Category Archives: oud

Adobe Driving Third Wave Of Enterprise Software Disruption

Digital media software giant Adobe Systems ( ADBE ) is well-positioned to drive the third wave of disruption in enterprise software, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Kirk Adams said in a report Monday. The first software wave was enterprise resource planning (ERP), which transformed back-office operations. Then came customer relationship management (CRM), which changed front-office operations. Adobe is calling the third wave “experience business,” which aims to reinvent how companies create, deliver and market products and services. “Adobe believes that this third wave could be bigger than both ERP and CRM,” Adams said. He reiterated his buy rating on Adobe stock and price target of 112. Adobe was down a fraction to above 92 in midday trading on the stock market today . Its stock hit an all-time high of 98 on March 18, a day after it reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and raised its guidance. Adobe outlined how it is pursuing experience business last week at its Adobe Summit 2016 conference in Las Vegas. This year’s conference drew 10,000 attendees, up from about 7,000 at last year’s show. “Adobe is focused on helping enterprises deliver consistent, high-quality experiences for their customers,” Adams said. “There are many point products and solutions from other companies, but only Adobe provides end-to-end solutions from content creation to marketing execution to measurement.” Adobe is the leader in digital content creation with its Creative Cloud offerings. Now it is moving aggressively into the marketing world with its Marketing Cloud, Adams said. Marketing Cloud includes tools for tracking the popularity of online content and the effectiveness of advertising and marketing campaigns. At its Summit conference, Adobe announced an audience measurement partnership with ComScore ( SCOR ) as well as new services and enhancements to its cloud platforms. “The Summit reinforced our view that Adobe continues to distance itself from competing digital marketing platforms,” Baird analyst Steven Ashley said in a report Wednesday. He rates Adobe stock as outperform with a price target of 105. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Facebook, Google, Amazon May Be Caught Up In Netflix Regulatory Flap

Netflix ’s ( NFLX ) revelation that it has reduced the quality of video streaming to the wireless customers of AT&T ( T ) and Verizon Communications could complicate Web regulatory issues for Internet giants such as Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google, Facebook ( FB ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ), says a Guggenheim Partners analyst. Netflix last week fessed up to throttling video to AT&T and Verizon ( VZ ) customers for several years, but not to the wireless subscribers of Sprint ( S )or T-Mobile US ( TMUS ). Netflix says it lowered video quality to protect its own customers from exceeding the monthly data caps of AT&T and Verizon. Sprint still offers unlimited data plans while T-Mobile typically slows network speeds rather than imposing overage fees, said a report. Paul Gallant, an analyst at Guggenheim, says Netflix’s policies do not violate federal “net neutrality” rules, which bar Internet service providers from throttling, blocking or prioritizing Web traffic. The rules apply only to ISPs, not Internet firms, noted Gallant. The Federal Communications Commission in February, 2015 expanded net neutrality rules to wireless networks for the first time. A federal court is expected to rule on a legal challenge to the FCC’s new net neutrality rules in April. “Getting ‘caught’ doing this may put Netflix on its heels in Washington at a time when important (Internet) policies like interconnection pricing and zero rating are fluid and could go either way,” said Gallant. T-Mobile and Comcast ( CMCSA ) have adopted video policies referred to in the telecom industry as “zero rating” because streaming does not count toward monthly data caps and there are no payments involving content partners. FCC chairman Tom Wheeler has pushed for competition between Internet video providers, also called over-the-top (OTT), and the pay-TV industry. “ISPs have long complained that they are being unreasonably singled out for regulation within the Internet ecosystem. This Netflix report may highlight for government officials the leverage possessed by large Internet companies,” added Gallant. “Slowing streams to specific wireless (users) implies a range of steps a large edge provider could take to disadvantage an ISP relative to its competitors. With video becoming a rising priority of Internet giants like Google , Amazon, and Facebook , the issue of interconnection fees and zero-rating services will remain important battlegrounds — with the current FCC actively supporting OTT-based competition.” Image provided by Shutterstock .

Oculus Rift Launches; Will Sony Unveil Better Console For VR?

Facebook ( FB ) stock is rising today as the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset begins shipments, officially making it the first high-end VR gear to come to market. Facebook-owned Oculus is expected to sell several hundred thousand $599 Rift devices this year. Evercore reiterated its outperform rating on Facebook, saying that the social media giant is “best positioned” to benefit from the growing importance of messaging applications. The investment advisory firm also raised its price target to 150 from 140. Shares climbed 0.8% to 114 intraday in above-average volume and are on track for a six-day winning streak. The rise puts Facebook even closer to a cup-base buy point of 117.69: it’s trading just 3% below that level. Sony Seen Unveiling New Console Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that Sony ( SNE ) has plans to unveil a new console ahead of the October launch of its $399 PlayStation VR headset. Sales of that device are expected to benefit from the already-installed base of 36 million PlayStation 4 consoles. Some say that an upgraded console with better graphics could help Sony win even more market share as serious gamers want top-notch visuals. Pressure On Microsoft? The new Sony console could also put pressure on Microsoft ( MSFT ), which typically releases its new console around the same time Sony does. Microsoft’s HoloLens, an augmented reality device, is in the developer stage. The $3,000 headset has gaming applications, as revealed during a Minecraft demo. The device will start shipping this Wednesday, the same day as the start of Microsoft’s annual developer conference. Microsoft fell 1% Monday, while Sony dipped fractionally.