Microsoft hires key rival from SuSE Linux

OwlWhacker writes “Microsoft has hired one of its worst enemies, the SuSE Linux salesman whose efforts led the city of Munich to adopt Linux and open-source software instead of Microsoft’s products.

Karl Aigner, formerly SuSE’s account representative for Munich, is overseeing sales of Microsoft’s data center products to midsize companies in Germany. He began his new role April 1, Microsoft said Tuesday.

“I think Microsoft sees the European public sector as the vanguard of the fight
against open source,” said RedMonk analyst James Governor, and hiring Aigner will give the company insight into its foe’s methods. Microsoft is a “learning organization, and one of the ways of learning is bringing in different ways of thinking,” he added.”