TBR Weekly Preview: March 4-8

As we start winding down beginning-of-the-year earnings calls, here’s what you can expect from the TBR team this week:

Tuesday:

• In 3Q18 TBR noted Salesforce built on its industry-specific strategies by releasing Financial Services Cloud for retail banking and by expanding its target audience for Education Cloud. Salesforce’s ongoing innovation to address vertical use cases and ability to understand customers’ business needs enabled the vendor to execute multiproduct deals in 4Q18. TBR expects Salesforce will close 4Q18 with $12.2 billion in annual revenue, keeping the vendor on track to attain its $21 billion to $23 billion annual revenue goal in 2021. (See Jack McElwee for more analysis.)

• Google Cloud’s hiring of Thomas Kurian as CEO (replacing Diane Greene) is meant to attract enterprise customers and facilitate stronger competition at scale with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft; Kurian, former Oracle president of Product Development, brings deep understanding and detailed messaging on the technical and business impacts of cloud. TBR’s 4Q18 report will detail Google Cloud’s continued innovation among its core AI and ML portfolios while partnering and leveraging Kurian’s clout to gain enterprise mindshare, which will be increasingly critical to long-term success. (For everything Google and cloud, see Cassandra Mooshian.)

Thursday:

• Cisco continues to grow revenue as it transforms itself through acquisitions, divestments and new product releases that enable the company to reduce its reliance on hardware — a commoditizing market — and embrace software. TBR’s 4Q18 Cisco report will include deep dives on Cisco’s most recent acquisitions, including Luxtera, which will help Cisco attract more webscale spend and improve the performance of its proprietary-based solutions, as well as Ensoft and Singularity Networks, which will broaden Cisco’s software capabilities in the service provider space. (Mike Soper leads TBR’s analysis on Cisco.)
• TBR will also report on Cisco Services and the company’s expansion around software and next-generation solutions, which has created advisory and implementation opportunities that enabled Cisco Services to accelerate growth in 2018. An increase in software-related services as well as adoption of next-generation secure and intelligent platforms and products that support clients’ digital business will create attached services opportunities for Cisco Services, driving revenue expansion throughout 2019. (For more on Cisco Services, see Kelly Lesiczka.)
• TBR’s latest report on Perspecta will provide an update on how the fledgling company is managing the task of integrating three legacy organizations into a unified whole. In past reports, we have talked about how the company’s innovation incubator, Perspecta Labs, underpins its long-term position in the federal services landscape. Our 4Q18 Perspecta report will dive more deeply into how the company introduces Perspecta Labs to its biggest client, the U.S. Navy, in advance of the recompete of Perspecta’s largest contract, which entails managing the Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network. (Joey Cresta heads up TBR’s Public Sector practice.)
• As reported in our initial response, NetApp earned $1.6 billion in revenue in 4Q18, representing a 1.6% year-to-year increase. Strong 1H18 revenue momentum enabled the vendor to achieve solid year-to-year revenue growth for 2018, demonstrating the success of some of NetApp’s strategic moves during the year. Our full report will dive into the 2018 establishment of a cloud infrastructure business unit that will enable NetApp to pivot its portfolio further in 2019, as the company, one of the few major pure play storage vendors left in the market, transforms itself to establish its brand as one that enables customers’ digital transformations. (See Stephanie Long for more analysis.)

Friday:

• Utilizing its technology expertise and ability to address clients’ business challenges, Capgemini reached its 2018 revenue growth and profitability goals and is confidently moving into 2019. Capgemini’s bookings reached their highest level since 1Q17 in 4Q18. In the latest full report, TBR will note how the increase in bookings, combined with Capgemini’s unified go-to-market approach; enhanced offerings around digital, cloud and industry-specific solutions; and reinforced expertise via training and reskilling, will enable the company to sustain revenue growth. (Elitsa Bakalova covers Capgemini for TBR.)

Be on the lookout for additional analysis from TBR, including assessments of Accenture Technology and TELUS International. TBR’s next webinar will be held March 20 and feature Senior Analyst John Caucis talking about healthcare IT services.