Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems' 2010 acquisition by Oracle for $7.4 billion ended the workstation pioneer that coined 'the network is the computer.' Sun had dominated the Unix workstation market but faced disruption from Linux servers running on commodity Intel hardware. Sun's server margins collapsed as Dell and HP offered equivalent performance at lower prices. Java and Solaris couldn't generate enough revenue to offset hardware decline. Sun demonstrated that proprietary advantages erode when open alternatives reach parity.