HCLT’s acquisition provides entry into emerging areas

Building off its long-standing partnership with IBM, on Dec. 6 HCL Technologies (HCLT) announced the acquisition of seven IBM Software products for $1.8 billion. The acquisition, which is expected to close in February 2019, includes IBM’s AppScan, BigFix, Notes/Domino, Connections, Digital Experience (DX), Unica and Commerce as well as 10,000-plus existing clients. Each product falls into one of three focus areas: security (AppScan, BigFix); multichannel e-commerce (Commerce, Unica, DX); and collaboration (Notes/Domino, Connections). While these offerings directly tie to HCLT’s Mode 3 products and platforms, they mostly complement Mode 1 and Mode 2 services and solutions, creating the opportunity for HCLT to upsell and cross-sell new services as Mode 2 includes the company’s emerging technology portfolio offerings (i.e., Digital & Analytics, IoT WoRKS, Cloud Native Services, and Cybersecurity & Governance, Risk and Compliance [GRC]).

In August 2017 HCLT and IBM announced an expansion of their partnership, creating five IP products around automation and DevOps solutions, supported by HCLT’s $780 million investment. The partnership intended to shift HCLT’s infrastructure into emerging areas while maintaining growth. The five products developed through this extension of the partnership were included among the seven announced in the planned acquisition. HCLT’s engineering team supported the original product development and will now support the integration of the acquired assets into the HCLT portfolio as well as the development of additional emerging technologies.

Compare to peers

HCLT acquires peers that enhance and build out its core capabilities around emerging technologies. For example, HCLT acquired H&D International Group (June 2018); Butler America Aerospace LLC (January 2017); and Geometric Limited (April 2016) to improve its engineering and R&D skills. HCLT further expanded its business process services offerings and systems integration capabilities by purchasing C3i Solutions (March 2018) and Alpha Insights (September 2017); and Urban Fulfillment Services LLC (April 2017). The acquisitions also support HCLT’s shift from legacy technologies. HCLT’s planned acquisition of the product sets from IBM will elevate the security, commerce and collaboration expertise in HCLT’s portfolio. Peers such as Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro have also been executing an active M&A strategy in areas such as digital design to support transformation engagements (e.g., Wipro’s acquisition of Syfte and TCS’ acquisition of W12). Additionally, Cognizant purchased Advanced Technology Group (ATG) and SaaSfocus to add Salesforce advisory and integration services.

What does this mean for HCLT?

Short term

Pending the acquisition’s close, HCLT integrates the solutions within its Mode 3 products and platforms business and onboards new clients. Following the addition of IBM’s salesforce around these products through the acquisition, HCLT will benefit from a more seamless transition for clients currently under the IBM brand as it gains the specialists and salesforce maintaining the client relations as well as a quicker sales turnaround. Further, HCLT will focus on pursuing new client relationships using Unica, AppScan, Commerce and Big Fix to create additional revenue streams from the products formerly under the IBM umbrella. However, HCLT will seek to cross-sell the application capabilities of Domino/Notes to its existing client base.

Long term

HCLT plans to enhance Mode 1 and Mode 2 services and solutions using the acquired products by adding its security, commerce and digital marketing expertise. The products will enable HCLT to leverage a SaaS delivery model for its infrastructure management engagements, supporting the company’s shift into higher-profit software-driven services. HCLT will also improve its position within a variety of vertical markets as the products will bring existing product users, building its expertise around environment management. While the products will add SaaS capabilities, HCLT could benefit from pursuing a strategic partnership with a consulting vendor, such as PwC, or further expanding its relationship with IBM to access consulting services. The addition of services would improve HCLT’s ability to integrate the acquired products within its existing client relationships and transition clients into a different delivery model. This would allow HCLT to increase its client-facing expertise, enabling the company to work more closely with clients and coinnovate within transformation engagements. The additional client base creates the opportunity for HCLT to increase the volume of transactions and accelerate revenue growth, but HCLT will need to quickly onboard new clients and effectively communicate new offerings to transition engagements with existing clients and capitalize on the additional products and market.

