IBM Can Probably Sell Sun Better than Sun Can

To be clear, IBM has plenty of good technology, too. But it is in marketing, sales and services that IBM holds the clear advantage—very important business ingredients that Sun has lacked for a long, long time.

IBM Global Services' well-oiled organization runs rings around Sun's services group, as it does around just about every competitor's, except perhaps Hewlett-Packard's. Sheer size and reputation have always been the major factors here.

From a business perspective, such a deal looks promising at this early date. Investors at both companies should be excited. Sun's stock was up nearly 80 percent to $9 on March 18, and you can bet it will continue to gain value as these talks intensify. IBM's stock was down a tad, but so what? It's sitting pretty at $91.

IBM Can Probably Sell Sun Better than Sun Can