IBM To Buy the Sun? -- Redmondmag.com

Barney's Blog

IBM To Buy the Sun?

The Wall Street Journal reports that IBM is negotiating to buy Sun Microsystems for more than $6 billion (one-thirtieth of what we've given to AIG).

This could be a large and possibly problematic deal. Already, IBM has a range of platforms, PC servers, System x mainframes, PowerPC servers, and the System i and System x. Even Houdini couldn't untangle this knot of products. Sun has a similar issue. It has standard PC servers, as well as RISC machines -- and Solaris runs on both. The two also have an array of virtualization, management and storage tools.

There's tremendous value in Sun, a company that never stops innovating, but there's also colossal overlap and confusion -- not to mention the likelihood of layoffs. Is this a good idea, or will IBM become a hodgepodge of incompatible and competing products? Give us your best M&A advice at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/18/2009 at 1:16 PM

Featured

Choosing the Right SSID for Your Network

Attracting attention, whether through a default or funny Wi-Fi name, could lead to a security issue.
Microsoft Outlines Latest Security Efforts at Ignite

In the wake of last year's CrowdStrike incident, Microsoft has worked to publicly rehabilitate its security image through new initiatives and public commitments to improve. That push continued this week at Ignite, where Microsoft announced a handful of new security tools and updates.
Nadella on Copilot: 'Major Platform Shifts Are in the Air'

As should be no surprise, Copilot took center stage during Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's keynote speech to open Microsoft Ignite 2024.
Azure AI Foundry Revealed at Microsoft Ignite

Microsoft is consolidating its Azure generative AI tools into a unified platform named Azure AI Foundry.
Microsoft Bolsters Fabric at Ignite

While Fabric has improved in the year since its release, there are still some glaring issues with the platform.