Latest news with #businesssoftware
CNA
7 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Russian billionaire says replacement of SAP software is costly but essential
MOSCOW :Russian steel billionaire Alexey Mordashov said that developing a homegrown alternative to the widely-used business software made by Germany's SAP will require more time and money than anticipated but is a matter of survival. SAP, which became Europe's largest company by market capitalization this year, makes software that helps businesses manage functions from marketing and human resources to logistics and procurement. SAP provided software to Russia's largest companies, including airline carrier Aeroflot and Russian Railways, but gradually curtailed its business in response to Moscow dispatching troops to Ukraine in 2022 and stopped operations in March 2024. Steelmaker Severstal, owned by Mordashov, and petrochemicals firm Sibur have jointly sought to develop an alternative to SAP software. "We have done a lot to study this issue over the past year, but it turned out that everything is much more expensive and complicated, requiring more meticulous refinement," he said at a technology conference. "We understand the importance of this task... because we need to survive," he added. SAP held up to 60 per cent of the Russian market for business software before the Ukraine conflict, with the rest mostly divided between Microsoft and Oracle. Currently, many Russian companies are still using pre-installed SAP software but lack access to updates and support from the German company, making their systems vulnerable to failures. Mordashov's statement highlighted the difficulties experienced by Russian companies as they try to develop alternatives to Western software amid Western sanctions. Severstal and Sibur initially teamed up with domestic software maker Consist but have since exited the partnership. Severstal is now looking into solutions provided by developer Business Technologies. Other Russian companies like Russian Railways and oil firm Gazpromneft have chosen to cooperate with developer 1C, and are planning to launch a domestic alternative to SAP software in 2027.
Reuters
7 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russian billionaire says replacement of SAP software is costly but essential
MOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) - Russian steel billionaire Alexey Mordashov said that developing a homegrown alternative to the widely-used business software made by Germany's SAP will require more time and money than anticipated but is a matter of survival. SAP, which became Europe's largest company by market capitalization this year, makes software that helps businesses manage functions from marketing and human resources to logistics and procurement. SAP provided software to Russia's largest companies, including airline carrier Aeroflot and Russian Railways, but gradually curtailed its business in response to Moscow dispatching troops to Ukraine in 2022 and stopped operations in March 2024. Steelmaker Severstal, owned by Mordashov, and petrochemicals firm Sibur have jointly sought to develop an alternative to SAP software. "We have done a lot to study this issue over the past year, but it turned out that everything is much more expensive and complicated, requiring more meticulous refinement," he said at a technology conference. "We understand the importance of this task... because we need to survive," he added. SAP held up to 60% of the Russian market for business software before the Ukraine conflict, with the rest mostly divided between Microsoft and Oracle. Currently, many Russian companies are still using pre-installed SAP software but lack access to updates and support from the German company, making their systems vulnerable to failures. Mordashov's statement highlighted the difficulties experienced by Russian companies as they try to develop alternatives to Western software amid Western sanctions. Severstal and Sibur initially teamed up with domestic software maker Consist but have since exited the partnership. Severstal is now looking into solutions provided by developer Business Technologies. Other Russian companies like Russian Railways and oil firm Gazpromneft have chosen to cooperate with developer 1C, and are planning to launch a domestic alternative to SAP software in 2027.
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Salesforce and Microsoft
For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – May 23, 2025– Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Salesforce CRM and Microsoft MSFT. Buy This Megacap Tech Stock Down -2% Ahead of Earnings? Salesforce stock has lagged solidly behind the Tech sector over the past five years. Wall Street is worried about CRM's slowing growth and the possible negative impact artificial intelligence could have on the entire cloud software industry. The business software powerhouse is fighting back by investing heavily in AI efforts (Agentforce), boosting profitability, and paying dividends. Salesforce's earnings outlook has held up over the last year, and its valuation has improved significantly. Investors might want to buy Salesforce stock down 20% from its highs heading into its Q1 fiscal 2026 earnings release on Wednesday, May 28. The Bull Case for Salesforce Stock Salesforce is a pioneer across business software, customer relationship management, and software-as-a-service. CRM's growing portfolio supports sales, marketing, commerce, customer and client engagement, analytics, app development, and beyond. Companies big and small rely heavily on Salesforce's offerings that quickly become embedded into their businesses and are critical to day-to-day operations and beyond. The business software power grew its revenue by an average of roughly 29% for 10 years between 2012 and 2022. Salesforce prolonged its impressive YoY growth through some major acquisitions. But its days of 25% to 30% YoY growth are over—its sales climbed 9% last year (fiscal 2025) and 11% in FY24. Salesforce's transformation into a more mature growth technology company like Microsoft and others forced it to focus on the bottom line. It has trimmed costs through job cuts and other efficiency efforts to boost its earnings over the long haul. Salesforce is returning value to shareholders via buybacks. Plus, CRM showcased its transition into a new era by declaring its first-ever dividend in 2024, joining the likes of Meta and Alphabet. CRM's Artificial Intelligence Push and Growth Outlook On the AI front, Salesforce launched its Agentforce AI tool in October 2024. Salesforce's new AI-powered platform allows customers to use existing software tools to easily program "agents" for automating tasks like customer service, marketing campaigns, and customer/business procurement and development. Salesforce said last quarter that it landed 5,000 Agentforce deals since October, including more than 3,000 paid agreements. CRM boasted that its Data Cloud & AI annual recurring revenue climbed 120% YoY last year (FY25). Digging deeper, Salesforce said "nearly half of the Fortune 100 are both AI & Data Cloud customers," and all of its "top 10 wins in Q4 included Data and AI." The company highlighted that Agentforce handled 380K conversations, "achieving an 84% resolution rate, with only 2% of the requests requiring human escalation." The goal is to infuse generative AI across its entire product portfolio. Salesforce's AI push is critical as businesses across the U.S. and beyond race to integrate artificial intelligence into their operations. Salesforce's earnings outlook has held up since its fourth quarter release, landing it a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The tech company's EPS estimates have remained largely unchanged over the past year as well. CRM is projected to grow its EPS by 9% this year and 11% next year, following 24% growth last year. The company has topped our EPS estimate in 19 out of the past 20 quarters. CRM is projected to grow its revenue by 8% and 9%, respectively, adding $6.5 billion to the top line between FY25 and FY27. Time to Buy the Tech Giant on the Dip? CRM has skyrocketed 5,500% during the past two decades, blowing away MSFT's 1,700% and Tech's 720%. Salesforce has jumped 280% in the last 10 years, roughly matching the Tech sector's 290%, but falling miles behind Microsoft's 860%. The more mundane performance is fueled by its 60% gain in the past five years, lagging Tech's 115% and Microsoft's 150%. CRM stock is down 16% YTD vs. Tech's 2% dip. The recent underperformance provides investors a chance to buy Salesforce stock 25% below its average Zacks price target and 20% below its December record. The stock recently got rejected by its 200-day moving average. Yet, it remains above its 50-week moving average as it attempts to hold its ground at its 2020 breakout levels, while trading at neutral RSI levels. Salesforce's improved earnings outlook has it trading at a 75% discount to its 10-year median at 33X forward 12-month earnings and in line with its industry. CRM's PEG ratio, which factors in its longer-term earnings growth outlook, sits at 2.6, marking an 85% discount to its 10-year highs and only a slight premium to its industry. Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks? Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation. See Stocks Free >> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@ Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.0% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report Salesforce Inc. (CRM): Free Stock Analysis Report
