McNealy Speaks for Himself

But others question whether those criteria, if they were even McNealys, have been met. In its fiscal second quarter ending in December, Sun reported a 17 percent rise in revenue from $2.84 billion to $3.34 billion. But it posted a net loss of $223 million, or 7 cents per share compared with a year-ago net profit of $4 million. In addition, the fall in revenue of nearly 40 percent between 2001 and 2005 has not been offset by the 27 percent drop in operating expenses over the same period. Compare that to reports from competitors like Cisco, HP and IBM, who also took some pain during the dot-com bust but are now in far better financial shape than Sun, and it sure doesnt sound like costs are under control or that McNealys "job" is by any means done. Sun reports its third-quarter results on Monday, April 24, which might give a clearer picture of where the company is headed. And the final factor in all the latest buzz was a lengthy and stinging article about Suns failures, penned by John Shoemaker, who was its executive vice president of worldwide operations from 1990 to 1994 and then executive vice president and general manager of computer systems from 1995 until his retirement in 2002. In the article, entitled "A Personal View of Sun Microsystems" and published in the January-February issue of Business Horizons, the journal of Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Shoemaker said that, while hopeful about Suns future, "The bottom line is that its all about quality leadership. Perhaps there will still come a time when the leadership problem at Sun will be effectively and decisively addressed." And, while he also stated that "this opinion is just my personal view and is intended only as food for thought for Business Horizons readers," he went on to say, "I do think this perspective is shared by many who were and are still at Sun Microsystems." So, after hearing from my sources inside and out of Sun, from those who insist McNealy is going nowhere and those who believe his departure is imminent, I decided to e-mail the man himself and see what he had to say. He responded, as he is wont to do, and this is what he said: "Sorry, dont comment on rumor, though the rumor that I am leaving Sun is about 22 years old and still going strong. You should be writing about the runaway success of Solaris 10!" My gut feel is that theres unlikely to be a management shakeup as early as next week, but maybe we should start looking toward July, the start of Suns fiscal year. Maybe thatll be when it happens! Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis on IT management from CIOInsight.com.