Microsoft joins the Linux Foundation, and the Hyperledger project may become the biggest winner

The Linux Foundation, undoubtedly one of the world's largest open source communities, has a new member. Microsoft recently announced at its annual developer conference "Connect();" that the technology giant has joined the Linux Foundation as a platinum member.

The move is further evidence of Microsoft's goal to diversify beyond its Windows product line. Over the past few months, Microsoft has released a number of multi-platform software and development tools, including a partnership with Canonical (creator of the Ubuntu operating system, which supports cross-platform development work) to provide Windows 10 subroutine support.

Microsoft's collaboration with the Linux Foundation will not only benefit the development community, but the cryptocurrency community will also benefit directly or indirectly from it. Microsoft and the R3 blockchain alliance have established a close partnership. Its Azure Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) has been deployed to many banks and financial institutions to help them develop blockchain applications.

Al Hilwa, director of research and development at Microsoft Software Research Center (ADR), said:

Microsoft's multi-platform support program has attracted more and more developers. This collaboration between Microsoft and the Linux Foundation will enable us to further understand developers, recognize and influence mobile and cloud developers, and promote the development of multiple emerging fields, including the Internet of Things (IoT), data science, and cognitive computing.

Recently, R3 announced the open source of its distributed financial ledger protocol Corda after cooperating with the Hyperledger project. Hyperledger is an open source project led by the Linux Foundation. As a platinum member of the foundation, Microsoft can now directly provide code to Hyperledger or profit from it.

As more and more technology, financial and banking giants participate in the Hyperledger project, the development and deployment of the project in the financial sector will surely accelerate.

As blockchain technology goes mainstream, more and more traditional companies and emerging startups have established partnerships, and consumers' focus has shifted from traditional technology platforms to distributed ledger technology. Therefore, traditional companies are taking this action to protect their position.