SANTA CLARA, Calif., -- Sun Microsystems unveiled its strategy to more deeply integrate services into Sun's role as an infrastructure provider for network computing environments. Sun Services' executive vice president, Patricia Sueltz, outlined the approach for capturing and delivering intellectual property (IP)-based services to customers. Central to Sun's services strategy and vision is the "Intellectual Property Life Cycle" -- how Sun captures and delivers IP to customers to help lower costs and better assure high availability. "Services are increasingly important to companies deploying complex computing environments," stated Sueltz. "Unlike our key competitors, Sun is mobilizing its collective intellectual property and working with its iForce(SM) partners to create preemptive, best-in-class solutions that offer customers choice and control." Sun Services' IP Life Cycle approach builds on years of experience in capturing services hardware/software knowledge, patterns, methodologies and best practices, including Sun(TM) BluePrints; Sun(TM) Reliability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS) Profile; and solutions such as the Java(TM) Center of Excellence. This life-cycle approach is an integral part of Sun technology innovations such as N1 and edge computing. It also develops new services approaches -- such as ways to solve and prevent problems, and ways to deliver services via Sun or in collaboration with partners and new business models for services delivery, all integrated into an overall solution. New IP-based Services Debut Demonstrating its services innovation, Sun today announced four new services offerings: -- Sun Install Check for Volume Systems that helps deliver Sun's N1 technologies to customers. Delivering on Sun's N1 concept of ena blingcustomer system self-administration, the Sun Install Check is now available as a free download for all Sun[tm] Fire 280R, V480 and V880 systems. Using Sun Install Check, customers can better assure an optimized installation and thus realize faster ROI from their computing resources. Please see the install check link at http://sunsolve.sun.com/ for more information. -- Sun Software Support Services Program that gives customers more choice and flexibility in obtaining comprehensive support for Sun Software. This new program will help customers to lower total cost of ownership for Sun software through support and maintenance by simplifying customer choice and providing access to an expanded support infrastructure with expertise for the broad portfolio of Sun software. For more information on Sun's software and other support programs, please visit www.sun.com/service/support/ -- Quick Start Service for Network Identity demonstrates key concepts of a Network Identity infrastructure. This new service is specifically designed to illustrate a simple use case scenario of an open Network Identity infrastructure based on the Sun Open Net Environment (Sun ONE software platform. The new Quick Start service is the next step in building out a suite of Network Identity services designed to help customers architect, implement and manage a complete network identity infrastructure. For additional information on Sun consulting services for Network Identity, please visit http://www.sun.com/service/sunps/ni/ -- High-Performance eLearning Program helps organizations reduce risk, increase value of enterprise learning. Coming soon, this new learning program combines Sun's latest Sun Enterprise Learning Platform technology, its global education consulting services and its extensive curriculum from leading content providers with a new Performance Metrics and Return-on-Investment Service into a comprehensive learning solution. For more information on Sun enterprise learning solutions, please visit www.sun.com/training Sun Services will continue to develop IP-based services to help its customers create and deploy networked computing infrastructures. For more information about Sun Services and its offerings, please visit www.sun.com/service