Sun Lights Up U.K. Servers, Desktops

Sun Microsystems has announced a major contract to supply its Java-based server and desktop software to the British government.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based network computer maker said it has signed a five-year strategic agreement with the U.K. Office of Government Commerce (OGC) as part of a computer modernization program worth an estimated USD$4 billion (2.3 billion GBP). The deal makes Sun’s Java Enterprise System and the Java Desktop System the underlying infrastructure and desktop software for Britain’s public sector.

Currently available on the Solaris SPARC and Solaris x86 platforms, Java
Enterprise System is scheduled to support Linux and other platforms within
calendar year 2004. Formerly a mish mash of SunONE and other server-related
applications, Sun has honed its Java Enterprise System to focus on shared
network services through its Portal Server, Directory Server, Identity
Server, Web Server, Messaging Server, Calendar Server, Instant Messaging,
Application Server, Message Queue, Cluster and its own special brand of
security.

Likewise, the Java Desktop System, which ships today, is a SUSE
Linux-based platform that includes the StarOffice 7 word
processor/spreadsheet/presentation platform; the Mozilla open source
browser; Evolution e-mail client; RealNetworks’ RealONE player and
Macromedia Flash. The operating system also includes Looking Glass, a new
visualization interface that lets users surf around in interactive 3D-like
environments. One addition to the Desktop System is a management-wide tool.
Known as APOC, Sun said the technology preview lets IT pros and system
administrators to set up security and personal profiles for a wide bank of
staff.

The announcement comes less than a month after Sun inked a landmark deal with the Chinese government to use the Java Desktop (formerly known as Mad Hatter) as the standard desktop in the People’s Republic of China.

China’s initial plans include installing at least 200 million copies of the open-standards-based software throughout the country, starting with 500,000 to 1 million seats per year.

Britain’s deal allows the OGC, which is part of HM Treasury and the
central purchasing body for the U.K. Government, to break away from its current licensing agreements. The contract includes use of ‘proof of concept’ trials in government organizations such as Britain’s biggest employer, the National Health
Service to look at the practicalities of
Sun’s server and desktop software and find the potential for improvements. The initial deployment could number some 800,000 PCs.

“The U.K. Public Sector is faced with huge IT purchasing decisions, it
requires best value desktop and underlying software architecture that is
based on open standards, predictable pricing models and infinite right to
use,” Sun chairman, president and CEO Scott McNealy said in a statement.
“Our arrangement with the OGC, delivers transparent IT buying to the U.K.
public sector and introduces competition in the desktop space.”

Sun is hedging its bets that people are tiring of Microsoft’s perpetual
security problems and what Sun claims are “costly” licensing contracts.
Company executives recently characterized the appetite outside U.S. for an
alternative to Microsoft as “voracious”.

While Sun’s Java Enterprise System (formerly known as Project Orion)
original pricing model included unlimited upgrades, service and support for
a mere $100 per-employee/per year, during its SunNetwork 2003 Conference in
Berlin last week, Sun said it would offer “half-off” discounts for its
management, support, tools and servicing until June 2004. That would slash
the price of its Java-based Enterprise offerings to $50 per employee and $25
per worker for the Java Desktop System if that company has already signed up
for Sun’s Java Enterprise System.

Sun also revised its billing methodology last week to accommodate the
more diverse nature of its ISV and OEM customers.
That pricing schedule harkens back to a more traditional $1,000 per CPU.

And while Sun is enticing corporations to replace their Microsoft Windows
systems, company execs recently told internetnews.com that Sun is
still considering a $10 to $20 per-citizen pricing model for the system.

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