Podcast: Continued Strategies for Engaging SAP SIs in this Economic Downturn
October 19, 2020
Many customers are sharing their financial challenges with their system integrators - especially as it relates to priorities, allocation of funding, and the state of the business. But asking your SI what staffing issues they may have and where they stand in relation to their own revenue targets is equally important as it can shed light on whether your SI is willing to commit to more collaboration. In this podcast, Chip Hanna, UpperEdge’s Advisory Practice Director, discusses four strategies for working with your SIs during times of financial uncertainty. Listen for more insights and read Chip’s blog, “4 Strategies for Engaging SAP SI's During This Downturn”.
Podcast: 3 Questions Regarding Why SAP Digital Access is Still a Mess
October 19, 2020
If you’re an existing SAP customer, how can you determine what your licensing requirements are under the Digital Access Model? Truth be told, the answer hasn’t gotten any clearer. SAP has since introduced a Digital Access Evaluation service to help, however this is a guise for a soft audit which SAP will use to find gaps in your licensing to immediately monetize. Chip Hanna, UpperEdge’s Advisory Practice Director discusses these issues and more in this podcast and in his blog, “SAP and Digital Access – It’s Still a Mess”
Podcast: The Qualtrics IPO: 3 Questions for SAP and Qualtrics Customers
September 25, 2020
Chip Hanna, UpperEdges Sr. Director answers 3 questions regarding the Qualtrics IPO and its impact on its customers.
1. How much control do you have in your agreement with Qualtrics now and in the future?
2. If considering a major investment in Qualtrics, or the C/4HANA Suite, should you buy now or wait until after the IPO?
3. How does this all fit with your plans to migrate from ECC to S/4?Podcast: VIBE for Workday Adds Diversity and Inclusion Features to its HCM Software
September 22, 2020
Workday launches VIBE (Value Inclusion Belonging in Equity) and other new products that tie into its HCM platform. These new products are designed to add functionality as it relates to inclusion and diversity. There are two products, VIBE Central, which centralizes inclusion and diversity data to more easily track progress against benchmarks. The second product is...
Podcast: How Customers Should Prepare for 25,000 Accenture Layoffs
September 21, 2020
Accenture will be cutting 5% of its workforce, which equates to 25,000 employees. This is a normal practice for the company to continually improve on their talent base. What’s not normal is that Accenture’s CEO, Julie Sweet, said that the annual rehiring of new talent to exceed the 5% loss would be halted. With the lack of new talent coming into Accenture, companies should expect to see a shortage of top talent in key roles going forward. In this podcast, Greg Hall shares what customers can do to ensure they receive the most value from Accenture despite these layoffs.
Podcast: Salesforce Shield and How Customers Can Reduce Costs
September 14, 2020
In this interview-style podcast, Salesforce Practice Leader, Adam Mansfield, discusses how addressing the fees tied to Salesforce Shield is an often overlooked way to reduce your Salesforce costs. He shares some of the pricing and commercial concerns associated with Salesforce’s security add-on and provides his recommendations for how customers can address those concerns to gain greater transparency, lower the cost of Salesforce Shield, and ultimately reduce their overall Salesforce costs.
Podcast: Oracle Licensing Expert Answers Questions on Java Inquiries
September 2, 2020
Oracle Java Account Representatives are surprising Oracle customers with out-of-the-blue calls where they ask specific questions about the customer’s Java use. These calls have sparked concern among recipients who worry that this might be the start of an audit. In this interview-style podcast, our Marketing Manager asks Oracle Practice Leader, Jeff Lazarto, what these Java inquiry calls are really about, what Oracle customers should do, and why he thinks these calls are on the rise.
Podcast: SAP Extends DAAP to End of 2021 But Not Everyone Should Adopt
August 28, 2020
SAP customers will eventually have to move from Indirect Access to Digital Access. In an effort to speed up this process (which benefits SAP), SAP created their Digital Access Adoption Program (DAAP). The financial answers to know whether to stay on Indirect Access past 12/21 or to take advantage of the program are complex. Devin Djerf, UpperEdge’s Senior Analyst, is seeing SAP clients saving by not adopting. In this podcast, he discusses the steps you should take to determine if you should adopt now or wait.
Podcast: Salesforce Q2 FY21 Earnings – Beat Expectations and Raised Guidance
August 26, 2020
Podcast: Workday Customer Success Packages – Are They Right for You?
August 20, 2020
Though Workday doesn’t actively promote Customer Success their packages, every Workday customer should at least be aware of them. Workday offers three different tiers of Customer Success packages (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) each with a different set of deployment and post go-live services. Erwann Couesbot, UpperEdge's Senior IT Sourcing Negotiation Advisor, discusses their differences and provides his recommendations for current and potential Workday customers.
Podcast: Third Party Support – 6 Considerations for Oracle Customers
August 12, 2020
The bulk of Oracle’s support renewals come up in late July and early August. If you're an Oracle customer, it's around this time that you may realize that you didn’t get the support you needed from Oracle yet your support fees continue to increase. One way to manufacture leverage for your Oracle support renewal is to consider third-party support. Jeff Lazarto, UpperEdge’s Oracle Practice Leader, discusses 6 key considerations to keep in mind as you evaluate your third-party support options.
Podcast: Enterprise Insights from ServiceNow’s Q2 FY20 Earnings
July 30, 2020
ServiceNow eclipsed the $4B annual run rate for the first time after beating consensus and guidance. The company is so confident in their portfolio of cloud solutions (ITSM, ITBM, CSM, Sec Ops, HR Service Delivery, etc.) and the proven sales tactics and pipeline they have in place, that they raised growth and profitability guidance for the year. Expect ServiceNow t...
Podcast: Insights from Microsoft’s Q4 FY20 Earnings That Enterprises Can Put to Use
July 27, 2020
Microsoft is clearly confident their portfolio of cloud solutions (Microsoft 365, Teams, Power BI, Power Apps, Dynamics365, LinkedIn, Azure Active Directory, etc.) and proven sales tactics will continue to push more enterprises to expand their Microsoft footprint. Microsoft beat expectations for the quarter and...
Podcast: Google Cloud Next ’20 Keynote – Takeaways for Enterprises
July 15, 2020
Google Cloud just kicked off their 9-week digital event series and made some important announcements in the keynote. Enterprises in particular should be aware of the key announcements (such as the launch of BigQuery Omni, Confidential VMs and industry-specific solutions) that will likely impact them as Google Cloud continues to focus on building
Podcast: Avoid the Pitfalls of Oracle’s NUP Metric for Licensing Entitlements
July 9, 2020
Erwann Couesbot, UpperEdge’s Oracle Senior Advisor discusses common mistakes customers make when trying to assess their licenses for Oracle Technology Products, and more specifically the NUP (Named User Plus) metric Oracle uses. The top mistake is ...
Podcast: Expanding Your Workday Footprint? Avoid these 6 Mistakes
June 10, 2020
Jeff Lazarto, UpperEdge’s Workday Practice Leader gives a rundown of the top 6 things to do for Workday customers looking to expand their Workday product portfolio. Start with assessing your current deal, look at the competitiveness of your pricing and commercial terms, this will put you
Podcast: Salesforce Q1 Earnings: Lowering Guidance by $1B with Optimism
May 29, 2020
Salesforce beat expectations with $4.87B in revenue for the quarter, which represented 30% year-over-year growth. Despite lowering their full year revenue target to $20B, a $1B reduction, the earnings call was filled with optimism. Salesforce is confident that
Podcast: Will Gavin Patterson Become Salesforce’s Next co-CEO?
May 15, 2020
Salesforce announced the appointment of Gavin Patterson as President and Chief Revenue Officer of Salesforce. After joining Salesforce last year and quickly rising within the company, he is now the new leader of Salesforce’s global sales organization. With former co-CEO, Keith Block, stepping down earlier this year, could CEO, Marc Benioff, have a plan in place to eventually move...
Podcast: Workday’s FSE Categories and Why They Matter
May 12, 2020
Workday has broken up their Full-Service Equivalent (FSE) workers into different categories: Salaried Workers, Hourly Workers, Part-time Workers and Contingent Workers. Jeff Lazarto, UpperEdge’s Workday practice leader explains why it’s important to pay attention to how you categorize and breakdown your workforce based on this new structure; you can find flexibility and cost savings within it.
