Microsoft and the Linux Foundation have announced a new Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA): Linux on Azure certification. The new certification is designed to ensure that the recipient is qualified to deploy and manage Linux systems in Microsoft's Azure cloud. To qualify for the certification, an applicant needs to pass both the Microsoft 70-533 exam (Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions) and the Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS) exam.

The idea of Microsoft offering a Linux certification might come as a shock to those who remember the old days, when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called Linux “… a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.” In fact, Redmond has been on the rebound for years. In many ways, it was inevitable that Microsoft would eventually offer a certification in Linux when they put Linux in the Azure cloud.

According to Linux Foundation's Jim Zemlin, Microsoft's recent steps represent a genuine effort to be part of the community: “From participating in Node.js, the Core Infrastructure Initiative and other Collaborative Projects at Linux Foundation to its recent partnerships with Red Hat and SUSE, Microsoft is demonstrating a sincere, smart and practical approach to how it builds new technologies and supports its vast customer base. Microsoft open sourced .NET; it open sourced key parts of its web browser; and it uses Linux for its Azure Cloud Switch. The Linux Foundation and Microsoft share a common, strategic approach to technology development: balance internal R&D with external R&D to create the most important technologies of our time.”

Sunshine up ahead?