Microsoft announced on January 18 the availability of Clear Linux OS for Intel on Azure, which makes them the first public cloud provider to offer that. Linux users now have a foundation to experiment and create systems with the option to choose a much preferred and suitable bundle. Clear Linux also has the Docker container platform; a straightforward approach to bundle 
an application and its runtime conditions into a solitary compartment and provides runtime independence which empowers the container to keep running crosswise over various forms of the Linux Kernel. It is also preloaded with common open source tools to enable Linux users develop machine learning applications.
Aside the packed features, Microsoft believes that bringing Clear Linux to Azure will streamline sustentations and arrangements which will be as vital as infrastructure scales by isolating the framework defaults and ensuring circulation best practices from user preferred structures. This demonstrates their continual support for open source options which creates the much-needed agility in the cloud. It demonstrates their flexibility and a direct focus to attract organizations which fancy open source options. The collaboration between Microsoft and Intel last year to make this possible on Azure is a milestone both celebrate for strategic alliance and competition purposes. The collaboration also ensured that Clear Linux was finetuned to maximize the performance and value of Intel architecture.
Microsoft made it possible in August last year for anyone to run Ubuntu and Bash on the anniversary edition of Windows 10. This was a partnership with Canonical and the product, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), has been successful. Currently, it is also possible to run openSUSE Leap 42.2 on Windows 10. SUSE is providing tutorials for that online. In a market where Amazon holds the reins, Microsoft needs to turn every stone to solidify its grasp on certain segments of the markets in other to keep growing. The focus on open source appears to be one of those steps and by the end of Q4 this year, it will be known to what extent this move has been a contributing factor to growth and profit figures.
