Sun/Microsoft Settlement & Asymmetric Marketing

Here's a link to today's announcement about the deal between Sun and Microsoft. While the press is focused on the legal settlement, the really important thing here is the 10 year technology collaboration agreement. It demonstrates that Sun has decided to cease being in denial about the extent and importance of the Microsoft ecosystem. It's the right thing to do for Sun and absolutely demonstrates Microsoft's mastery of asymmetric marketing. Sun's dramatic revenue declines since the bursting of the dotcom bubble coupled with Microsoft's continuous growth is what really got the 2 sides together. Remember back when Microsoft helped bail out Apple and got them to bundle Internet Explorer? Look for near term announcements that help both companies define the 'market interfaces' between the Sun installed base and the Microsoft installed base. This can't be good for Oracle either, especially in the wake of losing out on the Peoplesoft acquisition. Will be watching this one as it develops.