What's Next as IBM-Sun Heads for the Finish Line? - Page 2

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The Fujitsu factor

Sun's lengthy relationship with Fujitsu is the hardest to evaluate. Sun makes Sparc and Solaris and Fujitsu resells the servers, so it is dependent on Sun's continued development of both products. Would IBM leave the Japanese vendor high and dry? Or will Fujitsu take over its own R&D? Staten wasn't sure.

"IBM could say 'here, take Sparc,' but for Fujitsu to value that, they need a long-term commitment from IBM that Solaris will stay a Sparc OS, but that's not in IBM's interest," he said. It wouldn't make sense for Fujitsu to support both OS and processor because it doesn't have the economies of scale to support that, he added.

Another scenario is that Fujtisu could potentially nurse its market along until the transition to Power processors and they convert to Power, or convert their customers to Linux.

"Fujitsu might have the Sparc market to themselves for two years, so that might be worth something. To a degree, it buys them time to make a move. I don't think IBM wants to force Fujitsu out of the relationship. They might see them as a partner to expand the presence of Power," said Staten.

Meanwhile, those orbiting Sun wait

Sun employees aren't the only ones chewing their nails right now. "For a lot of Sun customers, there will be a lot of trepidation about this merger, particularly if you are a Solaris loyalist," said Staten.

"IBM will have to show a pretty clear roadmap and straight talk to customers to show a path is there. The longer IBM takes to show a path there, the faster customers will migrate," he added.

For Mike Clesceri, vice president of marketing for Laurus Technologies, a Sun systems integration partner, it's wait and see time. "I think there's still an opportunity for Laurus," he told InternetNews.com. "So long as IBM sees value in the core technologies Sun has, I'll be able to service my customers and see an opportunity to expand the solutions I offer now because of what IBM will inevitably add to the product line."

Right now he's just a Sun reseller, but then again, he's not selling that many Sparc-based servers these days. He's selling solutions built on Solaris. "So if I have access to more systems that run Solaris, that can only be good for me," he said. If IBM does migrate Solaris to Power, then that's really good for Laurus.

"I'll have access to customers that are IBM shops that would never have bought Sun gear, if IBM ports Solaris to Power. It also means more ISVs will move their apps to Power to get to larger more addressable markets," said Clesceri.