ALTHOUGH the ink has dried on Sun’s multi-billion dollar acquisitions of StorageTek and Seebeyond, there is still a lot of work to be done to integrate the two companies into their new parent.
Sun announced plans in June to acquire StorageTek for US$4.1 billion and Seebeyond for US$387 million and the companies are now being rolled into divisions within Sun.
As of September 1, Sun and StorageTek are presenting themselves as one company with one set of terms and conditions, with StorageTek part of Sun’s newly formed data management group, formerly known as the network storage group.
But according to StorageTek country manager David Tse, details of what the data management division will entail are still being smoothed out.
“Obviously there is a bunch of IP around storage that Sun has inherited through the acquisition and that will take time to sort out. In terms of presenting to customers and partners it’s still business as usual until those details are confirmed,” he says.
Those details include Tse’s exact role in the new regime, tipped to be as head of the data management group, leaving Sun country manager Peter Idoine in his current position.
Both Tse and Idoine describe it as a relief to have the acquisition out of the way.
“There doesn’t seem to be any confusion about the merger, in fact customers seem very clear about the value proposition this presents,” says Idoine.
Meanwhile, it’s also business at usual at Seebeyond, which is now a subsidiary in Sun’s software division.
Seebeyond general manager Rob Erskine continues to manage the former Seebeyond range, which is being rebranded to Sun Java Integration Suite.
“It is exciting to join forces with Sun,” says Erskine. “The synergies between the two companies are very strong and we believe in the same principles.”
Idoine says Sun acquired the Seebeyond technology as it aligns very well with its own software stack and to fuel its growth.
