The failure of Sun Ray: Innovation trauma is the likely cause

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review a paper on the failure of the Sun Ray computer.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments.

Findings

In September 1999 Sun Microsystems launched a product that they expected would sell a million units in its second year. The Sun Ray, a simple, low‐cost computer that ran from a central server elsewhere, was hailed by executives and journalists as a breakthrough in desktop computing. Nearly ten years on, though, and the computer is barely known outside of the technology industry, having never met anywhere near its predicted sales. What went wrong?

Practical implications

The paper offers explanations for the failure of a potentially very successful product, warning that prior innovations may hinder an organization's effort to refine and promote a new, related innovation.

Originality/value

The paper reviews a rare attempt to understand the emotional costs on innovation failures.

Citation

(2009), "The failure of Sun Ray: Innovation trauma is the likely cause", Strategic Direction, Vol. 25 No. 6, pp. 36-37. https://doi.org/10.1108/02580540910952226