However, almost immediately after the agreement was inked, Steve Ballmer came out firing suggestions that Linux users have an "undisclosed balance-sheet liability" for Microsoft's IP.

While not openly renouncing Ballmer's statement, Hovsepian said since that "flare-up" Microsoft has been supportive and has agreed to disagree with Novell over existing IP infringements in Linux.

Another immediate ramification of the deal was the resignation of Samba developer Jeremy Allison, who fled to Google in protest; however, Hovsepian remains confident in developer morale and said the company's turnover is low of "key people".

"It is literally single digit numbers and nothing significant. The team is very enthusiastic," he said. "Samba is one hot spot with the agreement [and] people thought we signed a cross licensing agreement which we do not. Hubert Mantel, one of the founders of SUSE, has returned to Novell, and when he came back he said he liked the Microsoft agreement. They are very much aware of it and we are listening to the development teams."

The highs and lows of that past few years aside, Hovsepian is bullish about Novell's potential in a market he describes as still in its "infancy".