Sun & StorageTek

So a lot of people have been asking me lately, what do "you" think of the Sun & StorageTek merger (see the disclaimer below).

Contrary to what people might think, I believe Sun is a great company at its heart. I think Sun has somewhat lost its way over the last couple years but that was only a function of a number of shifting forces colliding in one place (dot-com bust, migration to ISS x86 as a platform, adoption of Linux, Windows/Microsoft stability etc..).

While Sun has been restructuring, they claim to have finally seen the light. The jury is out still as to this being a lasting phenomenon.

So lets talk about StorageTek and Sun and the Kyle prediction ;-)

Sun needs a sales team, and a really tough one. They used to have this back in the glory days (remember Masood Jabbar) and they need one again. StorageTek brings this to them in full force. You could argue this point one of two ways; The StorageTek sales force is great at "selling" a dying product and thus extending its life, or Sun can benefit from the great Enterprise Sales experience these folks would bring to them.

Verdict: StorageTek brings a tough sales force to Sun


Sun needs a way to be competitive in the Enterprise space. If you look at history, you realize that Sun is a relative newcomer to the top 3 (lets exclude Dell because...well...being an Intel reseller doesn't count). HP and IBM have spent years becoming de facto choices for enterprise customers. With both of these vendors there were lines like "you can't get fired for buying HP or IBM". With Sparc dying a sudden death and a "new" strategy focused around x86, Sun really was missing that long reach technology that provides them the image of stability (the thing Enterprises really care about). StorageTek brings this to them. Tape may be a very old technology, but its still there.

Finally, Sun really needs new blood that is not based in California. I personally believe 3/4 of Sun's problems come from being based in California. They are trying to play the same game as everyone else with less mindshare, more skepticism and less morale. Sun can now (with StorageTek) focus their operations in areas such as Colorado, Boston, Austin etc.. where there is still plenty of "tech" investment, but without the crutches of the silicon valley grind. Scott and Jonathan might be great leaders, but they certainly aren't innovating and changing the game the way they used to. I would argue that one of Sun's smartest moves was their SmallWorks project based in Aspen (run by Bill Joy). A group of western cowboys figuring out how to build an innovative solution might be just what Sun needs.

Yes I think its a good merger, even considering their history screwing things up (Cobalt). Let's see if they can pull this one off ;-)




The views expressed here are mine alone and do not express the view of AMD or its partners & affiliates