Interactive TV
Sun is quite active in the field of interactive TV (iTV), for instance with the MHP platform. Are iTV and other non-PC platforms going to be important in the future?
Non-PC platforms are already important and will grow in importance as organisations try to better serve their customers and cut costs. In the field of Web services, for example, using non-PC platforms means user can perform functions without being tied to their PC. They can use their palm device, their mobile phone, a kiosk, or a set-top box, for example.
In the field of iTV, SBS, and Sun launched Australia's first application offering back-channel functionality using Multimedia Home Platform (MHP).
Back-channelling enables audiences to submit comments or retrieve information while the program is being aired, and allows journalists to monitor comments, gather valuable data and send immediate feedback to viewers without going through a computer programmer. It is a greatly enhanced viewing experience, and a way for the television station to get closer to its customers.
The parallels between computing and the television industry highlight the importance of open systems and standards. If one vendor with a closed proprietary system was allowed to dominate the TV industry, it is unlikely we would have more than one or two television channels today.
Can you imagine users buying one TV to watch the ABC and a second set to watch SBS? For audiences to experience the full functionality of iTV, a series of open standards must be globally ratified to enable production of the viewing devices.
Sun continues to play an active role in the development of industry standards for digital television for the same reason we are active in open standards for computing: it results in a better user experience and greater innovation because vendors are free to compete on the excellence of their product.
Sun's recent financial performance has been less than stellar. What's going wrong, and how will it be fixed?
Sun, like everybody in the industry, underestimated the magnitude of the drop in demand. This was compounded by the dot-com crash and the slow-down in the global telecommunications sector.
Sun is driving its business forward by remaining focused on its vision: being the number one provider of infrastructure around the Internet. We will leverage the head start we have in this market to take share from our competitors.
We have refreshed our product line during the last 18 months, and these new technologies are selling extremely well. Australia has been more stable than other countries because we didn't have such a huge dot-com boom, and therefore we haven't had a huge bust. We have made a concerted effort to manage our costs, which means we are leaner and fitter than our competitors.
When the markets free up a little, we are well positioned for good growth.
In a recent interview, Scott McNealy gave his views on the top five priorities for IT. What are Sun's top five priorities for Australian IT?
Not surprisingly they are consistent:
- Choose a single architecture that can deliver dial tone--like reliability for the services and applications you provide.
- Pick an integrator or consultant who can help you with the job.
- Use a browser, based on open standards, on every desktop as the standard interface for all your applications and services.
- Before transitioning your legacy apps and services to the new system, load a directory service with every one of your customers, employees, resellers, suppliers, shareholders, etc.
- Use everything you put in place in steps one through four to Web enable all of your applications and services.
Coping with competition
Is there a chance that Sun's emphasis on going up against Microsoft runs the risk of distracting you from other threats to Sun: Intel, IBM, and Linux?
No. We compete in two ways: head to head with vendors at a product level which includes Microsoft and IBM; and then second, with Microsoft's business practices in the US, some of which stifle innovation in the industry.
We have an eye on each area, we tackle them in different ways, and give them the appropriate emphasis to ensure the best outcome for Sun and its customers in the long-term. For example, we have moved into the lower-end server market, offering a range in the sub AU$2000 price range to capture the pent up demand for high-end performance at a lower price tag.
In the news page of www.sun.com, one recent article was entitled, "Linux on the Mainframe-Not a Good Idea". The following article's headline was "Sun Broadens Support for Linux". What's the real story?
Linux is good for Sun. It promotes open systems, and open standards, which is good news for the marketplace also. Any Linux solution increases the size of the Unix marketplace, keeps it open for innovation, and will run on Sun.
In regard to the mainframe, Linux is still open source, which makes it a dangerous technology for any mission critical functions as there is no one vendor who takes ultimate responsibility if a customer is having major problems.
Linux does, however, have a valuable role to play in applications at the edge of the network, such as firewalls, caching servers and network servers. That is why we have broadened our support for it.
In the past companies wanted two things from Sun: top-of-the-line hardware and stable operating-system software. Now the company seems to be focusing on storage, middleware, and Web services. Can the company cope with such a major shift in direction?
There is no major shift in direction. Everything Sun is doing is consistent with where we have been and our vision for the future. We have always offered storage and middleware, and Web services is simply an enhancement of our offering.
We are headed in the same direction we have for the last 20 years: to be the number one provider of infrastructure for networked computing. And history has proven that we can cope with managing the growth that flows from that strategy.
About Sun Microsystems
Sun is a provider of hardware, software, and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. Sun Microsystems Australia joined the Australian Top 500 list in 1992, just six years after the company was formed and currently ranks number 287.
