In an effort to play up its newer Web Services-centric focus, Sun Microsystems, Inc. Monday said it will rebrand
its software lines under the Sun Open Net Environment (Sun ONE) billing.
The Palo Alto, Calif. networking systems giant, again taking on software force Microsoft Corp. in this latest
applications drive, will make iPlanet, Forte, StarOffice and Chili!Soft part of its touted Sun ONE brand, hoping to lend it, as the
company said, a “singular focus that simplifies Sun’s software portfolio for customers and streamlines marketing efforts.”
Going hand and hand with this new application marriage is a global marketing campaign to support the rebranding effort. It will kick
off this week with a series of print advertisements in major business publications, highlighting Sun One customers and how they use
the products to make their businesses more efficient.
Web services are considered the next big software hype, with market research firms such as IDC Corp. betting that the niche will
constitute a multibillion-dollar market over the next decade. At its base, the Web services allow machines to communicate with one
another seamlessly, regardless of disparate software platforms. The system relies on Web Services Architecture (WSA), a standardized
approach to dynamic component connectivity and interoperability that relies on self-describing components and open connectivity
standards, including Internet protocol (IP), simple object access protocol (SOAP), and Web services description language (WSDL).
“This rebranding is the culmination of what we’ve been successfully doing for the last several years — delivering best-of-breed and
integrated product solutions for the enterprise,” said Marge Breya, vice president, Sun ONE. “It’s time for our software brand to
reflect what our customers already know; there is no more complete, secure and productive platform for making the net work than Sun
ONE.”
For those keeping score, some of the products being rebranded to the Sun ONE segment include: Sun ONE Web Server, Sun ONE Portal
Server, Sun ONE Application Server, Sun ONE Directory Server, Sun ONE Identity Server, Sun ONE Messaging Server, Sun ONE
Integration Server (all formerly iPlanet products), Sun ONE Studio (formerly Forte Tools For Java) and Sun ONE Active Server Pages
(formerly Chili!Soft ASP). StarOffice 6.0 Office Suite keeps its name, but will now be considered a Sun ONE software offering.
Sun Software to be Tethered Under Sun One Brand