Podcast: ServiceNow says ‘Bundle Up’ but Consider These Risks First
May 8, 2020
ServiceNow's recent earnings call showed a strong quarter and a confident Bill McDermott who emphasized the company's continued opportunity for growth in a post-COVID-19 world where companies will "embrace permanent transformation". In this podcast, Adam Mansfield, breaks down ServiceNow's "Fast-Start playbook" which features pre-packaged bundles they will be aggressively pushing onto companies. He also warns of the potential downsides of bundling and shares how enterprises can protect themselves from these pitfalls to better ensure long-term value.
Podcast: SAP AMS Hosting Optimization Opportunities
May 4, 2020
Most organizations have shied away from reducing costs of their SAP platform during lean times, but that’s no longer the case considering the breadth and depth of the economic impact of Covid-19. Chip Hanna, UpperEdge’s SAP Practice Director discusses some opportunities around AMS and hosting that companies have to drive down costs. There are a few levers companies can use...
Podcast: Why ServiceNow’s Strong Q1 Should Put Enterprises on Alert
April 30, 2020
ServiceNow beat guidance and consensus in Q1 FY20 with subscription revenue growing 34%, reaching $995M. ServiceNow’s success is largely tied to the significant growth in the number customers that have expanded their portfolios and are now paying over $1M per year. There has been increased adoption of...
Podcast: Driving Win-Win Negotiations With Microsoft After its Stellar Q3
April 30, 2020
Microsoft outperformed expectations set even before the coronavirus pandemic and beat estimates on the top and bottom lines. Microsoft’s strong quarter was driven by the Commercial Cloud Business, which is largely driven by Azure and Office 365. Though both showed strong growth in Q3, it is important to note
Podcast: Google Cloud is Now an $11B Company
April 29, 2020
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced their Q1 FY20 earnings which included an announcement that Google Cloud (GCP and G Suite) now has quarterly revenue of $2.78B, giving them a $11B run rate. Both GCP and G Suite continue to...
Podcast: What Enterprises Now Need from Their Cloud Vendors
April 27, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has forced companies to seek financial relief in any way they can. Given the sizable spend tied to IT, many organizations start their cost reduction initiatives with a focus on cloud vendor spend...
Podcast: How Oracle Can Dominate
April 22, 2020
With all the changes in the market, Oracle is poised to dominate, so long as they are willing to adapt, evolve and potentially trailblaze. Jeff Lazarto, UpperEdge’s Oracle’s Practice Leader, discusses a few of these steps Oracle can take, starting with consolidation of their cloud...
Podcast: The First Steps of Reducing Cost in a Crisis
April 15, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy, companies are understandably scrambling to reduce costs where they can. But prematurely engaging IT vendors without a well-thought-out plan can cause irreparable harm to your relationships - with both your internal stakeholders and your vendor partners...
Podcast: 6 Million Businesses Now Pay for Google G Suite
April 13, 2020
Javier Soltero, the General Manager and VP of G Suite at Google, recently reported that Google now has 6 million paying business customers. In February of 2019, Google had 5 million paying users and 4 million the year before. Announcements like this further demonstrate the success Google is having in penetrating businesses and gaining...
Podcast: For Microsoft, It is All About Microsoft 365
April 2, 2020
Microsoft made a few announcements earlier this week that were all centered around their all-in cloud bundle, Microsoft 365. They announced two Microsoft 365 plans for consumers (Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family) as well as a consumer edition of Teams which will be coming later in the year. Lastly, Microsoft rebranded the Office 365 solutions...
Podcast: Oracle Announces Free Training and Certification Courses
April 1, 2020
On March 30th, Oracle announced that they are offering free online training and certification courses for Oracle cloud infrastructure and Oracle Autonomous database. Oracle doesn't often offer free resources of this nature but this comes in the midst of shelter-in-place orders and lockdowns around the globe. Oracle customers can take advantage of Oracle's free training now through May 15th. To learn more and start your free training, visit Oracle.com.
Podcast: SaaS Providers: Do the Right Thing!
March 30, 2020
How is the Coronavirus impacting the SaaS market? This can be an opportunity for SaaS providers to step up, be leaders and demonstrate the true partnerships they have with their clients and employees. Workday has taken the initial step of paying a cash bonus to their employees, equalling two weeks of pay or roughly $80M. This was a pretty bold move as they are relatively...
Podcast: Microsoft 365 F1 Just Changed – Here’s What you Need to Know
March 20, 2020
Microsoft announced that they have renamed their firstline worker (deskless) worker products, Microsoft 365 F1 and Office 365 F1. As of April 1, 2020, they will be known as Microsoft 365 F3 and Office 365 F3. Microsoft also announced that there is going to be new “lighter”...
Podcast: Workday’s Q4 For FY ’20 – Value Propisition Is Driving Growth
March 17, 2020
Workday added 11 new Fortune 500 companies, about 45% of the Fortune 500 are now HCM customers, which comprises about 60% of the Fortune 50. Jeff Lazarto, UpperEdge’s practice leader breaks down Workday’s Q4 fiscal year 20 results, and talks about whether Workday’s HCM cloud solution could replace Oracle’s and SAP’s solutions.
Podcast: Oracle Shareholder Lawsuits – Cloud Revenue
February 28, 2020
Claims that Oracle has misrepresented the nature of some of their cloud sales over the number of years has prompted lawsuits from shareholders. Some of these cloud deals weren’t all brought on by customer demand but instead by duress. In using their audit levers for on-premise licenses, Oracle would offer sweetheart...
Podcast: A Big Day For Salesforce: Beat Revenue Expectations, Acquired Vlocity and Keith Block is Leaving
February 26, 2020
In addition to Salesforce reporting its Q4 and full year FY20 earnings, they also announced that they are acquiring Vlocity for $1.3B and that their co-CEO, Keith Block is stepping down. This surprising leadership change could have major implications and raises many questions. Where will Keith Block go next?
Podcast: 5 SOW Essentials in a Real World Case
February 6, 2020
Ted Rogers, Practice Leader at UpperEdge, refers to a recent conversation he had with a Project Manager overseeing an application development project for his client. The conversation was a timely one coming on the heels of...
Podcast: 3 Customer Considerations for SAP and Accenture’s Integration Partnership
February 6, 2020
Accenture recently announced that it is the first partner to achieve SAP-certified integration with SAP Model Company delivered through MyConcerto. Given their plan to deliver together in an integrated and single engagement, customers considering this model should...
Podcast: Alphabet Q4 FY19 Earnings: A First Look at Google Cloud Revenue
February 4, 2020
In its first earnings announcement since Sundar Pichai took over as CEO, Alphabet broke out both Google Cloud revenue (which includes GCP as well as G Suite revenue) and revenue from YouTube advertising for the first time. Though this is more transparency than we've seen in the past
Podcast: Microsoft Q2 FY20 Earnings: The Quest for All-in Cloud Adoption
January 30, 2020
Microsoft had yet another strong quarter, with commercial cloud (which includes Azure, Office 365, Dynamics 365, and commercial aspects of Linkedin) clearly being a key component of Microsoft's successful quarter and the driving force for their future success. Can Microsoft achieve its overarching goal to...
Podcast: ServiceNow Q4 FY19 Earning Recap: Stellar growth and High Confidence
January 30, 2020
ServiceNow reported outstanding Q4 FY19 numbers and growth, beating analyst estimates. New CEO, Bill McDermott's, confidence in ServiceNow was evident as he clearly laid out their key priorities and go-to-market strategy for scaling ServiceNow and ultimately
Podcast: Autonomous Database- Oracle’s Land And Expand Approach
January 21, 2020
Larry Ellison is trumpeting the huge technological advantage Oracle has in the database market and how this is the only autonomous database in the world. On Oracle’s recent Q2 earnings call, Mr. Ellison elaborated on the Autonomous Database’s benefits and their go-to-market land and expand approach.
Podcast: Oracle Claims Cloud Superiority
January 14, 2020
Oracle has gone on record multiple times stating that Cloud ERP Applications and Autonomous Database are the two key product areas that will determine Oracle’s success. Larry Ellison has made some bold...
Podcast: What to Expect From ServiceNow in 2020
January 7, 2020
Predicting what this year holds for current ServiceNow enterprise customers is a bit of a challenge with former SAP CEO, Bill McDermott, now at the helm. However, when considering the recent announcements ServiceNow has made and what we know about McDermott...
Podcast: What To Expect From Microsoft In 2020
January 6, 2020
Looking at the current state of the market (cloud and on-premise) as well as the changes and announcements that Microsoft has made in the past helps us understand what the future could hold for the tech giant. Having a sense for what Microsoft is going to be focused on and the changes and behavior that comes with...
