An iPod on Steroids

Sonos reminds me of the simplicity of what we're providing for Sun's software customers.

I never thought I'd see the day when I no longer cared about iTunes. Though I still use my iPod to listen to music while I workout and travel, I've found a hip, new way to access whatever genre of music I want to hear in the Sonos system. Combining wireless networking, music on demand, and an integrated plug and play appliance is pure genius by the original creators of Software.com. Recently they updated the system so that I am now able to stream music through a Rhapsody monthly subscription throughout my home. The idea is so simple, yet completely disruptive to the markets of both iTunes and satellite radio. It doesn't matter to me whether I own this music, but more that I have access to the archives of music for whatever may suit my mood.

Sonos reminds me of the simplicity of what we're providing for Sun's software customers. When Sun introduced the subscription model to enterprise software with the Java Enterprise System in January of 2004, customers gained the ability to pick and choose the software they need within the Java ES subscription. It was a new way of thinking about software licensing, and has continued to evolve.

The whole idea is that each enterprise has specific needs to fulfill for its essential computing infrastructure. This foundation should be as simple as possible to manage, update, and use in developing the solutions that are needed to run that business. Just as I don't want to manage a CD collection of songs that I may only want to listen to once in a blue moon, enterprises are through with the headaches of managing multiple license types and inflexible software components.

Taking the analogy even a step further, with the flexibility I have to play different music in different rooms or “zones” of my house, it's similar to being able to run isolated applications in parallel within different secure Solaris zones. No wonder Sonos is my latest favorite gadget.

Posted at 10:02AM Nov 07, 2006 by Peder Ulander in Sun  |  Comments[1]