The top executives of Sun Microsystems and Dell joined forces at the Oracle OpenWorld user conference on Wednesday to unveil an agreement that lets Dell offer Sun's Solaris operating system on its PowerEdge servers.
Dell CEO and Chairman Michael Dell made a surprise appearance during a keynote speech by Sun CEO and President Jonathan Schwartz to announce the signing of a multiyear distribution and reseller agreement that will let Dell provide Solaris on selected PowerEdge servers.
Schwartz said that Sun has reached a "different phase" in its history and is now more interested in establishing the largest Solaris customer base possible rather than cutting off support to customers running the operating system on non-Sun hardware.
"The stupidest thing in the world we could have done is gone to those [Solaris] customers and say, 'You blew it; you made a mistake.' And they could have looked at us and said, 'No you don't understand me,'" said Schwartz.
After an acrimonious past littered with years of head-to-head hardware sales battles between Sun and Dell, Schwartz remarked that "history is behind us, and today is proof."
According to Schwartz, the agreement will let Dell technicians respond to customers calls for Solaris 10 support. He said that Sun will work directly with Dell personnel to "seamlessly" push updated patches or bug fixes out to the PowerEdge install base when necessary.
"We heard from customers [who] wanted us to provide better support for Solaris so that's exactly what we're going to do," Dell added.
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Strategies for Dealing With IT Complexity 24/12/2007 10:30:47
Every innovation, every business process improvement, comes with an IT complexity tax that must be paid by CIOs in time, money and sweat. Here are strategies to mitigate the increasing complexity of IT as it enables new business.Every innovation, every business process improvement, comes with an IT complexity tax that must be paid by CIOs in time, money and sweat. Here are strategies to mitigate the increasing complexity of IT as it enables new business. - +
Hiring Manager: Emphasize Integrity, Attitude 14/12/2007 11:18:07
William Howell shares his hiring mistakes and his secrets for selecting the best job candidates, finding objective references and using LinkedIn as a recruiting tool.William Howell shares his hiring mistakes and his secrets for selecting the best job candidates, finding objective references and using LinkedIn as a recruiting tool. - +
9 Paths to Higher Performance 10/12/2007 14:09:23
When an organization brings together talented people in a creative, collaborative environment it fosters a culture of high performance, which in turn leads to superior business resultsLike high-achieving individuals, some organizations seem to have the Midas touch. Virtually every initiative they touch earns them gold and even those that fail never seem to cost them much of anything at all - +
Process Trip 04/02/2008 13:07:03
Why Maritz Travel revamped key business processes — and how business and IT came together to make it workWhen Rich Phillips became COO OF Maritz Travel about two and-a-half years ago, he sat down and took a hard look at the big industry picture - +
Ebb and Workflow 04/02/2008 12:44:54
Workflow isn't rocket science, but it isn't magic either. It can improve the way your organization runs only if you apply its principles correctlyFrom a business perspective, workflow is a way to make people, information and computers work together consistently and efficiently to produce the results the business needs. In effect, workflow applies the equivalent of systems analysis to the entire process, not just to the part done on a machine
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Zones provide focussed content from Computerworld and leading technology partners.
Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.
Attend and learn:
- How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
- Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
- The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid
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Computerworld Live Podcast #97: The Future of Enterprise Networking 25/07/2008 09:45:36
This week CW Live chats with Mark Thompson, global sales and marketing manager for HP ProCurve, on the future of the enterprise networking. Mark discusses the trends we can expect to see in the near future and how the right infrastructure can ensure your enterprise network is secure. - +
Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
Data Management Edition #10: Multi-Petascale Systems 02/05/2008 09:12:33
This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
This week CW Live presents a case study on how to poison the notorious Storm botnet . Plus we take a look at Cisco's plans for Ironport. - +
IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future.
Virtual magic: HR specialist throws out 40 servers, adds 8TB SAN and saves $100,000 for disaster recovery 2008-12-01 15:28:00+11
Sybiz adds up for SMEs in downturn 2008-12-01 14:27:00+11
EXCOM scores back-to-back award trifecta 2008-12-01 10:46:00+11
Citect extends SCADA networks with mobility solutions 2008-12-01 09:48:00+11
Citect extends SCADA networks with mobility solutions 2008-12-01 09:48:00+11
Data grids and service-oriented architecture
When choosing an SOA strategy, corporations must ensure data availability, reliability, performance and scalability. A data grid infrastructure, built with clustered caching provides a framework for improved data access that can create a competitive edge and sustain customer loyalty. Read on to discover how this can be created within your organisation.
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