Dell claims Sun takeover is good for business

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 24 Mar 2009 at 09:23

Michael Dell claims the uncertainty created by IBM's possible takeover of Sun is creating an "enormous opportunity" for his company.

Michael Dell claims customers are nervous regarding the future of Sun's Solaris-based servers and this is likely to accelerate migration to x86-based rivals, which are Dell's mainstay product.

"Just the rumour of IBM potentially purchasing Sun creates an enormous opportunity because all of the Sun accounts are very concerned what will happen to the Solaris platform and Sparc microprocessor," Dell told a briefing in Tokyo.

"I think this accelerates the migration (to x86-based servers) and sends a lot of those accounts into an opportunity," he added.

Dell lags both IBM and HP in the server market, with a 2008 market share of around 12%, according to research group IDC. Its focus has been on low- to mid-range x86 servers, and Dell ranks second in that market after HP.

Apart from the potential IBM-Sun union, Dell is also facing an uphill battle with network equipment maker Cisco and HP.

Cisco has announced a foray into the server market and HP has started to offer a more complete package of technology services to its corporate clients after its purchase of EDS.