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Sun Micro Free Software Aimed to Undercut Microsoft
 06/19/2002 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - High-end computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. announced on Wednesday a free software initiative aimed at undercutting Microsoft Corp. in the battle to set the standards of the next-generation Internet. The battleground between Sun and Microsoft's .NET initiative is the layer of software that will form the backbone of the next generation Internet, and Sun will give away a key part, called an application server, that runs on Microsoft systems as well as the hit operating system, Linux. Sun and Microsoft see a world of "Web services" in which clever software anticipates users' needs, such as automatically ordering parts for a factory that is running low or finding directions to an appointment listed in a business person's calendar. For that to happen, a layer of backbone software must stitch together computers that run operating systems and translate data between applications. Sun has a good start, because its Java platform runs programs while sitting on top of many operating systems, including Windows, while Windows programs run only on Windows. The next step is aimed at cementing the ascendance of Java, despite Microsoft plans to phase out support. So Sun plans to give away for computers that run Windows, Linux and Unix operating systems from Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM a basic version of its application server, a type of backbone software that runs custom applications necessary for web services and communicates data between applications. If it succeeds, developers wooed by free software will create programs for its systems, rather than Microsoft's. "We are going after the .NET developer and deployer and the Linux community developer and deployer," said Marge Breya, vice president of the Sun ONE software division. "What we're really trying to do is bring together these three developer communities into a consolidated Java web services ignition, if you well," she said. Santa Clara, California-based Sun is a former Internet star which called itself "the dot in dot-com" until the firms that bought its computers to run their networks began going bankrupt. Sun hopes that the free software will stimulate sales of its servers and of other software tools, including more sophisticated versions of the application server, Breya said. By setting the non-Microsoft standard, Sun is "making sure we have a right to compete," she said. "We define open standards, compete on implementation." However, the free offer is hardly an assurance of success for Sun, whose hardware has long overshadowed its software. Sun's competitive success in the application server market has been limited so far. In 2001 Sun slipped to fourth place in the market with a 7.9 percent share, behind BEA Systems Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Oracle Corp., researcher IDC Corp reported. BEA said Sun's free low-end offering would not compete with its application server that run for about $200,000 and are used to build multimillion dollar corporate projects. "I think Sun has created this perception that they're going to giving away what we currently sell," which was not the case, said Eric Stahl BEA's director of product marketing. CSFB analyst George Gilbert agreed that BEA was not likely to be hurt, saying the application server market was becoming split between a low end of near free "good enough" software and sophisticated high end platforms, like BEA. News Archive | |
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