The JCP, however, is not as open as proponents say, and "straddles the line between open and proprietary," Ronald Schmelzer, analyst for technology researcher ZapThink LLC, said. Sun still retains ownership of Java, while letting the industry add new technology to the platform.
IBM's offer places Sun in a tough position because its strength in the software industry is closely tied to Java, Schmelzer said.
"You can't talk about Java without talking about Sun," Schmelzer said. "If they give up the stewardship of Java, then they may actually become less and less relevant, because Sun would become just another Java company."
Schmelzer believes the stakes are high for Sun. "If Sun drops the ball on these things, then the bottom might fall out for the company," he said. "What are Sun's real competitive differentiators beyond hardware on the software side?"
While Sun has a large business in selling software infrastructure products, its overall revenue is still dominated by sales of powerful computers for running databases and other business software.
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