The article John Dunlop linked has the following:
Chris Dial, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass...
said: "I don't know who would buy it. I'm not sure who has the money or who
needs the technology."
========
How about Microsoft? As they settle the cases against them, they can relax
and start acquiring other companies with that "pile of cash" that they have
accumulated and tried to hide. So MS has the money, not that this is a news
flash.

Do they need the technology? Well, maybe they can use it. They had been
selling their ability to integrate with non-MS technologies. There are
rumblings about MS buying one or more professional services (PS) groups,
most likely existing MS Alliance Partners. Obviously, the market has to
believe that while MS will sell PS clients as much MS software as they can,
clients are inclined to buy no more than they need. And that implies trying
to keep everything they already have. Middleware makes that an easier sell.
And, as "everything they already have" ages and looks like a candidate for
being "refreshed" (read replaced, with newer bigger faster), the transition
to MS solutions becomes no more painful than it is apparent, and as painless
as it is transparent.

And both the old HP and Compaq have been pretty cozy with Microsoft. This
could be done, if only as a political marriage between two royal families.

Greg Stigers
http://www.cgiusa.com

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