Which IBD article (date) was that Paul? Here's todays on SUNW.
BTW, I do remember reading a recent article on Eric Schmidt stating clearly that the company is NOT FOR SALE (re: HWP rumors), and he said he has just gotten started on his NOS/NDS mission, and is having a lot of fun. Can't find the link though. However, one think does seem certain, SUNW, IBM and HWP are reorganizing their businesses around the internet. Schmidt started this 2 years ago with NOVL. We're ahead of the curve relative to MSFT IMHO. Anything can happen over the next year,and Novell is enriching itself with a lot of internet application goodies to run on NDS. Wall Street bees are finally coming to this honey, and I'm sure there are more and more companies interested in acquiring Novell, and if not, then their products.
Hardware Maker Sun
Goes 'Soft' Plans Portal
Strategy To Sell More
Software, Services
Date: 3/11/99
Author: Michael Tarsala
Computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. is
laying groundwork to challenge its larger rivals
in software and services.
Sun plans to use new software and Netscape
Communications Corp. technology as linchpins
of a strategy to sell more software, services
and hardware to businesses, analysts say.
''Sun wants to lead its sales with software and
trail with hardware,'' said Martin Marshall, an
analyst with Redwood City, Calif.-based Zona
Research Inc.
The thrust revolves around Sun's
NetDynamics software, which the company
plans to start selling next week. Sun bought
the basic product in June for about $160
million. Sun will use it -and the Internet's
popularity - to spur sales.
''They're trying to set up NetDynamics as the
cornerstone of their whole software strategy,''
said Craig Roth, an analyst with Meta Group
Inc. in Chicago.
Sun plans to sell the software to businesses,
which will use it to set up so-called business
portals. Portals are sites used as entryways
into the Net. Popular portals include Web sites
run by America Online Inc. and Netscape.
Business portals will run on internal corporate
networks instead of the public Internet.
Businesses use the portals to connect with
customers, employees and suppliers, as well
as to build and manage electronic-commerce
sites and back-office systems.
Sales of NetDynamics software for creating
business portals open the door for Sun to also
sell hardware and new services. Sun unveiled
on Wednesday several new services for
creating and managing portals.
''Sun's portal computing vision . . . is the
enterprise software component of our '.com'
campaign,'' said Ed Zander, Sun's chief
operating officer, in a statement. Sun
executives refused to comment for this story.
Sun's move comes after rivals IBM Corp. and
Hewlett-Packard Co. revealed Internet-based
business software and services drives.
Analysts say Sun has had limited success in
software and services. The company is known
for developing the Java Internet programming
language. But Sun won't release Java sales
data.
NetDynamics supports Java program- writing
technology and a competing Microsoft Corp.
technology called COM. It also works with
major databases and business software, and
with non-Sun hardware.
The company plans to add to NetDynamics in
the next year, Zona's Marshall says.
NetDynamics is part of a plan for Sun to
catch up in a key technology known as XML,
an emerging formatting standard for letting
applications talk to each other over the Net.
Microsoft last week announced XML plans.
Sun also wants to tie NetDynamics to
computer server software it plans to acquire
from Netscape, analysts say. Sun is a partner
in America Online's proposed purchase of
Netscape. That could be approved this month.
Sun's goals for the Netscape software are
becoming clearer, analysts say. Sun will
attempt to merge competing Netscape
software called Kiva into NetDynamics, Roth
says.
Separate Netscape software for Internet
communications likely also will be put into
NetDynamics, says Dave Kelly, an analyst
with Hurwitz Group Inc. in Framingham,
Mass.
Kelly says Sun will add messaging and support
for additional software to NetDynamics over
the next year. This could include network
testing and monitoring software, as well as
more ties to Java, he says.
Sun might use Netscape technology to create
a browser that makes Java work best with
NetDynamics and Sun's Solaris operating
system, analysts say. But that could create
friction among Java proponents, Kelly says.
''What's important with NetDynamics is Sun
has to decide if it's a software company, a
hardware company or a religion,'' Kelly said.
(C) Copyright 1999 Investors Business Daily,
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