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By Tony Hallett, 23 August 2000 00:30

COMMENT Sun Microsystems will never put Linux at the heart of its operating systems strategy, and companies like HP and IBM are only confusing customers by promoting it. Two bold statements from Sun's Chief Operating Office, Ed Zander. But is he right? To tackle his second point first - no he isn't. Arguing that two massive companies with extremely diverse product ranges shouldn't offer multiple operating systems is foolish. It's like saying Bosch should stick to making washing machines, because selling car engine management systems and power tools as well confuses consumers. It's just plain daft. However, if Zander wants to stick to Solaris, and Solaris alone, that's his prerogative. The real question is whether that's a good strategy to take for Sun as a company, and for its customers. Zander claims Sun is a Risc-orientated company, and does not want to play in the Intel-space. He also says Linux is an Intel-based operating system, and therefore has very little to do with Sun. For a start, there are a million-and-one people who disagree with that logic. Much as Zander might hate it, Linux actually runs pretty well on his very own Sparc processors, and IBM seems to be getting pretty handy at scaling it right the way up to its high-end hardware too. What we have here is the Sun COO talking religion. In Carly Fiorina and Lou Gerstner, HP and IBM have pragmatic businesspeople willing to sell customers what they want. With Ed Zander on the bridge, Sun risks getting stuck in the past. He's a man in denial, and he's pushing his company, and its loyal customers, into a technology cul-de-sac. It's time to open up.