Podcast: What to Expect From Salesforce in 2020
January 3, 2020
When talking with enterprises about their strategic vendor relationships, we always consider what we have seen from the vendor in the past and what we are currently seeing in the market. But around this time of year, many conversations inevitably lead to...
Podcast: Why Your Java Compliance Depends On Your Version Of Java
December 31, 2019
Erwann Couesbot, UpperEdge's Oracle Practice Advisor and Java Expert, discusses the 2 main license agreements covering different versions of Java. This podcast highlights some of the key differences organizations have to consider to ensure that their Java usage is not out of compliance.
Podcast: Choosing Workday to Implement Workday? Ask About These 3 Pricing Models
December 27, 2019
Erwann Couesbot, UpperEdge's Workday expert discusses using Workday as a System Implementation partner over other Large SIs like Accenture, Deloitte, IBM etc. There are 3 common pricing models most SIs offer which you should be sure to ask Workday about if you choose them as your SI partner.
Podcast: Raising the Bar on AMS Provider Expectations
December 23, 2019
Application Management Support (AMS) providers aren’t winning or preserving AMS awards based on rate arbitrage alone. In this podcast IT Sourcing & Commercial Advisory Practice Director, Greg Hall, explains how CIO’s, CTO’s, and infrastructure leaders want more from their AMS delivery providers.
Podcast: Why Microsoft is Turning to Linux Community and Consumer Market
December 17, 2019
When it comes to the cloud, the thing Microsoft wants even more than revenue growth is accelerated usage of their cloud offerings (Office 365, Microsoft 365, Teams, etc.) by their enterprise customers. Microsoft is now looking to the open-source...
Podcast: Maintaining Control Of Fixed Price Outsourcing Agreements
December 16, 2019
Greg Hall, UpperEdge's IT Sourcing Advisor discusses how to maintain and control a fixed price outsourcing agreement and how to manage change with the introduction of Deadband, ARC and RRC metrics.
Podcast: Top 3 Commercial Terms of AWS’s Enterprise Discount Program
December 16, 2019
Erwann Couesbot UpperEdge's AWS Practice Advisor discusses AWS's Enterprise Discount Program and his take on the top 3 commercial terms any potential AWS enterprise customer should negotiate when considering this program.
Podcast: Workday’s Q3 Earnings – Another Great Quarter
December 9, 2019
Workday reported outstanding numbers with 26% YoY growth, 28% subscription growth. Their execution and strategy are working well, they are seeing growth in HCM, Finance, Planning and Analytics products by adding six F500 customers and...
Podcast: Salesforce Q3 FY20 Earnings – It All Comes Down to Customer 360
December 4, 2019
Salesforce beat Wall Street revenue and earnings estimates, posted 33% overall revenue growth for the quarter and had a net loss of $109M while maintaining previously raised full year guidance. During the earnings call, Chairman and Co-CEO, Marc Benioff also restated the lofty $35B revenue target for FY24. It is clear that in order to effectively double their revenue in five years, they will need...
Podcast: How Salesforce Will Become a $35B Company
November 27, 2019
One of the most eye-opening announcements made at Dreamforce came during Salesforce’s Investor Day Finance Review presentation where Salesforce set an ambitious goal for themselves - reach $35B revenue by FY24. The target itself is eye-catching but
Podcast: Hosting SAP Workloads: 6 Tips for Evaluating Hyperscalers
November 5, 2019
For many reasons, SAP customers are increasingly looking to refresh their SAP hosting strategy and turning to hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Given the pace of change in the hyperscaler market, there are many considerations that organizations should keep in mind as they evaluate their options. In this podcast, IT Sourcing and Commercial Advisory Practice Director, Justin Parker, discusses what is driving the shift to hyperscalers and shares 6 recommendations...
Podcast: Alphabet Q3 FY19 Earnings: Profit Down and Google Cloud Expenses Up
October 29, 2019
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported that revenue was up 20% but profits were down 23% in Q3 FY19. Profits were impacted significantly by the 25% increase in expenses associated with new employee additions largely tied to technical and sales roles at Google Cloud as well as Google Cloud’s ongoing investments in...
Podcast: What the JEDI Cloud Contract Award Means for Oracle
October 28, 2019
When the Department of Defense (DoD) first issued an RFP for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (“JEDI”) last November, Oracle almost immediately filed a lawsuit claiming that the RFP process violated federal procurement law. After being removed from consideration, Oracle continued...
Podcast: Microsoft Q1 FY20 Earnings: Microsoft is Leaning on Innovation
October 25, 2019
Microsoft had another strong quarter with overall revenue growing 14%. Its Q1 FY20 earnings call made it clear that Microsoft is going to rely on their ability to infuse innovation (like AI) into its offerings to differentiate themselves, increase customer spend, and...
Podcast: 5 Risks of Outsourcing Infrastructure Managed Services + How to Mitigate Them
October 24, 2019
Outsourcing your Infrastructure Managed Services comes with its own sets of risks. Poor planning and preparation creates undue risks that could have been mitigated upfront. In this podcast, IT Sourcing & Commercial Advisory Practice Director, Greg Hall, shares five common risks
Podcast: ServiceNow Q3 FY19 Earnings: What to Expect with McDermott at the Helm
October 24, 2019
It’s always important to pay attention to how a vendor within your portfolio is performing and what is said in their earnings call but this is especially true when there is a CEO change as significant...
Podcast: What to Expect from former SAP CEO Bill McDermott as the New CEO of ServiceNow
October 23, 2019
Less than a month after his departure from SAP, it was announced that Bill McDermott will join ServiceNow by year-end 2019 as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. He is replacing John Donahoe who is leaving to become Nike’s new CEO. McDermott will now have the chance to lead a cloud-only software company where he will bring not only his years of industry experience...
Podcast: Interview With Java Licensing Expert Answering Top Compliance Questions
October 18, 2019
There has been much confusion and anxiety around Java use this past year and many organizations are still not sure whether they are required to purchase a commercial license. Concerned about the potential financial exposure that could be tied to Java use in the event of an Oracle audit, many readers and clients sent us questions and comments in response to Senior Advisor, Erwann Couesbot’s blog...
Head In The Clouds Podcast: How Facebook and Zendesk Are Chasing Enterprise Customers
October 11, 2019
This podcast is part of our Head in the Clouds series which covers the latest cloud computing news from the perspective of someone who helps enterprises improve their cloud vendor contractual relationships. This week, Adam shares his thoughts on Facebook’s unification of Workplace and Portal to further expand its current customer base of 3 Million paying...
Podcast: The US Department of Interior Moving Back to Office 365 is a Google Cloud Nightmare
October 3, 2019
The US Department of Interior is moving over 84,000 users back to Office 365 after its previous decision to go with Google despite the many challenges that come with such a massive change. Needless to say, this is clearly a significant loss for Google Cloud as they strive to ramp adoption of G Suite within the government and large...
Head In The Clouds Podcast: Zendesk Leans On Partners And Google Cloud Shakes Up Sales Organization
September 25, 2019
This podcast is part of our Head in the Clouds series which covers the latest cloud computing news from the perspective of someone who helps enterprises improve their cloud vendor contractual relationships. This week, Adam shares his thoughts on Zendesk’s...
Head in the Clouds Podcast: Slack Earnings and Google Cloud Makes Another Hire
September 5, 2019
This podcast is part of our Head in the Clouds series which covers the latest cloud computing news from the perspective of someone who helps enterprises improve their cloud vendor contractual relationships. This week, Adam shares his thoughts on Slack’s recently released Q2 FY20 earnings – the company’s first earnings since going public. He also discusses Google Cloud’s efforts to
Head in the Clouds Podcast: Salesforce Q2 FY20 and Google Making G Suite Sticky
August 29, 2019
This podcast is part of our Head in the Clouds series which covers the latest cloud computing news from the perspective of someone who helps enterprises improve their cloud vendor contractual relationships. This week, Adam shares
Podcast: Salesforce Q2 FY20 – Strong Growth and Raised Guidance
August 23, 2019
Salesforce had another strong quarter and raised FY20 revenue guidance, indicating that they expect even better quarters ahead. Knowing that their customers are focused on digital transformations, Salesforce is aggressively pushing the Customer 360 Platform as the solution that...
