BusinessWeek: Sun’s Tolliver: “It’s Brutally Competitive”

Sun has only recently made fundamental changes in its business
model. It’s now selling servers with the Linux operating system —
which programmers love because it isn’t owned by any one software
maker, the way Microsoft owns Windows, and can be easily
manipulated and customized. Sun is also trying to sell more
services, storage equipment, even hardware that runs on Intel
processors. What’s the strategy? On Oct. 21, BusinessWeek Online
Reporter David Shook spoke with Mark Tolliver, Sun’s chief
strategic officer, about the turnaround efforts under way. Here are
edited excerpts from their conversation:

Q: What is Sun’s biggest challenge, the economy or the
competition? A: Certainly, the economic situation and,
specifically, telecommunications. Telecom is our largest market,
and buying has slowed dramatically. We supply a greater proportion
of that industry’s computer needs than for any other industry,
particularly in the U.S. That industry buys everything from our
smallest to largest servers, data storage, software, and
services.

The situation in the telecom market is a primary reason Sun’s
revenues have been under pressure over the last four quarters.
Plus, our second-largest customer is the financial-services
industry, which, likewise has contracted, although not to such a
large extent.

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