Insights for IT Negotiations

Part of SAP’s 2019 Capital Markets Day presentation centered on “The SAP Top Ten” which includes SAP’s ambition to be #1 in Cloud ERP by 2023. There was also a significant amount of time devoted to C/4HANA’s evolution, its position against competitors like Salesforce, and how the recent acquisition of Qualtrix comes into play. Host: Chip Hanna: https://bit.ly/37gknCk SAP Commercial Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/3yjImwb

Oracle’s recent legal battles with the U.S. government have been widely reported. Here is a brief summary of the two prominent legal battles and what they could mean for Oracle customers. Host: Jeff Lazarto: https://bit.ly/37eCXdN Oracle Commercial Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/3jdtF7p

In July of 2018, Oracle released a new subscription-based pricing model for Java SE (Standard Edition) and announced certain changes that went into effect in January of 2019. These licensing changes sparked confusion and widespread concern among customers. In this podcast, Erwann Couesbot touches some of the changes Oracle made, who in particular will be affected, and how organizations will be affected. For more information on Oracle’s updated Java licensing, read our recent blog: Using Java? Here’s How Oracle’s New 2019 Java Licensing Affects You. Host: Erwann Couesbot: https://bit.ly/2WIKJdX Oracle Commercial Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/3C8PnSR

ServiceNow has long been known as an IT helpdesk but in recent years, they have evolved into much more than that. As they strive to become the ultimate digital transformation platform, they have made behavioral and licensing changes to drive adoption of new solutions and expand into lines of business outside of IT. In this podcast, Erik Bullard discusses ServiceNow’s land and expand strategy and what to watch out for prior to your next renewal. For more information on this topic, read our recent blog: ServiceNow ITSA Unlimited Customers: Beware of These Licensing Changes. Host: Erik Bullard: https://bit.ly/2Voe4K6 ServiceNow Commercial Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/3ls6VDt

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported Q4 and full year earnings that beat expectations across the board. The company did not provide a lot of detail regarding its cloud business which is part of its “Other Business” category. What they did mention is that they doubled the number of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) deals worth more than $1M and doubled the number of multi-year contracts. Regarding G-Suite, they noted that they now have 5 million paying customers -- up from 4 million a year ago. It is clear that Google is going to invest and scale when it comes to their Google Cloud business. Enterprises will need to chart their course appropriately and this podcast details key points to consider on why you should plan and how to plan.

Still running SAP ECC? You’re not alone but with support ending in 2025, you’ll need to make a decision about where you’ll move to soon. Unfortunately, SAP hasn’t shared customer success and failure data pertaining to the S/4hana platform. So how do you know if S/4HANA is your best choice? In this podcast, Ted Rogers discusses what you should keep in mind when seriously considering a migration to S/4HANA. For more, read his recent blog: Migrating SAP S/4HANA Could Get You Fired. Not Deciding on S/4HANA Will Probably Get You Fired. Host: Ted Rogers: https://bit.ly/2V7h1z3 Project Execution Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/3xlw9px

ServiceNow had their strongest Q4 ever with $665M in subscription revenue, representing 33% growth. They closed 51 transactions in the quarter with over $1M in annual contract value (ACV). They now have 678 customers with over $1M in ACV, which represents 33% growth. ServiceNow is not only successfully selling their core IT products (ITSM, ITOM, ITBM, ITAM) but they are also having success with their emerging products (CSM, HR, Security Ops, Intelligent Apps). 31% of net new ACV was tied to emerging products, up from 25% last year. Expect ServiceNow to continue to focus on their current customer relationships to drive growth moving forward. They know that there is a large opportunity to continue to drive revenue through expansion of their products, adding new products, and increasing the use of what is already landed. Host: Adam Mansfield: https://bit.ly/3rPGp8r ServiceNow Commercial Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/3ls6VDt

Microsoft Q2 FY19 revenue reached $32.5B which once again represented double-digit revenue growth. Commercial Cloud revenue was $9B and grew an impressive 48%. Office 365, which is part of the Commercial Cloud revenue, grew 34%. This growth was primarily driven by a 27% growth in the number of seats as well as an increase in the revenue per Office 365 user. Revenue per Office 365 user increased as more enterprises migrated to higher value (and costly) E3 and E5 plans. Azure revenue is not reported but it grew 76%, which in a vacuum is impressive but sequentially this represents flat growth when it grew 98% back in Q2 FY18. Based on these results, you should fully expect Microsoft to continue to push enterprises to more robust Office 365 plans and promote the need to use Azure and the cloud bundle Microsoft 365, especially for Firstline Workers. Host: Adam Mansfield: https://bit.ly/3rPGp8r Microsoft Commercial Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/2V78ADX

Google has announced that starting April 2, 2019, the pricing associated with Google's G Suite Basic and Business plans will increase by 20%. G Suite Enterprise pricing will not be affected by the planned increases. This is the first significant announcement made by Google Cloud since Thomas Kurian took over this year. Even though these increases will directly impact small to mid-size businesses they also have possible (and likely) ramifications for larger businesses that utilize or are considering adopting Google's G Suite Enterprise plan.

While Microsoft may want to overwhelm you with new products and solutions at NRF’s Big Show, don’t forget to leave with insight that is valuable to you. Definitely understand what is new and what is coming, but also prepare to ask the right questions of Microsoft. Host: Adam Mansfield: https://bit.ly/3rPGp8r Microsoft Commercial Advisory Services: https://bit.ly/2V78ADX