September 21st, 2004
Forrester CEO: Sun's plan is bold but has potholes
Fresh off a visit with Sun execs, Forrester Research CEO George Colony thinks he has handle on the company’s comeback strategy as well as the potholes that might trip it up. In addition to Sun’s continued fixation on technology (an obsession that Colony warns could leave Sun vulnerable to Dell), the eight point plan is more about Red Hat than it is anything else. Creative pricing strategies, such as today’s $1 per processor per hour utility pricing announcement are also central to Sun’s bold plan. But Colony also warns that, given the emotional management styles of executives like Sun CEO Scott McNealy and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Sun’s recently inked pact with Microsoft is no guarantee against betrayal by Redmond. Said Colony, "Redmond has been known on a few occasions to play its own self-interest first when it comes to deals. McNealy and Steve Ballmer, his counterpart at Microsoft, are high-emotion cases–their trust and cooperation run the risk of wild up-and-down swings."
