Loiacono to head Sun SW biz

SAN FRANCISCO: Sun Microsystems Inc. named John Loiacono as head of its software business, replacing Jonathan Schwartz, who last week was named president and chief operating officer of the network computer maker, the company said on Monday.

Loiacono, 43, will oversee all of Sun's software business, which includes its Solaris version of the Unix operating system; the Java Enterprise System, which are business applications and middleware; the Java Desktop System, which Sun is seeking to establish as an alternative to Microsoft; its StarOffice productivity software; and its N1 computing efforts.

Many of those initiatives were spearheaded by Schwartz, 38, whom Sun co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Scott McNealy, named as his second-in-command on Friday.

Loiacono previously was in charge of Sun's operating platforms group that include the Solaris and Linux operating systems, as well as the Java Enterprise System, or JES.

Last week, Sun and its bitter archrival Microsoft agreed to bury the legal hatchet, with Microsoft paying Sun about $2 billion to settle all outstanding litigation between the two. The accord paves the way for unprecedented collaboration between the two technology heavyweights.

Sun is also laying off another 3,300 workers, or about 10 percent of its work force, as quarterly results will be lower than analysts' expectations. The Santa Clara, California, company has already had several rounds of layoffs since its business turned south following the implosion of the dot-com and telecommunications bubbles in 2001.

© Reuters