Podcast: Salesforce Buys ClickSoftware – Another Key Acquisition
August 8, 2019
On the heels of the MapAnything acquisition back in April, Salesforce is buying ClickSoftware, a field service and workflow management software company for $1.35B. Salesforce continues to focus on building out its field service offerings realizing that this space is where its competitors, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP have increased their own investments.
Podcast: ECC To S4HANA Migrations – Do You Have A Holistic Sourcing Strategy?
July 30, 2019
As many SAP customers begin their ECC to S/4HANA migration journey, we’re noticing many organizations focusing too heavily on some elements of their sourcing strategy and not enough on others. In this podcast, SAP Practice Leader, Len Riley, discusses the four key elements of the sourcing strategy that you must contemplate with your team in order...
Podcast: How Google Cloud Doubled its Annual Run Rate
July 30, 2019
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, recently reported Q2 FY19 earnings and shared a very interesting bit of information; Google Cloud’s annual run rate is now $8B. The last and only time Alphabet shared Google Cloud’s annual run rate was in February of 2018 when it was $4B.
Podcast: Opposing Motivations in SAP ECC to S/4HANA Migrations
July 26, 2019
SAP ECC to S/4HANA migrations are complex projects that come with many challenges but they also represent opportunities for customers to improve their previous licensing agreements. However, this complex undertaking requires significant planning since SAP’s motivations for S/4HANA migrations directly conflict with....
Podcast: ServiceNow Outperforms Market in Q2 FY19 Earnings
July 25, 2019
ServiceNow beat market expectations with another strong quarter. Their positive results support the underlying message of their recent rebranding and change in marketing and sales approach – ServiceNow is no longer just a tool for IT. In this podcast, Analyst Bearson Smith, discusses...
Podcast: Salesforce Removed Its Standard Renewal Price Protection
July 18, 2019
If you are a Salesforce customer, you may not be aware that Salesforce recently removed their standard renewal price protection from their Master Subscription Agreement. Besides the fact that customers are now completely exposed...
Podcast: Microsoft Inspire 2019 – Focus on Teams Makes Sense
July 16, 2019
Judson Althoff, executive vice president of Microsoft's Worldwide Commercial Business organization, kicked off Microsoft Inspire 2019 with a promise that all solution areas will get better in FY20. Specific to Microsoft Teams, he said, customers are going to see more collaborative capabilities and...
Podcast: Oracle’s Gen 2 Cloud Infrastructure: Saving the CEO
July 10, 2019
In its recent Q4 earnings call, Oracle focused on the security features of both Generation 2 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI2) and the Autonomous Database. In today’s world of data breaches routinely making headlines...
Podcast: Oracle Q4 FY19 Earnings: Seeding its Customer Base
July 9, 2019
Oracle shared some interesting facts in its Q4 earnings call that uncover the latest tactics its using to expand product adoption, forecast Autonomous Database growth, and seed its customer base. In this podcast, Practice Leader, Jeff Lazarto discusses some concerns...
Podcast: Google Cloud – The Promise of Easier Contracting
July 8, 2019
Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian, recently stated they want to be the easiest cloud provider to do business with. Amongst a number efforts to achieve this distinction, they will introduce easier pricing and easier...
Podcast: What Keeps ServiceNow Awake at Night?
July 2, 2019
As you prepare for your cloud subscription renewal negotiation, it is important to first assess and understand the goals and objectives of the cloud vendor sitting across the table from you. There are certainly universal things that matter to all cloud vendors...
Podcast: Putting Digital Transformation and Cloud to the Project Test – A Chat with Jon Reed
June 21, 2019
Jon Reed talks with UpperEdge's John Belden and Adam Mansfield about the problem of digital transformation in the real world. They shift into cloud issues, and why customers are wary that SaaS can be just another form of lock-in, with the same licensing headaches. The conversation wraps with a freewheeling review of the latest cloud news, from Salesforce acquiring Tableau to Google Cloud's ups and downs in its enterprise push.
Podcast: Workday Q1 2020 Earnings, Happy Customers And Successful Projects
June 17, 2019
Happy customers and successful projects equals high customer satisfaction and a retention rate of over 100%. Even with all of Workday's recent success, you have a great amount of leverage in constructing your first deal with Workday. Jeff Lazarto discusses how you need to understand what a highly competitive deal looks like, and how you can go about obtaining such a deal—there are strategies you can implement to achieve these results.
Podcast: Salesforce Q1 FY20 Earnings: It is All About Customer 360
June 5, 2019
Salesforce had another strong quarter with revenue growth of 24%, and Service Cloud revenue breaking the $1B threshold for the first time. They also raised full year profit guidance. It is very clear that in order for Salesforce reach their self-imposed $26B revenue target by FY23, they will need to
Podcast: Workday Battleground – Higher Education
May 21, 2019
The higher education industry can expect to continue to field many calls from Workday account executives. Workday has taken more of a targeted approach with respect to gaining customer adoption of its Financial Management solution. The first industry Workday focused on was the public sector which...
Podcast: Victim Card – Oracle Whining And Litigating For The JEDI Deal
May 9, 2019
Now that Oracle has been officially eliminated from the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (“JEDI”) RFP process, they are pushing forward with their lawsuit against the Department of Defense (DoD). Jeff Lazarto, UpperEdge's Oracle Practice Leader discusses how Oracle, in short, is claiming to be a victim...
Podcast: SAP SAPPHIRE NOW 2019 – Day 1 First Impressions
May 8, 2019
SAP’s annual conference in Orlando is in full swing. In this podcast, UpperEdge’s SAP Advisory Practice Leader, Len Riley, discusses his observations and first impressions. He shares his thoughts on how this year’s conference compares to previous years so far...
Podcast: ServiceNow Knowledge19 – Day 1 Takeaways
May 8, 2019
Day 1 of ServiceNow’s annual conference kicked off with a keynote focused on changing lives at work through technology and how ServiceNow is the right vendor to make that happen. ServiceNow will continue to focus on bringing new mobile features to market to increase the value of its solutions while...
Podcast: Workday Negotiations and Why First Impressions Matter
May 6, 2019
If you are becoming a new customer of Workday (or any cloud vendor), it is extremely important to get your first deal right. Not only do you have the most leverage at this time but your first deal will set the precedent going forward.
Podcast: Alphabet Q1’19 Earnings: Google Cloud Success is Still Hidden
May 1, 2019
Overall company revenue increased 17% to $36.3B, but came up short of expected $37.3B. Other revenues, which includes Google Cloud; reached $5.4 billion, up 25% year-over-year. Google Cloud Platform remains one of the fastest...
Podcast: SAP Q1’19 Earnings Announcement – 3 Takeaways from a Customer’s Perspective
April 26, 2019
SAP made some significant announcements in its Q1’19 earnings call that will have implications for SAP customers. SAP is focusing on improving margins, Bill McDermott wants fair market value for SAP’s software, and Elliott Management takes a $1.5B stake in SAP...
Podcast: ServiceNow Q1’19 Earnings: Revenue Growth and Raised Guidance
April 26, 2019
ServiceNow beat analyst estimates and raised full year 2019 subscription revenue and billings guidance. ServiceNow posted Q1 subscription revenue of $740M which represented an impressive 40% growth y-o-y. They closed 25 deals in the quarter with ACV greater than...
Podcast: Microsoft Q3’19 Earnings – Another Strong Quarter Driven by Cloud Business
April 25, 2019
Microsoft had another stellar quarter, beating expectations and posting double digit growth, both for top and bottom line. These impressive financial results were directly tied to the continued strength of their cloud business. Commercial Cloud revenue grew 41% with ...
Podcast: SAP’s S/4HANA Migration Incentives – Carrots Now and Sticks Later?
April 16, 2019
With many SAP customers still contemplating when to move to S/4HANA, we are frequently asked for our predictions on how the tables may turn if...
Podcast: SAP HANA Sidecar- Are You Driving Around With A Big Audit Risk?
April 16, 2019
Most companies we advise have purchased SAP HANA Runtime with a limited amount of HANA Full Use (aka HANA Enterprise), often referred to as a sidecar. With SAP now re-positioning its audit practice heavily...
Podcast: Are SAP Audits and Indirect Access Really Relics Or Still A Reality?
April 16, 2019
While we heard Bill McDermott and others talk heavily about “trust” during SAP’s fiscal year-end call and Capital Markets Day, trust is one of those...
Podcast: Customers Will Feel SAP’s Sales Organization Shakeup
April 16, 2019
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...
