Things Are Looking Bright for Sun

Tonight I attended a special event put on by the Churchill Club down in Santa Clara featuring Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and president of Sun Microsystems.

I haven't really dealt much with Sun personally (which is hard to believe; considering the omnipresence of Java, Solaris, Niagara etc.), but I believe it is safe to say that Sun Microsystems is in pretty good hands with Schwartz.

Communication is Key!

A big indicator for me that this man knows what he is doing is his stance on communication. According to Schwartz, his number one role as CEO is to make sure that communication within employees of Sun, with stakeholders, and even with readers of his blog is crystal clear and happens often. Of the 35,000 employees at Sun, 10% of them author some sort of blog. That is issues of leaks or scandal while he is on watch. He feels that it is very important to be open with 3,500 employees that are being encouraged to blog, generating readership and visibility for the Web site. As a well-known fact, Schwartz is a proponent of transparency; there will not be any information for his stakeholders and Board (which includes former CEO Scott McNealy).

John Markoff, the moderator for the evening from The New York Times, did not pull any punches and came out firing with questions about back-dating and the HP scandal. Without so much as a pause, Schwartz answered nearly every question very articulately, and even threw in a lot of timely quips that got some laughs from the audience.
Next Steps?

The one thing that I disagreed with tonight was Schwartz's vision for Sun in the future; how they were going to continue to gain market share and grow as a company. In response to a question from the audience asking how Sun plans to adjust their business model in light of the current trend of focusing on consumers, Schwartz reiterated the fact that there needn't be a connection to the consumer for Sun; the product isn't meant for consumers, but rather for developers. Sun intends to continue building its foundation slowly from its current core targets and moving back up from $19 billion (where it is today) to $230 billion (where is was before the bubble burst).

The problem, I feel, with this approach is that there isn't time in today's economy to build traction in the manner that Schwartz suggests. If ever there were a time to take a risk, it is now. This is the beginning of another bubble, and by skipping the consumer-focused fad, Sun could be shooting itself in the foot in the event of another burst. The number of companies and developers that use Sun's product could easily tumble, or at the very best stagnate over time. Compare the trajectory there to a near infinite amount of outlets within the world's population. I think you see my point.

That is speculation. Speculation doesn't mean anything. I do not have the extensive business background that Mr. Schwartz has. This is one of those "wait to see it pan out" type of things. One thing is for sure, though; the man knows what he is doing. He has a clear focus on the future, on what is best for Sun, and what makes the industry tick. If what I saw and heard tonight is any indication, I don't think that Sun has anything to worry about.