Sun open-source license could mean Solaris-Linux barrier

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Sun's self-interest.

Quite simply, this is a good move for Sun, because they have the benefits of having an open source product, but don't need to be concerned about being co-opted. Solaris has, as a guess, a several million line codebase. Sun understands it better than anyone and always will. They'll still be the prime masters of Solaris. That fact, plus the license, plus the ability to maintain patents will keep a large co-competitor from emerging in the hoped-for emergent Solaris marketplace.

You're concerned about money though not ability to control? As is well known, money is earned primarily by improved efficiency and obtaining new customers. Sun is the only provider of Solaris to Sparc and probably always will be as they sell the OS with the architecture. To expand the reach of Solaris, though; they need to branch out to more architectures.

Sun has only able to port Solaris to two architectures previously: Sparc and X86. By contrast Linux has been ported to nearly 30 architectures, as has BSD. The ports are external to Sun, and as they won't require Sun's permission - legal expenses should be minimized. If someone needs Solaris on, say, ARM; they can port it.

What does Sun reap from this opennes to port? Since the contributions do become equally Sun's product under the considered license: Sun reaps a new product to sell, but at a near-zero development cost. I'd call that much improved efficiency - new customers, near zero expense.

Further consider that Sun's machines support a limited peripheral hardware set? Some markets that developers might wish Sun to enter, which require hardware that Sun doesn't support, would represent a significant expense to Sun to support. By opening the source, Sun defers the driver development expense to the outside developer, who can then open that market to Solaris at little expense to Sun. Again, a very efficient process and a profitable one for Sun.

So, for Sun, oopening the source is largely about opening new markets for Solaris at little or no expense and defering costs. Sun also sells application that run atop Solaris and the more Solaris markets are open; the more of those tools will be sold? The more markets Sun can enter without retooling, the more potential sales of support down the road?

These are but two examples of how OSS release of Solaris is of benefit to Sun. There are undoubtedly others. Both of these save money through potentially increased development efficiency. Both can potentially expand Solaris reach. Both can potentially make Sun money by increasing sales at low expense to Sun.

That word "potentially" gives you pause does it not. Well, as the libertarians out there will tell you: to the risk taker should go the spoils. Opening the Solaris source is a risk, but perhaps no more risky than doing nothing at all.

The alternative is too awful for Sun to contemplate. New Solaris installation numbers are being steamrolled by new GNU/Linux installation numbers. Unless Sun can gain for themselves some of the cache of Linux; they are doomed to eventual irrelevancy in the OS market: maybe not now, maybe not for thirty years, but eventually. Opening Solaris is about saving Sun's marketshare by gaining cache.

Any further questions, =Anton=?

Posted by: John Le'Brecage   Posted on: 12/03/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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