1. It is for people who can’t work with the teams can only act as individual contributors

2. It is for those who don’t understand business or are not good in communication

3. Makes sense only if it is product company not relevant for services company

4. You don’t have any power in the organization as people are not reporting to you.

 Well, whenever I hear these, I feel like tearing my hair (whatever little is left!!) because these are myths and nothing but myths!!! Let’s talk about first two myths i.e. team vs. individual and business savviness/communication skills – there are hardly any innovations that are possible just by working in isolation. Innovation particularly in organization context requires a complete eco-system. Also, innovation unless it is monetized has little value. All it means that a single individual can not succeed if he/she can work only in isolation in a technology career path. They need to work with delivery, sales, domain experts, marketing and also other technical guys within their team. When the customer/prospect hear about the innovative solutions, frameworks etc. directly from the innovators – the conviction and expertise is of tremendous value. And to be truly successful you need an ability not only to innovate but also to present the value of innovation both internally and externally. If you pick up technology blogs, magazines, videos etc. you will come across several examples of people who have chosen technology as career path also coming out as very creative in other fields – communications, marketing etc. Now let’s talk about the third myth that it makes sense only for IT product companies and not for services companies. Well, if by services companies you mean pure staff augmentation then to an extent it is true. But, those days are gone. Now, the customers are looking for much greater value add – how does an organization add value to the individuals who are being put on a project? What kind of innovative frameworks, solutions, accelerators the organization has? How does their overall cost of solution compare against competition. And a large part of the the answer is provided by individuals who have chosen technology as their calling. Well, you agree about above, but say, well, they may do lot of stuff but are not valued. You don’t have to look far – just meet a project or program manager whose project delivery is nearing and has issues related to integration or non functional requirements or the team is not able to resolve some critical technical issue. Now, ask him what all he/she is willing to do to get a technical expert in the system – and you will have your answer. Power does not come from numbers – it comes from value. Anyone who generates value in the organization irrespective of career stream the person is in, is powerful; is valuable. In this knowledge economy, power does not come from authority, it comes from expertise. It is very difficult in this world for an authoritarian organization which gives enormous value to hierarchy – because in that case the leader hears from people what he wants to hear and not what is right for the organization. Those type of organizations just fade away; disappear. We need people who are experts, who are not afraid to speak their mind because they know what they are talking. In a technology services company, expertise in technology provides one that kind of power. (Long explanation to a simple phrase – Knowledge is power)

Now, the big question – is technology career path for Heroes or for Zeroes? And the answer is very simple – it is all about fitment, for the right fit it will turn them into Hero, and for the wrong ones it will turn them into a zero. The more complex question is how to decide the right fitment. For that you need to ask yourself a few simple questions:

1. Why am I taking this decision – is it because of several negatives (read the myths – I can’t manage people, I am not good in communication, I don’t want to face the customer ever…) or is it because of positives (I love facing new challenges, I like to stretch my creative abilities, I can combine technology with business to create winning value for customers….).

2. Am I taking a short term view or long term – Am I trying to move to technology career stream because it pays more or I have evaluated my career aspirations and my capabilities and looking at it more long term.

3. Have I evaluated my capabilities – As a technology expert, the expectations and exposure is higher. You probably will not have a large team to hide in. So, it requires higher degree or ability to learn new things, solve complex problems, higher analytical skills, ability to work in fire-fighting situations.

Ultimately career path is aligning individuals to the organization drivers – and in technology lead companies, it is very important to align the right people to technology career path. However, it is also important for the individual to make an informed decision looking at the right factors……If you have evaluated the above appropriately and making an informed decision, then you will be a HERO!!!

Sun has always been a maverick in the industry, many times leaving analysts bewildered by its decisions which they could describe only as Hate Microsoft rather than any solid financial basis. Java can be touted as probably the most important innovation of our times, but Sun failed to monetize it.

After the much publicized bid of IBM to buy Sun it was Larry Ellison who made the deft move that he is so famously known for. Is it mere co-incidence that Ellison who owns world’s fifth longest yacht named ‘Rising Sun’ is now responsible for ‘Setting Sun’?

So let’s do an Impact Analysis:

Oracle gets credible hardware business for the first time

It is interesting to see what Oracle would do with Sun’s server and workstation hardware lineup, given that it has very limited experience in this market. Oracle has a small foothold in ‘Appliances’ market with Exadata on which it is partnering with HP.  Appliances are hardware systems that run specific software with minimal setup and tuned to have better performance as compared to same software running on general purpose hardware. But, appliances still form a very insignificant part of the hardware business.

