Dear Twister: Perhaps this will help you in your research to understand SUNW!! JDN
Sun Microsystems Acquires Office Software Maker Star Division
Palo Alto, California, Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Sun Microsystems Inc., the No. 4 maker of computer servers, acquired closely held Star Division Corp. to get word-processing and spreadsheet software that competes with Microsoft Corp. products.
Terms weren't disclosed. Sun said it will give the software away so that Internet service providers, companies and universities can make it available to customers and students on the Web and other networks, the way they do today with e-mail and other applications.
The effort is part of Sun's plan to make more personal computer functions available on the Internet, thereby boosting demand for its servers, the powerful machines that run computer networks. The Star Division software will run on servers and will be accessible through computers and eventually through mobile phones, electronic organizers and other devices, Sun said.
''Software is trending toward being rented or free,'' said John Loiacono, a vice president of marketing at Sun.
Star Division, based in Fremont, California, was founded by Marco Boerries, a 31-year old entrepreneur who now works at Sun. Star's software has about 4 million users, Sun said.
The plan could be a threat to Microsoft, Sun's archrival, if Sun can sign up enough users of Star Division's products. Microsoft Office accounts for 90 percent of the market for word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. It's one of the company's fastest-growing products.
Unlike Microsoft, though, Sun isn't planning to make money selling office-productivity software.
Source Code
The so-called source code of the Star products also will be available, giving people access to the building blocks of the software so they can alter it to fit their needs.
Companies including BellSouth Corp. and schools such as Pennsylvania State University said they'll support the plan and have agreed to test the Star Division software.
The plan is similar to one Sun has pursued with Java, its popular language for writing programs that will run on any computer. Sun makes Java available for free, only charging when another company or individual uses Java in a device that's being shipped to consumers. Sun is pursuing the same strategy with Jini, its software that lets different devices communicate.
Other kinds of software have moved from the corporate computer to the Internet so that firms no longer have to buy and maintain programs on their own machines. It was only a matter of time before personal-productivity software including word- processing programs made the migration, Loiacono said.
Sun plans to give further details on the Star Division plan at a press conference tomorrow in New York. The company's shares fell 15/16 to 75 1/4 in late trading.
Aug/30/1999 15:21 |
