Sun Sales Web Gems

It's always interesting to read the news related to your neighborhood. Not only do I live in the neighborhood, but it's also the location of Sun's San Francisco Office. This was an interesting read, but I've learned it's never as good as they say......and it's never as bad as they say either. There will always be a place for a unique and valuable idea! Quite frankly, I'm already excited for the news out of next year's Web 2 Expo!

And the good press keeps rollin' in. We keep making good progress with some of the top web companies around today because of our innovation/R&D engine that keeps pumping out cool stuff. One thing I continue to find compelling about working here is that our products and services aren't just about hardware. Check out this interesting interview about how Sun is helping with building communities. The intersection between technology, psychology, and sociology will be the spot where trust and privacy concerns are laid to rest.

In my last posting I talked about how our web customers are looking to Sun for cool technologies (and I don't mean stuff that runs with less energy....although we have lots of stuff that runs at the same wattage as a light bulb). Web companies are asking us how to use our R&D efforts to meet their needs. Now, you can take this knowledge and win $250 for an hour of your time! The Sun Web Infrastructure Myth Busting Challenge is now on! And if you need help, just let me know, there's a Sun Technical Swat Team out there to help you!

So, I have to admit, in re-reading the last few posts of mine, they seem a bit dry (although the news has been big!). I've been considering how to overcome my lack of access to the inside scoop compared to one of my favorite bloggers. Since Jonathan's blog is my favorite blog of all time (I'm not kidding and I swear I'm not sucking up), I recently realized I've been part of some cool conversations.

I have lived (note: I'm not saying "spent") the last 9 years as a Sun Sales Representative. It has been a blast. After all, we have IP at all levels from a systems perspective (remember Scott McNealy years ago reminding the marketplace we are Sun MicroSYSTEMS?). I've truly enjoyed representing Sun at our customer sites advocating why we're so relevant and cool. I've worked with partners, small startups, and established enterprises. I've been in a lot of meetings (we're reporting our customer face time, since we are laser focused on how we can help customers.....so I hesitate to say I've been in too many meetings :-) In any case, I've seen and heard alot. It dawned on me, there's one topic that always seemed to catch my attention....."The Wall".

One of the last accounts I had a daily focus on was growing by leaps and bounds (and still is). They couldn't buy systems fast enough. I've been involved in some recent customer meetings for other accounts, and I've heard this is not a unique sentiment. How can customers build quick enough? Should they put systems literally anywhere they have space? I was in a customer meeting recently where they said they even considered putting these datacenter modules in international waters! (I was impressed to learn they thought through many issues including power and warming of the oceans!). customers are worried about facing hitting "The Wall" of capacity capability. At some point, servers and datacenters aren't big enough, then what? The bottom line is that as the web buildout continues, Sun's competitors must deliver some value through their products (I forgot to mention we spend ~$2B on R&D so you don't have to worry about how to leverage network infrastructure to keep cost and complexity down!) as these issues can't be solved without an engineering focus...a distribution model just won't cut it when throughput, power, support, and performance matter as you focus on your competitive edge. I'll write in more detail in the coming week or two about some specific technologies, like Sun Modular Data Center, that web companies are considering in meeting this demand. The buildout has really just begun......

More big news today! Sun announced an agreement to acquire Innotek, one of the leading developer desktop virtualization platforms. It will be part of Sun's xVM Platform. Why is this so cool? Aside from the coolness of the technology, it's another example of our focus on the open source community, virtualization, and choice.

The mySQL acquistion news was big for us here at Sun. That should go without saying given all of the great press on the deal recently. But for those of us focused on the web buildout here at Sun, it was doubly exciting. It proved what our team already knows....that Sun has become the world's strongest proponent of free and open source software. Clearly our new mySQL team members agree and are advocating the same message. We just need to continue to spread the word!

Wahoo! Our streak of strong earnings announcements continues! There are many reasons for our continued success, but I think part of the reason has to include that we're always looking for new ways to help our customers. We don't do everything perfectly (who does), but we're listening so keep the feedback coming!

Regardless of what happens in 2008, It sure was a great 2007 for companies looking for investment from VC firms! $29B+ is a 6 year high and regardless if we hit a new high or not in '08, the long term outlook for companies with a good idea -AND- a good business plan is lookin' good. That's why Sun will continue to invest in the startup community, and we'll stay focused on our open source projects!

By now, you've seen the news. It sure doesn't get more exciting than this given MySQL is one of the most popular databases in the world. It's proof of a continued focus on the Web Industry and thought leadership as we look to help our customers in this space. Oh, and we also had some good news. Sun truly is a great company to work for as innovation, a focus on our customers (reach out to your local Sun Rep, you'll see we're not just pushing boxes!) and excitement to make a difference still reign supreme!

Hey! We're partying at SFBeta on December 10th. See you there!