"In my opinion," Hollands adds, "software needs to take the center stage in every aspect at Sun. In addition, the company lacks a global focus. Perhaps looking at the IBM model – prior to the PWC acquisition – could be a good start to crafting a renewal strategy."

"Sun is not just a hardware company," according to Hollands, "Why has it taken [Sun's own executives] so long to realize that Sun is a technology company like IBM and HP?"

Other gems from the report:

On Vinod Kholsa

"I would not be surprised to see how much of Sun's continued survival involves Vinod Kholsa [a founding CEO of Sun Microsystems where he pioneered
open systems and RISC] and his group. Sun needs to grow the Java community (the recent China deal helps, but is not even close to enough), build faster machines and chips, and employ software and architectures that increase the computing power of the Sun line up."

...

On Jonathan Schwartz

"Traditionally Sun has never been a particularly strong marketing company. Mostly, it has relied on its technical prowess to convince the customer. .... But the good news is that this is definitely changing. Jonathan Schwartz, the new head of Software, holds a big wheel that he's got to get moving. The other good thing is that there are some fairly talented marketing people under him who know how to start the ball rolling."

...

On Java

"The Christina Aguilera sponsorship of Java.com (I can barely write that with a straight face) was a flop. The big plans to use the songbird sex symbol didn't work out as planned. I guess programmers still want a sexy PC instead of a sexy woman to convince them? Well, maybe not. But in any event, the launch of Java.com is a significant milestone. It marks the beginning of Sun understanding the duality of its customers. On the one hand, you have to keep those developers writing Java code -- now more than ever. C# and .Net are not completely dead. "Never Say Never" is the mantra at Microsoft. Secondly, Java is the hottest thing for wireless. Sun already has a large head start over Microsoft and are leagues ahead of Qualcomm's BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) platform. One way to measure that is the number of Java certified programmers, which at last count was over 3 million. Telcos are beginning to deploy more and more wireless data services, and all those games and applications that are going on your phone are Java."

"The licensing department in Java-Land is really buzzing. There has been talk about increasing the licensing fees to start priming the pump for one of the largest cash cows Sun possesses."

"The breadth and appeal of Java is how Sun will make the next wave of revenue. The will need to find how to continually find ways to lock developers and customers into Java."

• Flashback: The End of Middleware – Exclusive 2004 Perspective by Sun President, Jonathan Schwartz
• "It's Not Just About Security," Says Sun's Schwartz
• Newsflash: Sun's New President Comes Straight From World of Java