Last month my colleagues Bozhidar Hristov and Elitsa Bakalova joined me for a chat with the Capgemini executives who are leading the company’s new security operations center (SOC) in Columbia, S.C. Drew Morefield and Ninad Purohit explained that the new SOC will become part of a global network of 10 SOCs and close to 4,500 cybersecurity experts. Listening to Morefield and Purohit explain the firm’s offerings and capabilities, starting with an acknowledgement of the overwhelming volume of data and existing, often fragmented, cybersecurity programs and policies enterprises have in place now, we gained an appreciation for Capgemini’s approach to digital strategy and end-to-end cybersecurity capabilities.

We also discussed scale and global reach. In North America Capgemini has a satellite R&D-centric SOC in Dallas that is used as a technology incubator and an experience center. Morefield and Purohit noted that Capgemini will further expand its SOC resources and security services capabilities in North America in the coming months with facilities in Foxborough, Mass. (home of the New England Patriots) and San Diego that Capgemini will gain after the acquisition of Leidos Cyber is complete (subject to anti-trust and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States approvals expected this month).

So why Columbia, S.C.? Quite simply, a combination of prime real estate and readily accessible talent. In a previous acquisition, Capgemini took over a physical structure ideal for a SOC and a new Advanced Technology Development Center. Perhaps more importantly, Columbia itself hosts the University of South Carolina, a natural pipeline for young talent, and the area includes three military installations, a perfect source of experienced cybersecurity veterans. In Capgemini’s words, “high-quality people, a central location, and the best technology.”

OK, so will Capgemini use the new SOC as a draw for new clients, not just new talent? Morefield and Purohit said the security practice would mirror strategic efforts across the global company by focusing on expanding its footprint with existing clients, particularly those that “already believe in Capgemini, have trust with” the company, and are looking to change their cybersecurity services vendor or posture.

Does this new SOC set Capgemini apart from the competition? Maybe not, but so what? The company does not need groundbreaking or unique security offerings to win new work with existing clients, the target market for the Capgemini security practice. The company needs talented people, excellent facilities and access to the best technology through alliances, all complemented by global scale and global delivery. Cementing those fundamentals, building partnerships with the university through recruiting and with the greater Columbia community by investing in veterans, and continuing to expand capabilities and scale globally should sustain double-digit growth and reward Capgemini’s decision to invest in cyber, along with digital and cloud.

Now we need to go visit. (For additional insights, read our blog on EY and special report on Accenture.)

In discussing EY’s recently released Global Information Security Survey with the firm’s Americas Cybersecurity leaders, TBR heard a compelling case for an industry-led approach to anticipating the future of cybersecurity and overall risk. The EY leaders noted the firm echoes its overall industry-led go-to-market approach in cybersecurity, adding that understanding security gaps to be addressed by a company in contrast to security gaps necessarily tackled by the industry as a whole could be the key to properly meeting clients’ current and future cybersecurity risks. Anticipating future cybersecurity needs within the context of an industry’s specific emerging trends — think cars becoming connected, forcing auto manufacturers into the software and connectivity business — could help clients answer their most frequent question, “How do I make smart capital allocation decisions with respect to cyber?”

Echoing sentiments TBR has heard from other consultancies, most notably PwC and Accenture, the EY leaders added that clients increasingly want to know more than just what is best in breed and what minimally meets regulatory requirements. Clients ask what cybersecurity startups and technology-centric companies have developed, what best practices can be learned across multiple industries, and, tellingly for EY and its competitors, what EY can bring to the table. On the last point, TBR has seen a substantial shift in the way EY develops and deploys technology, particularly cross-practice solutions (such as cybersecurity within a supply chain engagement). As we reported from Toronto this summer and the previous year in New York City, EY has fully embraced consulting in an assets-based digital transformation age.

Still to come: How EY will utilize the findings from its survey to move the needle on boards allocating more resources to cybersecurity, and how the firm will attract, train and retain cybersecurity talent, particularly as nontraditional vendors increasingly move into EY’s cybersecurity space.  

As we wrap up the quarter, just a few key items are left including the four reports listed below, the Management Consulting Benchmark and predictions for 2019.

