SUNW is unique, from my vantage point
Having come to SUNW from FRTE, I am used to the idea of knowing that the company I am supporting isn't easily compared ... and also used to people trying to make the comparison. And, those that do make the comparisons certainly have a valid point that, no matter what special product a company may have, it is still a business like any other business -- it still has to create and deploy an effective marketing campaign to get people interested in its products, it still has to have an effective sales force converting those interest into orders, it still has to manage its finances to bring a profit to the bottom line while optimizing growth, and it needs the vision and execution on vision to maintain any leadership position which it may have in its products.
Sun's historical strength was in workstations, where it did well, but was certainly vulnerable to attack. Lately, its hardware strength is in servers, where it is certainly strong in some markets, but hardly alone and with many other wannabees out there nibbling away at parts of its market.
So, if Sun has a unique vision that justifies the current strength of the stock and the faith of at least some of the members going forward, it is in positioning itself as a one-stop source for anything to do with the Internet, other than the plumbing. To assess that vision, we have to judge both how much we think there is going to be real infrastructure growth ... not just hype ... and how well positioned Sun is to play a dominant role.
The whole Java thing is an interesting area since Sun could very well be successful in having Java become the next big language, but not end up profiting from it that much because it has made it open and standard. To really capitalize on Java, Sun has to not only sponsor it, but deliver the products which everyone will want to use.
With the acquisition of Forte, I think they have taken a very strong move toward becoming the premier source for enterprise Java. With this coupled to Forte's EAI offering, which puts Sun in the position of being the one to put it all together, I don't think there is another company that has as many of the pieces to put on the table with the possible exception of IBM, and they don't have nearly the same quality of solution. If Sun can turn this potential in to billions in sales instead of tens of millions, then all this optimism is clearly justified. It looks to me like they are on the way to doing this. |