Podcast: Pros and Cons of Oracle’s Cloud Incentive Programs
April 11, 2019
Oracle has been struggling to meet Wallstreet’s expectations for cloud revenue. To motivate their on-premise customers to migrate to the cloud, they have offered two key cloud incentive programs: Universal Cloud Credits and Bring Your Own License (BYOL).
Podcast: SAP Shuffles Leadership Roles After Robert Enslin’s Departure
April 8, 2019
After 27 years at SAP, Robert Enslin resigned from his position as President of the Cloud Business Group. In this podcast, UpperEdge’s SAP Practice Leader, Len Riley, discusses how SAP is restructuring its leadership responsibilities, the challenges SAP will face from these changes, and how customers will be impacted.
Podcast: Oracle Q3 – Following In IBM’s Footsteps
April 2, 2019
Some things we’re seeing from Oracle coming out of their Q3 earning are similar to what we saw with IBM a few years back. Their revenue is flat or slightly declining (like IBM’s was) but their earnings per share are growing, just like IBM’s had—the main reason for this? Stock repurchasing program, like IBM had done, Oracle is doing ...
Podcast: Sole Sourcing Negotiations: SI Tactics and CIO Countermeasures
March 28, 2019
Make no mistake, your SI’s plan to secure a sole source award for your Implementation is set in motion from the moment they land resources to begin the strategy phase of your transformation initiative. There are several key tactics SIs will...
Podcast: Normalizing Your I&O RFP Proposal: Solid Metrics You Can Operationalize
March 28, 2019
When going to market to secure proposals for Infrastructure and Outsourcing (I&O) services, the responses you receive can be overwhelmingly complex and can challenge your ability to do a true apples-to-apples comparison. This 5-part series...
Podcast: Workday Q4 Performance & Strategy
March 26, 2019
Workday's performance in Q4 2019 went very well; subscription revenue was up 33% YoY, they are forecasting more than 27% growth next year and their customer satisfaction rating is at 98%.
Podcast: Salesforce Q4 FY19 Earnings – Key Takeaways
March 5, 2019
In this podcast, Adam Mansfield provides a recap of Salesforce’s Q4 and full year Fiscal 2019 earnings call. Once again, Salesforce posted impressive revenue growth across all of their clouds. They also raised their FY 2020 guidance and announced...
Podcast: Negotiating with Workday in 2019
March 4, 2019
Erwann Couesbot discusses some of the main commercial hurdles when it comes to Workday negotiations. Similarities exist when negotiating with major ERP companies, but there are some important differences when negotiating with Workday.
Podcast: How SAP Leverages Mergers And Acquisitions To Force Adoption Of S/4HANA
February 25, 2019
Mergers and acquisitions are opportunities for SAP to push S/4HANA onto clients. During an M&A there is an optimistic air to discuss synergies, efficiencies and future benefits. But SAP at this time is thinking about big acquisition budgets, revenue opportunity and the possibility to audit...
Podcast: Why Oracle’s Government Legal Battles Matter for Customers
February 11, 2019
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.
Podcast: SAP ECC to S/4HANA: What SAP Isn’t Sharing with Customers
February 7, 2019
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?
Podcast: The Motivation Behind ServiceNow’s Licensing Changes
February 6, 2019
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...
Podcast: Changes to Oracle Java Licensing in 2019
February 6, 2019
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...
Podcast: Investments in Google Cloud: Alphabet Q4 FY18 Earnings Insight
February 5, 2019
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...
Podcast: ServiceNow Q4 FY18 Earnings- Expanding Customer Relationships Leads To Strongest Q4 Ever
January 31, 2019
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...
Podcast: Microsoft Q2 FY19 Earnings – Strong Office 365 Growth But Flat Azure Growth
January 31, 2019
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...
Podcast: Google Increases G Suite Prices for the First Time
January 17, 2019
Google Cloud made its first significant announcement since Thomas Kurian took over this year. Effective 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. Even though these increases directly impact small to mid-size businesses, they also have possible (and likely) ramifications for larger businesses currently using or considering Google's G Suite Enterprise plan.
Podcast: NRF 2019 – The Right Questions to ask Salesforce While in Attendance
January 1, 2019
NRF, the world’s largest retail conference, is coming up January 13-15. We fully expect Salesforce to spend a significant amount of time at the conference discussing new products and solutions. While it is good to gain an understanding of what is new and what is coming, it is also important to use this time to ask the right questions of Salesforce. Doing so can help set up your renewal negotiations and ultimately lead to getting more value from your Salesforce relationship.
Podcast: What Microsoft Clients Need to Ask at NRF 2019
January 1, 2019
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.
Salesforce Beat Expectations with Strong Q3 FY19 Earnings
November 28, 2018
Salesforce had another stellar quarter, beating analysts’ expectations in its third-quarter earnings last night. Revenue is up 26% y-o-y and the Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO) is now at $21.2B, up 34%. Marc Benioff has even higher expectations for Q4, putting some pressure on co-CEO Keith Block. The company raised FY 2019 guidance and predicts 2020 revenue will reach $16B, expecting continued growth in cloud computing sales. The strategic acquisition of Mulesoft, which was finalized in May, is already showing ...
Podcast: Former Oracle Cloud Executive, Thomas Kurian, Joins Google
November 20, 2018
In September, Thomas Kurian took a leave of absence from Oracle after 22 years at the company. Just two months later, he joined Google as the head of cloud computing, heightening underlying tensions between the two companies that have been in an ongoing legal battle for the past 8 years. At Oracle, Kurian led cloud transition efforts but he and Larry Ellison reportedly had differences with respect to Oracle's Cloud vision. Ellison believed in a closed system while Kurian wanted to open up their cloud solutions and allow them to run on AWS, Google, etc. UpperEdge’s Oracle Practice Leader, Jeff Lazarto, discusses his first impressions and what he’ll be paying attention as this plays out.
Podcast: Is Your Microsoft Cloud Discount Actually Special?
November 19, 2018
Many organizations are enticed to move to Microsoft Office 365 or even Microsoft 365 by the belief that their cost profile would decrease and that their pricing would come with special one-time discounting.
Podcast: Tactics for Overcoming IT Services Contracting Challenges
November 6, 2018
The sourcing and selection of your IT Services partner often spans over several months and requires significant time and effort from your cross-functional teams. Closing your services contract on time...
Podcast: Is Your Company Buying the Correct SAP HANA Database
November 2, 2018
It has been years since the introduction of SAP’s HANA database but the distinctions between SAP HANA Runtime and SAP full-use licenses are still unclear for many customers. To dispel some of the confusion, we have identified the key differentiators between....
Podcast: Heads in the Cloud: 3 Key Takeaways from SAP’s Q3 ‘18 Earnings Call
October 31, 2018
Despite the upbeat and high-fiving tone of SAP’s Q3 2018 earnings call, analysts were not enthusiastic about SAP’s latest results. Although SAP reported 41% growth...
Podcast: What Microsoft’s Q1 ‘19 Earnings Really Mean (for Customers)
October 25, 2018
Microsoft had another strong quarter with earnings and revenue beating expectations. Commercial Cloud revenue is up 47% driven by Office 365 commercial revenue growth of 36%, Dynamics 365 grew 51% and Azure revenue is up 76%. Current and potential customers should expect Microsoft to continue to aggressively push adoption of their strategic cloud bundle, Microsoft 365, which includes Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility and Security. It is critical that all organizations ensure they have the proper downstream protections and the appropriate level of flexibility in place as Microsoft will look to increase revenue per user over time.
Podcast: Digging Deeper into ServiceNow’s Q3 ‘18 Earnings
October 25, 2018
ServiceNow had another strong quarter. Subscription revenue was up an impressive 39% with 25 net new deals with over $1M in annual contract value. With the goal of landing more net new customers and upselling their current base, ServiceNow has changed their go-to-market approach. They now describe their product portfolio as the Now Platform and three (3) workflow clouds (IT, Employee Experience and Customer Service). ServiceNow will continue to rely heavily on their established CIO relationships and partner ecosystem to sell more ServiceNow products while also ramping up both their company and product brand awareness.
Podcast: The #1 Cloud Negotiation Mistake
October 25, 2018
Too many companies fail to negotiate the right cloud deal with their cloud vendor come renewal. Ultimately, the common culprit is simply poor preparation. Failing to allocate the necessary amount of time, relying to heavily on a perceived strong relationship, and being overly confident in your standard processes can all lead to an unfavorable cloud deal.
