McNealy said he has been grooming his replacement, former COO, Jonathon Schwartz for years and analysts are confident Sun will regain some of its old swagger and profitability under the new leadership. But he's going to have to show some real mettle to kick-start a turn-around and this includes making the tough operational cuts such as further layoffs - moves McNealy had avoided.

Announcing his heir apparent, McNealy praised Schwartz's bravery claiming, "He's got something very rare, and that's courage."

And true to form, Schwartz wasn't slow to pick up his sword and start espousing his new battle plan which includes acquisitions in the open source market.

"Are there acquisition opportunities out there? Absolutely," he said. "We will be one of the consolidators in the open source industry."

Go forth and be brave Jonathon Schwartz, because it's going to take a lion to lead Sun in the IT jungle.