Impact on Open Source Software

Oracle will now have a serious play in open source software and whether they will continue to support the open source stack that Sun was supporting is one of the main worries for supporters and adopters of opens source. While it is highly unlikely that Oracle will stop supporting open source (Oracle does support Open Source – please see http://www.oracle.com/technologies/open-source/index.html for the list) the momentum that Sun had created may get slowed down. If you want to draw a parallel with IBM and why IBM despite being a product vendor supports Open Source, it is clear that one of the main reasons IBM supports Open Source is to increase revenue through services. Oracle as of now does not have credible services organization and that strategy does not make sense for Oracle. Hence, to expect that Oracle will continue to support Open Source with the same zeal as Sun seems a far fetched argument. But, certainly it is not over for Open source. The main worry may be around Java and MySQL – the crown jewels in Sun arsenal.

So what happens to Java and MySQL?

It is likely that given Oracle’s interest in Eclipse (In 2007, Oracle raised its membership level with the Eclipse Foundation to become a Strategic Developer and Board Member of the Eclipse Foundation) Java tools will stay free and open. probably new JRE for Oracle. Fusion has been a mixed success at best – this could impact fusion strategy. Another reasons is that the might of IBM and its customers coupled with strong developers support will force Oracle to keep Java open and vibrant. However, the same cannot be hold true for Sun’s enterprise software stack which could become history – bye-bye Glass Fish, Net Beans, Sun SOA stuff????.

As far as MySQL is considered, it gives Oracle a low cost competitor to SQL server on the low end and when they upgrade, they upgrade to Oracle DB instead of IBM DB2.  Control of mySQL adds to an SMB entry point and the removal of a competitor. However, there is always fear of MySQL cannibalizing upper end Oracle DB. The direction on MySQL is not as obvious as Java and only time can tell strategy Oracle will adopt with respect to MySQL. My sense is that Oracle will not kill MySQL but may just leave it to community to decide its fate.

Cloud Computing

This acquisition certainly gives a boost to Oracle in the increasingly important cloud computing market, a market in which Oracle has been vague in declaring its strategic intentions. Oracle now can be a credible play in PaaS (Platform as a Service) market by leveraging Sun’s recently announced Sun Open Cloud Platform, which is based on Java, MySQL, OpenSolaris and Open Storage.

Analyst Dana Gardner commenting on ZDnet.com writes “All of a sudden Oracle is a major cloud player. By acquiring Sun now it could leap into cloud computing and going up against Amazon never mind Microsoft and IBM. If there is any question about whether Cloud is real or not, this deal should put that to rest. They (Oracle) no longer have a cloud confusing strategy,”.

Implications for enterprise IT buying decisions

Enterprise technology buyers need to be conscious of this new landscape. At this point in time if someone is heavily invested in IBM or Microsoft, they need not worry too much. While Oracle now has a very credible story, the competitiveness of IBM or Microsoft is not under threat. However, if someone was investing heavily in Open Source stack supported by Sun, they need to rethink their strategy. It is clear that this is era of consolidation with IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, HP taking the lead. SAP could be a big impacted player here. Despite few acquisitions by SAP, they have not created the breadth and depth that is now offered by Oracle. At the same time they (SAP) don’t have a clear cloud strategy like other nimble players. So, it is time for enterprise buyers to revisit their procurement strategies and policies, to ensure that they reflect the current and future supplier landscape, one which will only see further consolidation.

Opportunity for Services Company

One disadvantage Oracle would face is the lack of a worldwide professional services organization to support users with an extremely wide range of technical support needs. Most analysts said even an Oracle-Sun combination could not match that of IBM’s $46 billion Global Services unit, and that it would have to form a partnership with a services company.

Summary

To summarize here’s my take:

• This acquisition gives a strong competitive edge to Oracle by providing them a range of high powered hardware, credible play in cloud computing, compelling story for SMB segment and high impact in open source software.
• However, there is no serious threat to IBM or Microsoft. Bigger impact could be on SAP Labs.
• If you are an enterprise buyer heavily invested in Java stack or if you have invested in IBM or Microsoft, you have no cause of immediate concern. Though you may now like to evaluate the choices offered by Oracle rather than going with IBM by default.
• If you are an enterprise buyer who had taken aggressive approach to Open Source Software (though not many such enterprise buyers exist), you need to re-think your strategy.
• If you are an open source software enthusiast (like I am), you may not be happy to see Sun going down, but don’t worry – Sun is never going to set on Open Source Software. The force created by developer’s community is not going to be stopped in anyway by the strength of the mighty!!! Long live the Bazaar!!!