Podcast: 2018 OpenWorld Takeaways – Universal Credits and BYOL
October 23, 2018
After attending Oracle OpenWorld sessions focused on Universal Credits and Bring Your Own License (BYOL), Oracle Practice Leader, Jeff Lazarto, shares what customers should know about these pricing options. Those considering these options should proceed with caution and take steps to ensure they are making the best choice for their organization before making a commitment.
Podcast: Larry Ellison’s Amazon Hit Piece at 2018 OpenWorld
October 23, 2018
Larry Ellison made some bold statements in his opening keynote at this year's OpenWorld conference. Oracle redid its entire cloud infrastructure and claims that this second generation cloud offering is very different and better than anything else out there. Ellison then spent a significant amount of time taking aim at Amazon's AWS. Listen to Oracle practice leader, Jeff Lazarto's quick recap for more opening keynote highlights.
Podcast: 4 Key Aspects of a Holistic S/4HANA Implementation Strategy
October 19, 2018
SAP ECC support will be discontinued in 2025. We talk about 4 things you should prepare yourself with in your inevitable move to SAP S/4HANA—specifically cost saving tactics.
Podcast: Top 3 Questions SAP Hasn’t Answered About its New Digital Access Model
October 18, 2018
A Mystery Wrapped Up in an Enigma Surrounded by a Conundrum Back in April of this year, SAP finally provided some guidance on how it...
Podcast: Not Your Father’s ServiceNow
October 3, 2018
Too many ServiceNow customers are starting to see a less accommodating and flexible ServiceNow. Especially when it comes time to renew their cloud subscription. Unexpected price increases being forced onto their customer base with contract terms that are less favorable than what have been in place previously are too common. It is critical that you prepare appropriately for these changes as you embark on your renewal negotiations.
Podcast: Dreamforce Product Keynotes – Customer Success Platform Runs Throughout
September 28, 2018
After attending the various product keynotes (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Einstein Analytics..etc), it is very clear that Salesforce is going to be aggressively pushing the Customer Success Platform (Customer 360) and all the products it includes into as many customers’ ecosystems as they can and as quickly as they can.
Podcast: Salesforce Dreamforce – Day 1: Keynote Breakdown
September 26, 2018
Beyond the announcement of the new partnership with Apple and coverage of Einstein Voice, It is very clear that Salesforce wanted it to be known that they are completely focused on their Customer Success Platform. This focus will bring an aggressive sales organization pushing its customers to adopt more of the products and solutions that it encompasses.
Podcast: Are Your Cloud SLAs Sufficient?
September 20, 2018
It is an understatement to say that enterprises are severely impacted when their subscribed to cloud solutions are down and not available. Downtime issues can be disastrous and costly. While Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are a standard in cloud subscription agreements, they are often boilerplate that simply don’t cut it. Regardless of which cloud vendor your enterprise is relying on (Salesforce, Microsoft, Workday, ServiceNow, etc.), having the proper SLA structure in place with proper remedies for failure is critical.
Oracle’s Q1 FY19 Lackluster Earnings
September 18, 2018
With Oracle OpenWorld 2018 just weeks away, Oracle has posted Q1 FY19 earnings that lack luster and have missed Wall Street's expectations. In Q4 Oracle stopped breaking out its revenue streams so it's hard to tell where the company may be struggling with their various products and services. Oracle users aren't seeing a business case to migrate to their cloud solutions.
Podcast: Oracle’s Cloud Strategy Struggle: Thomas Kurian Might be at Odds with Larry Ellison
September 14, 2018
Oracle’s Thomas Kurian has taken a leave of absence from his role as Senior VP President of Product Strategy. It seems Kurian wants to make more of Oracle’s cloud software run on other cloud platforms such as Azure and AWS, where as Ellison wants everything to run on Oracle. Clients need to be aware of Oracle’s eventual strategy as they become accustomed to using Azure and AWS; they may or may not work with Oracle's software in the near future.
Podcast: Workday Q2 Earnings Release – What it Could Mean for Customers
September 11, 2018
Workday had a great Q2, their subscription revenue is up 30% YoY and they reported record highs for renewals in relation to original contract values. Customers with upcoming renewals should anticipate Workday's efforts to upsell new products and services as they strive to expand their footprint across your enterprise. Our Workday practice lead, Jeff Lazarto, shares more key takeaways customers should be aware of in this brief Workday earnings recap.
Podcast: Oracle’s Thomas Kurian Begins Leave of Absence
September 11, 2018
Thomas Kurian, President of Product Development at Oracle is taking a leave of absence. Kurian has been at Oracle since 1996, in his email address to employees his leave hints at being more permanent than temporary, and with Oracle OpenWorld just weeks away, it can be assumed he will be absent for the event. Kurian was responsible for Oracle's move to the Cloud and with poor Cloud financials last quarter it could be speculated there's a correlation.
Podcast: Taking Care of Business: Your Business Case Isn’t Shelfware
September 10, 2018
When defining what a business case is, consensus says it’s the reason for initiating a project or task. But UpperEdge’s Shawn Stamp says the real value of your business case goes far beyond project launch. A great business case should guide design decisions, help manage scope, sustain alignment and measure success.
Podcast: There’s an Elephant in the Room with Your Cloud Service Provider
September 7, 2018
Though many companies have short-term needs or a current project in mind when selecting a cloud vendor, the long-term viability of the cloud service provider (CSP) cannot be overlooked. While the CSP selected a few years ago may have been an economical or strategic decision at the time, that same CSP could be a challenge to integrate into your future environment and ultimately be a burden. Follow these tips to ensure you select a CSP that is in it for the long haul.
Podcast: The Real Motivation Behind Microsoft’s October 2018 Pricing Changes
September 7, 2018
Microsoft’s pricing and licensing changes will go into effect in October 2018 and many customers will be hit with significant price increases as a result. Microsoft claims these changes will “help customers compare solutions based on their organization’s need, not just price, accelerating their journey to modern commerce” but do they really have the customers’ best interest in mind? Here is a look at the real motivation behind these changes and how customers will be affected.
Podcast: Salesforce Q2 FY19 Earnings – Key Takeaways
August 30, 2018
Wall Street expectations were surpassed, significant revenue growth across all of Salesforce’s clouds (i.e. Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Salesforce Platform & Other, and Marketing Cloud & Commerce Cloud) was achieved and FY19 guidance was raised. Based on the extent of coverage during the earnings call and what we are already seeing in the market, MuleSoft is going to be heavily pushed into meeting agendas with current Salesforce customers with the goal of getting customers to adopt MuleSoft as part of the overarching “Land and Expand” sales strategy that is already proving to be succesful.
Podcast: Cloud Vendor Behavior That Customers Hate
August 29, 2018
Recently, our clients have shared with us how increasingly frustrated they are with their cloud vendor's behavior. In some cases, the vendor's aggressive approach has fractured the relationship and even influenced purchasing decisions. Have you experienced any of this upsetting behavior from your cloud vendor?
Podcast: Make the Most of Dreamforce 2018
August 20, 2018
With over 2,700 sessions to choose from, Salesforce’s massive conference can be overwhelming. But with the right approach, Dreamforce can be a valuable experience and can even be an opportunity to gain leverage at your next Salesforce renewal. Our tips will help you make the most of this year’s Salesforce conference.
Podcast: Thomas Kurian Leaves Oracle
August 3, 2018
Thomas Kurian's leave of absence results in him leaving Oracle altogether. According to various news outlets, the main reason for his leaving was due to a dispute with Larry Ellison over whether or not to allow Oracle's Cloud software to work with other Cloud software such as AWS and Azure.
Podcast: Is Salesforce Truly Focused on Its Customers’ Success?
July 30, 2018
Salesforce is approaching customers ahead of their renewals asking for additional purchases to help them meet their own quarterly goals. Beware of any changes to your price protections and conditions, the language is foggy and seems to be intended to protect Salesforce’s revenue more than customer...
Podcast: ServiceNow Q2 Earnings – Strong Growth Tied to New Customers and Upselling
July 26, 2018
ServiceNow had another strong quarter beating expectations and reporting significant subscription revenue growth. ServiceNow closed 28 deals in the quarter with an average contract value (“ACV”) of greater than $1M, bringing the total ...
Podcast: Microsoft FY18 Q4 Earnings – Inside the Numbers
July 22, 2018
Microsoft’s revenue growth has been driven by their ability to continually motivate more customers to adopt Microsoft’s cloud products and solutions (i.e. Office 365, Azure, Dynamics 365…etc.). Microsoft’s go-forward success will be directly attributed to an increased willingness on the part of their customer base to ...
