Microsoft Continues Its Linux Company Shift
ZDNet, Thursday, June 4th, 2026
Microsoft deepens its Linux pivot at Build 2026 with three Linux products, including its first server distro, Azure Linux 4.0.
The article details how Microsoft's decades-long transformation from Linux antagonist to Linux champion is accelerating, marked by three Linux-focused products unveiled at Build 2026: a server Linux distribution, a container-focused Linux variant, and a Windows 11 edition built specifically for Linux programmers.
Microsoft already contributes to the Linux kernel, maintains popular open-source projects, and runs more Linux instances on Azure than Windows Server instances. The strategic driver is cloud competition: as Azure battles AWS and Google Cloud, Microsoft must meet developers where they are, and Linux powers over 90% of cloud infrastructure workloads.
The centerpiece, Azure Linux 4.0, is based on Fedora Linux, delivered as an open distribution on GitHub, and represents the culmination of years of internal use and the evolution of the earlier Mariner distribution.