The Sun/MySQL Debacle 3
Got news this morning that Sun is acquring MySQL AB- what an unsettling way to start the day.
To me, this move by Sun signals their total desperation. Their hardware business has been decimated by the commoditization of high-performance computing, as well as by virtualization technology. Their software business has been decimated by their own mismanagement of some real innovations, as well as the rise by Linux to almost complete domination of the non-Fortune 500 datacenter market (that is, while Fortune 500 companies might buy Sun's overpriced machines, the Fortune Other 50000 use mostly commodity servers running Linux). So now, Sun is desperate for some traction into those other 50000 companies.
Given Sun's history of how they manage products, leaving innovation to wither and die while they chase the million-dollar service contracts at the Fortune 50, I'd say things may not bode well for MySQL.