Podcast: Beware of Dante’s (ERP) Inferno
July 17, 2018
ERP implementation projects are large, complex endeavors that can quickly spiral out of control. Blown budgets and delayed implementations are not uncommon, and in the...
Podcast: Cloud Renewal Negotiation Mistakes Too Many Companies Make
July 13, 2018
Cloud renewals are an opportunity for companies to amend unfavorable terms and improve the often transactional relationship in place. However, too many companies miss these opportunities to improve because they fail to prepare appropriately, have a false sense of confidence in their ability to achieve expected results and they apply general procurement tactics to the negotiation that simply don't work. Here are some of the most common cloud renewal negotiation mistakes we see companies commit.
Podcast: Is Your SAP SI Partner Evaluation Missing the Mark?
July 9, 2018
The selection of the partner who will usher in your digital transformation is just as important as the software you choose. Common errors in selecting your consultant can mean long delays, business mismatches, higher costs or worse.
Podcast: Why De-Coupling Your SAP and SI Partner Negotiations is a Bad Idea
July 3, 2018
All too often we find ourselves engaged with prospective clients that decouple the negotiation of their SAP agreement from their System Implementation (SI) selection, evaluation and negotiation.
Podcast: Oracle Gets Cloudy: What’s Behind Their Change in Financial Reporting?
June 27, 2018
Oracle had a very interesting Q4 earnings release, which initially triggered a stock price increase during after-hours trading, only to be followed by a very...
Podcast: Cloud Renewal Price Protections: Are You Really Protected?
June 26, 2018
Too many organizations are under the false impression that since their SaaS Cloud contract includes a renewal term price protection, then they don’t have to worry about any unbudgeted fee increases. But the truth is, there are conditions that often remove the protection you thought you had. When planning for your upcoming cloud renewal, be sure to understand the conditions that can negate your price certainty.
Podcast: An ERP DIY is Just Alphabet Soup
June 21, 2018
You run your business every day and your experience qualifies you for your role. But how often do you engage outside consulting firms? Do you...
Podcast: The Playbook All Cloud Vendors Work From
June 20, 2018
All cloud vendors work from a common playbook in order to grab market share and increase revenues. Knowing their blueprint for success will help your company achieve the best deal and structure the most optimal go-forward relationship.
Podcast: Oracle Curiously Blends Cloud Services Earnings for Q4’18
June 20, 2018
Oracle’s change in revenue reporting for Q4 raises concerns about the strength of its business and the quarterly success picture Oracle painted during its earnings call.
Podcast: Webcast—Contracting & Delivering: Enterprise Scale Agile Projects
June 14, 2018
Implementing agile at global scale introduces new challenges – team sizes are often in the hundreds, implementations are global, compliance is life critical, and the domain is very complex. The larger the project, the greater the risk and need for oversight and constant involvement. When the project is so long, its benefits are often not realized quickly.
Podcast: Workday Q1 2019 Earnings
June 1, 2018
Workday announces great Q1 results, raises full year guidance, in line with Wall Street's expectations.
Podcast: Salesforce Q1 FY19 – Key Takeaways
May 30, 2018
Another strong quarter for Salesforce that included beating revenue expectations, 25% year-over-year total revenue growth, significant revenue growth across all clouds and raised full year guidance. Salesforce’s focus is clearly on providing its customers the best solution to drive digital transformation. Expect an aggressive sales organization selling Salesforce’s ability to provide the best solution for your organization to obtain the critical and coveted 360 degree customer view.
Podcast: Microsoft Product Terms – Significant Azure Billing Changes
May 15, 2018
Due to the complexity at hand, Microsoft licensing changes typically fly under the radar. Microsoft’s aggressive sales tactics and increased focus on Azure are cause for more scrutiny. Listen to see how Microsoft’s May 2018 change is affecting the way that you pay for Azure services.
Podcast: Salesforce Standard Renewal Protection is Not Good Enough
May 11, 2018
When planning for your upcoming Salesforce renewal, you need to understand the conditions that negate and remove the renewal term price protection found in Salesforce’s standard Master Subscription Agreement.
Podcast: ServiceNow—What Matters to Them Should Matter to You
May 8, 2018
As you approach your negotiation with ServiceNow, whether you are a net-new customer or coming up to your renewal, it is important to understand the things that matter most to them. Knowing this and how to most effectively use it, will help increase your leverage and ensure you not only pay the right price but have the proper level of flexibility and downstream price protections in place.
Podcast: SAP Shakes Up the Software Industry
May 7, 2018
SAP recently announced completion of “an over year-long journey of collaboration with user groups, customers, industry analysts and other stakeholders, to develop a first of its kind outcome-based pricing model for Indirect Access. Len Riley breaks down what this means for SAP customers.
Podcast: Microsoft Wants You to Adopt Their Cloud Bundle Microsoft 365 – Why Do You Think That Is?
May 2, 2018
Microsoft continues to aggressively push customers into the cloud. Microsoft is approaching their base of customers that have already adopted Office 365 with renewal proposals that include enticing offers to get them to jump into their cloud bundle Microsoft 365, which includes Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security . They do this even when a business case for Enterprise Mobility + Security (1/3 of the bundle) has yet to be made. Don’t let the offered “special” upfront discount alone get you or your organization to jump, too often there are serious consequences in doing so.
Podcast: Microsoft Q3 Earnings: Revenue Growth Driven by Cloud Adoption
April 27, 2018
Microsoft’s impressive revenue growth has been fueled by increased cloud adoption. Microsoft understands that future revenue growth will continue to be driven by their ability to convince their customers to ...
Podcast: ServiceNow Q1 Earnings – Key Takeaways
April 27, 2018
ServiceNow’s Q1 subscription revenue grew an impressive 40% year-over-year reaching $543M. ServiceNow is focused on becoming a trusted strategic technology partner for their customers. They are no longer interested in selling just their core product, IT Service Management (ITSM) to get in the door. ServiceNow wants multiple product adoption including other IT products like ITOM and perhaps more importantly emerging products like Customer Service Management (CSM).
Podcast: Alphabet Q1 Earnings: Google G-Suite Revenue Growth Acceleration
April 24, 2018
Other revenues for Google, which includes Google Cloud, were $4.4B -- up 36% year-over year. Impressive revenue growth was driven by Google's ability to sign significantly larger and more strategic deals for Cloud within the quarter. G-Suite revenue growth acceleration is attributed to Google's perceived ability to now serve all the needs of a large enterprise. Expect Google to aggressively attempt to displace Microsoft customers, especially those that are just now considering adopting Office 365.
Podcast: Cloud Subscription Agreements – The Importance of a Meaningful SLA Commitment
April 18, 2018
Adam Mansfield asks, "Has your organization accepted the standard uptime SLA and SLA credit structure found within your cloud vendor's master subscription agreement?" An uptime SLA is of little value if it does not come with a meaningful credit or penalty structure. Most cloud vendor's standard penalty structures are not sufficient, let alone meaningful.
Podcast: Don’t Let that Software Discount Cloud Your Judgement
April 12, 2018
Too many enterprises are making the decision to adopt a particular software because they got a “special” discounted price from the software vendor. Not only is the discounted price typically not the best the software vendor could do, often the final deal is missing many other critical terms and protections.
Podcast: Salesforce Agreements – Flexibility for Large Enterprises
March 27, 2018
Salesforce can be tough as nails when it comes to their contract negotiations. As part of their goal to reach $20 billion in revenue by 2022, Salesforce is unrelenting and tends to dictate terms rather than concede to their customer’s needs. If this sounds bleak, one...
Podcast: Webcast—Journey to SAP S/4HANA: What You Need to Know
March 13, 2018
Mainstream support for SAP’s ECC platform is set to expire in 2025, driving companies to make the conversion to SAP S/4 HANA. This webcast will provide valuable insights on the following:
• SAP's 2020 Ambitions
• Defining The S/4 HANA Journey
• Next Generation SAP Agreement
• Recommended Path ForwardPodcast: Oracle’s Cloud Transition: What’s in it for Them?
March 12, 2018
Though you often hear about how customers benefit from switching to Cloud services, the incentives that drive companies like Oracle into becoming a Cloud service provider (CSP) aren't as well known. So, why has the Cloud become a priority for Oracle? What's in it for them? What are the implications for customers?
