"For it organizations with large investments in mainframes, this is an increasing challenge. With no real competitors left in the mainframe server business, the cost of the associated hardware and software licenses continue their rapid rate of increase." (Sun Microsystems, Inc.) the mainframe-based businesses today are all trying to quickly convert to more Sun Microsystems like approaches to computerizing. When Sun creates products and services like the Mainframe Affinity Program, it is clear they are in tune with the needs of the business world. "Through the Mainframe Affinity Program, Sun offers products, tools, partnerships and services that help enable you to interoperate with, rehost or replace mainframe applications on more cost-efficient, open platforms - often at equal or greater levels of performance, flexibility and scalability. Sun's services experts, teaming with partners, put technology and proven services methodologies to work to help you meet your migration needs, including high reliability, cost-effectiveness, operational optimization, business agility, and innovation adoption. Sun mainframe rehosting solutions help enable you to reuse your mainframe applications and data files on high performance, high availability Sun servers and to redefine total cost of ownership across your it organization, resulting in up to 70% cost savings." (Sun Microsystems, Inc.) Thus, Sun offers many e-business solutions. "In 1998, WorldCom merged with MCI, the second largest long-distance company in the U.S. In late 2000, WorldCom purchased Digex to expand its global Web hosting capabilities. The company was undergoing tremendous organizational change while expanding the types of services it delivered. Meanwhile, WorldCom was struggling to keep up with rapidly evolving technology." (World Com Inc.)

Sun's e-business solutions in this case were instrumental at reducing the blurred distinctions between voice and data services. The key was that Suns process was highly efficient and reliable and therefore solved many concerns through "improved manageability of networks by integrating disparate legacy systems and new Internet-based initiatives, thereby improving network management and facilitating the convergence of voice and data networks; reduced costs of ownership and improved efficiencies by managing both legacy and IP networks in the same way, thus avoiding redundancy in staff while improving overall productivity;...

For example, Internet access market grew from $7.9 billion in 2000 to well over $16 billion this year and even with some declines in overall bandwidth prices, the market still has been forecast to grow at a pace of sixteen percent over the course of the next five-year period. "The Web hosting services market is one of the most rapidly growing segments of the it industry and the Internet economy in general. Web hosting is a core component of this economy because, in many respects, hosting is its platform or foundation." (World Com Inc.)
Conclusion

In conclusion, by all apparent outcomes in the industry, the consensus seems to be that Sun offers an efficient process that gets the job right and their overall E-business system as demonstrated in the educational arena and through the highly successful outcomes at WorldCom, the process is well organized and cost effective. Like many aspects of the computing industry, product and cost requirements are relative to each individual requirement. A mom and pop shop will have very different needs than WorldCom, but the key is that the e-business solutions offered by Sun are effective and that employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders and end users are satisfied. There is no doubt that Sun as an organization aim to meet customer expectations and that the Sun Microsystems e-business solution can enhance any business. "We engineer radical technology solutions that solve impossible problems for businesses, government, and institutions." (Sun Microsystems, Inc.)

Works Cited

Cisco Systems. (n.d.). E-marketing. Retrieved on May 20, 2005, at http://www.cisco.com/.

Sun Microsystems, Inc. Solutions: Education and Research. Retrieved on May 20, 2005, at http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/solutions/index.html#business_solutions.

World Com Inc. "Mission-Critical Enterprise Systems Deliver." IDC eBusiness Case Study (2002).

Yahoo Finance. Sun Micro Systems. Yahoo Finance. Retrieve on May 20, 2005, at http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=SUNW&t=my

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