Oracle wants to sell proprietary appliances? Fat chance...

So Oracle, having bought Sun, wants to retain Sun's hardware portfolio. How much sense does that make?

Look at it this way. Server and data centre managers love the way that servers have become commoditise and standardised. They all work the same, use the same chips, and run the same software. They're interchangeable, they're cheaper, and they're more reliable because of that standardisation, not least because it's easy to find well-qualified people to run them. Fewer chances for finger-poking f**k-ups.

Now look at what Sun's selling: mainly proprietary hardware, though admittedly with more of a nod towards standard hardware than before. And Oracle? Proprietary software. Put the two together and you can sell closed (and so expensive, high-margin) appliances, runs Oracle's thinking.

No-one, not even IBM, is making that model work. Sun couldn't: that's why it's balance sheet bled red ink for years.

So what are the odds of this plan working? You tell me, but I wouldn't bet a wooden threepenny bit. If you have to ask...