Podcast: Salesforce FY2018 Earnings: $10B Achieved Through Deeper Customer Relationships
March 2, 2018
Salesforce released their Q4 and Full Year earnings on February 28th. They eclipsed the $10B annual run rate milestone. Their success is tied to the strategic relationships they are forming with customers focused on digital transformation. They now have more customers with larger and longer term contracts that include multiple cloud solutions. Salesforce has their sights set on becoming a $20B company and they will be relying on their customer base to get them there.
Podcast: Webcast—How to Truly Prepare for Your Microsoft Renewal
February 27, 2018
If you are approaching your next Microsoft renewal, this webcast will provide valuable insights, including:
• Outlining how to effectively prepare for your Microsoft renewal
• Providing actionable strategies to increase your leverage with Microsoft
• Techniques to counter Microsoft’s sales tactics come renewal timePodcast: Oracle Fiscal Year-End Checklist
February 20, 2018
With Oracle's fiscal year-end coming up on May 31st, it's the perfect time to go over this checklist so you are prepared when Oracle's sales team approaches your organization.
Podcast: Microsoft’s Q2 FY18 Earnings – What Enterprise Customers Need to Know
February 2, 2018
Microsoft’s overall revenue grew 12% year over year reaching $28.9B. Microsoft’s growth was primarily driven by Microsoft’s success in the cloud. Most specifically, Office 365 commercial revenue grew an impressive 41% and Azure revenue grew an astronomical 98%.
Podcast: ServiceNow is No Longer Just a Tool for IT – Why This Matters
January 16, 2018
Since ServiceNow’s inception back in 2004, ServiceNow has been known, right or wrong; as an IT helpdesk vendor. A vendor that sold products and solutions that catered solely to the needs of the IT department. Specifically, ServiceNow focused primarily on selling their target audience...
Podcast: 6 New Year’s Resolutions to Enhance the “Strategic” in Strategic Procurement
January 15, 2018
Greg Hall, Director of IT Services at UpperEdge, discusses ways to improve the value you provide to your organization, he's compiled a list of 6 resolutions you can commit to that will enhance the strategic value of your procurement services.
Podcast: Salesforce Sets Goal of $60B by 2034, Their Goal Will Impact your Relationship
January 8, 2018
In a recent analyst meeting, CTO and Co-Founder Parker Harris, presented revenue plans to reach $40B by 2028 and $60B by 2034.
Adam Mansfield, tells you what you need to know in this podcast and blog.Podcast: Microsoft Syncs O365 and Windows 10 upgrade timing for their Secure Productive Enterprise
December 22, 2017
Microsoft Practice Lead, Adam Mansfield talks about the real reason Microsoft synchronized O365 and Windows 10's upgrade schedule—for their Secure Productive Enterprise adoption strategy.
Podcast: Oracle 2018 Q2 Earnings
December 18, 2017
Jeff Lazarto, Oracle Commercial Advisory Practice leader reports on Oracle’s 2018 Q2 earnings and what a shortfall in their cloud earnings could mean for your next negotiation strategy.
Podcast: Salesforce Q3 FY2018 – Key Takeaways
December 4, 2017
Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge's Salesforce Practice Lead, reports on Salesforce's Q3 FY2018 earnings and what the key takeaways are for Salesforce clients.
Podcast: Making Smarter IT Partner Selections
December 4, 2017
Jeff Lazarto, Oracle Commercial Advisory Practice leader, intros his blog Making Smarter IT Partner Selection focusing on the "3 Cs", capabilities, cultural and commercial. Successful teams...
Podcast: Salesforce.com Requiring Customers to Increase Annual Fees at Renewal
November 26, 2017
Director of Services, Adam Mansfield gives a quick recap of Salesforce's recent Q2 earnings and provides insights on how Salesforce is using their customer base to achieve impressive revenue growth.
Podcast: Webcast—Are You Truly Prepared for Your Salesforce Renewal
November 14, 2017
Every cloud solution Salesforce sells comes with a subscription that must be renewed. Their approach to taking advantage of their customers’ inability to walk away once product adoption has occurred has been critical to their success. If you are considering adding Salesforce to your supplier portfolio or are already a customer, this webcast will provide many valuable insights, including:
• Outlining how to effectively prepare for your SFDC renewal
• Providing actionable strategies to increase your leverage with SFDC
• Addressing SFDC’s sales tactics come renewal timePodcast: Agile Projects: What Are The Risks and Benefits?
November 9, 2017
John Belden, Project Execution Services Advisory Leader, talks about the increase in CIOs adopting agile methods across their business project portfolios.
Podcast: ‘Tis the Season for Maintenance Renewals
November 7, 2017
Greg Hall, Director, IT Service & Commercial Advisory Practice, discusses maintenance renewals; over 80% are based on the calendar year. The window for companies to avoid OPEX increases and...
Podcast: Microsoft Q1 FY2018 Earnings & Key Takeaways
October 27, 2017
Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge's Microsoft Practice Lead, reports on Microsoft's Q1 FY2018 earnings and what the key takeaways are for Microsoft clients.
Podcast: Your ERP Implementation Needs a Winning Team
October 18, 2017
Shawn Stamp, Director of Project Execution & Advisory Services discusses the challenges of putting together a winning team, which can seem just as challenging as a SAP or Oracle...
Podcast: Webcast—Sell & Deploy: Oracle’s Sales Strategy and Tactics
September 21, 2017
This podcast will:
• Uncover Oracle’s cloud transformation strategy
• Provide insights on what Oracle’s evolving customer approach and sales team compensation policies mean for you
• Detail the tactics Oracle is using to generate sales opportunities
• Prepare you for Oracle’s approach and enhance your negotiation leveragePodcast: What SAP’s Indirect Access White Paper Means for Its Clients
August 14, 2017
Sr. Sourcing & Negotiation Advisor, Michael Tucciarone breaks down SAP's Indirect Access White Paper, and provides insight into SAP's plans to evolve and expand its licensing...
Podcast: Assessing Microsoft’s Q4 2017 Earnings
July 21, 2017
Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge's Microsoft Practice Lead, looks at Microsoft's Q4 earnings and gives insight on how their earnings could impact your ...
Podcast: SAP MaxAttention, Putting the Misconceptions to Bed
July 11, 2017
UpperEdge's CEO and Founder, David Blake interviews Sr. Sourcing & Negotiation Advisor, Michael Tucciarone about the misconceptions involved with SAP MaxAttention contracts.
Podcast: Microsoft Layoffs and Overhauled Sales Organization: What It Means for Your Next Renewal
July 8, 2017
Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge's Microsoft Practice Lead discusses the layoff of 4000 Microsoft employees mostly within their sales organization. Learn how Microsofts focus on Cloud services could ...
Podcast: 6 Questions Answered: SAP Indirect Access
June 28, 2017
In the wake of Anheuser-Busch and Diageo's cases vs. SAP, UpperEdge's CEO, David Blake and SAP Practice Lead, Len Riley answer the top 6 questions weighing on the minds of CIO's regarding SAP's indirect access.
Podcast: Demystifying Relationship Opportunities with your Incumbent AMS Provider
June 20, 2017
Sr. Sourcing & Negotiation Advisor Yohann Jouin-Sellez speaks with Sourcing & Commercial Advisory Practice Leader, Len Riley about the benefits of an established relationship with your AMS (Application Management Services) provider.
Podcast: Derek Light’s Insights and Takeaways from Sapphire 2017
May 19, 2017
Sapphire Series | Derek Light's Insights and Takeaways from Sapphire 2017
Podcast: Microsoft Q3 2017 – Missed Revenue and Cloud Focus Presents Negotiating Opportunities
May 2, 2017
Listen to Adam Mansfield, UpperEdge's Microsoft Practice Leader, discuss Microsoft’s revenue that reached $23.56B, which was just short of the expected $23.62. But what’s...
Podcast: Webcast—SAP Indirect Access: The Best-Run Businesses Are Run by SAP
March 30, 2017
Topics covered during the webcast include:
• SAP’s approach to indirect access and enforcement
• Real world customer scenarios of indirect use
• Significance of the SAP v. Diageo case
• Downstream implications of HANA
• Best practice approaches for assessing and mitigating your indirect use riskPodcast: Webcast—Why Large IT Programs Crash and Burn
October 18, 2016
In this podcast, UpperEdge Governance & Risk Practice Lead, John Belden and CEO David Blake discuss what this critical success factor is and how you can hold your IT consulting partner more accountable to enabling your program