Here’s what’s coming this week:

Thursday: Our semiannual deep dive on DXC Technology’s healthcare IT services (HITS) practice includes our assessment that DXC’s long-awaited return to HITS growth remains elusive in the face of stubborn post-merger disruptions and poor contract performance. However, we had expected the company’s recent traction in APAC and select European markets would work in concert with rebounding IT spending patterns in the U.S.-based payer sector, the ongoing bull market in life sciences IT investment, and DXC’s acquisition of Molina Medicaid Solutions to launch a period of renewed HITS revenue growth. The report also includes scenarios on DXC’s acquisitions and the company’s activities in the Middle East.

Friday:

• In our mid-November initial report on Cisco Services, TBR noted that the company sustained growth in 3Q18 by attaching services to Cisco’s growth initiatives around next-generation solutions. Our full report will explore the drivers behind that growth and include scenarios around streamlining headcount in the Customer Experience business, which includes Cisco’s software, subscription and services activities; transforming clients’ IT operations at speed and scale utilizing predictive services powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning; and expanding cloud-related offerings by partnering with Google Cloud, SAP and Amazon Web Services.
• With SAIC’s earnings release slated for Friday, TBR will be looking to see if the company conformed with our July assessment that SAIC needs to address federal priorities as a low-cost alternative in IT modernization, platform integration and training, as well as expand into underpenetrated areas of the federal market organically and/or through acquisitions.
• Finally, our semiannual look at NTT DATA’s HITS practice will acknowledge that the 2017 acquisition of Dell Services’ healthcare assets was a major undertaking, but is now complete and has significantly enhanced NTT DATA’s capabilities across multiple healthcare segments. In addition, the report includes scenarios around alliances and virtualization in the healthcare IT space.

Big mergers bring big risks: Compaq and Digital Equipment Corporation, a tragicomedy

Compaq proved in the early 1980s you could buy non-IBM hardware and not get fired in the process by creating a portable PC that could be lugged around by weightlifters. Ultimately, Compaq struggled trying to move up the stack into the peer-to-peer networking space, as Dell and Gateway undercut Compaq’s undercutting of IBM PC price points, and made a big acquisition of Digital Equipment Corporation to buy enterprise server direct sales and services. But culturally, Compaq choked off the very assets the company desired by imposing volume business sales cost controls onto an enterprise-selling organization. In the end Compaq wound up being absorbed by Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), which has acquired many hardware companies over the years.

What are the lessons learned for IBM-Red Hat?

IBM has decided to invest one-third of its market cap in acquiring Red Hat for $34 billion. Essentially IBM bought the ecosystem engine necessary to create the flywheel effect of IP services and support. There are synergies, to be sure, on the support of open foundations that have accelerated product commoditization in ways that benefit customers and pressure technology vendor business models across the entire technology spectrum. At issue will be which pieces of two different cultures and business best practices prevail, for, as Peter Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

What can IBM learn?

Red Hat pioneered the business model of monetizing services around free products. This stands diametrically opposed to the best-in-class blue suit selling model made famous by IBM and increasingly less relevant in the digital economy. Red Hat generates 75% of its revenue through the channel. Given that scale matters less, IBM has to improve its downmarket selling motions. Red Hat best practices should be imported into the current IBM selling motions as quickly as reasonably possible.

Red Hat also has near-zealous support among the developer community. Again, allowing Red Hat leadership to help shape new developer programs, run the Red Hat way from the wealth of IBM assets, will be critical lest those supporters migrate to another Linux distro such as Suse or Canonical.

What can Red Hat learn?

IBM has enterprise trust to solve critical technical integration problems soundly and securely. It likewise has access to more CxO decision makers in the enterprise. Success of the proposed acquisition will be as much adding more product to an existing sales channel as it will be to tailor messages to the decision makers while preserving the uniquely ardent support Red Hat has with the teams writing the code.

More to follow from TBR

A more extensive TBR Business of One special report, IBM-Red Hat economic implications: Is disruptive state the new steady state?, will be out shortly, written with Professional Services Practice Manager Patrick Heffernan. Recent commentaries are also available by Cassandra Mooshian, Big Blue opens its arms, and its wallet, to Red Hat; and Michael Soper, Red Hat can save CSPs from themselves.