Sun's Software Sins

STEVEN BURKE

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Can be reached at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Since Sun has proclaimed that it is retreating from the bread-and-butter small- and midsize-business market to focus on enterprise customers with at least 1,000 seats, it may be time for Sun to spin off the software business. Sun is and always will be a hardware company. Sun President and COO Jonathan Schwartz can do his free software song and dance all day and night, but it ain&'t getting the job done. What Schwartz needs to do is focus more on building a self-sustaining software business than using those assets as a part of a “free steak knife” offer for buying the latest Sun hardware.

Sun may be great at building software, but it is flat-out terrible at distributing and marketing it and building a broad and deep network of solution providers. An independent Sun software business with a robust channel model and savvy marketing arm would have wide appeal to thousands of solution providers and customers outside of the traditional Sun enclave. Remember, Sun only has about 700 partners in the United States. The company&'s software is rock-solid and offers a compelling, less-pricey alternative to the Microsoft software licensing model. It may be time to let the business grow on its own, disentangled from the hardware business. When all is said and done, it would be a shame if those high-priced software assets remain relegated to an enterprise software socialist state rather than recognized as the foundation for a vital business driving breakthrough solutions for businesses of all sizes.

Do you think it&'s time for Sun to spin off its software business? Let me know at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].

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