IBM pare arrivata a pochi passi dall’acquisizione di Sun (via Cnet)
The time is now. IBM is a software and services company, but it needs hardware, which would be roughly a third of revenue with Sun, to sell its other offerings. Hardware is often the entry point for IBM’s software and services. With a stronger hardware business it can fend off HP in the marketplace.
Sun is a powerhouse in Unix, which is still a key platform, but isn’t exactly gaining in the market these days. IBM could acquire Sun and establish two key beachheads: Linux and Unix. The former will ultimately take over for the latter in the data center. IBM can play both and sell you the services to migrate while it’s at it. Bonus for Big Blue: Sun would enable it to pressure HP’s Unix-based businesses too. One problem: IBM sells AIX Unix servers. Sun sells Solaris (hat tip to a reader pointing that out).