NewsForge: What Sun Needs To Do Now to Survive

"Yesterday's news about Sun Microsystems' huge net loss of $1.04 billion in its fiscal Q4--and more of the same expected for this current quarter--puts squarely on the table some serious business issues that the company needs to address now if it intends to survive.

"Even though the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company tells us that it can do everything it wants to do in hardware, software, networking, embedded systems, wireless, and now the desktop, its stock price--which has been hovering in the low single-digits for nearly two years ($3.46 at Monday's close)--ought to be a clear sign to management that it seriously needs to reassess everything it does.

"Now in its twenty-first year of business, Sun long has been one of the most innovative IT companies in the world. As it became extraordinarily successful in the 1980s with its Unix-based workstations, and in the '90s with its Java-related software and licensing, it acquired other companies and expanded into other product areas. And, having taken a recent tour of Sun Labs in Mountain View, Calif., I can attest firsthand that Sun has many ingenious new ideas in early and mid-development..."

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