft's Active Directory, and management of JBoss through Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM). There will also be efforts to optimize the performance of EJB 3.0, and to provide interoperability between .NET and open source Java web services.
Microsoft and JBoss say they will continue to compete for software developers, but are exploring ways to provide improved interoperability and ensure an optimised experience for customers using JBoss on Windows servers.
The decision on Microsoft's part to support JBoss is a recognition of JBoss's growing market share, as well as to help Microsoft beat IBM in the web services and server software market.