The CEO of ServiceNow says cloud providers are gaining momentum in software

• It’s been a year since Bill McDermott resigned as CEO of SAP. He led the cloud service provider ServiceNow, which helped pioneer the software-as-a-service industry.
• Facts have proved that this is a wise move, because the two companies issued contrasting results.
• In the case of weak demand, traditional software giant SAP lowered its forecasts, while ServiceNow improved its prospects, which highlights the growth power of the cloud software market during the coronavirus crisis.
• McDermott told Business Insider: “You are seeing a clear shift to cloud computing.” “You are seeing a clear shift to a few platforms, which are customers and partnerships. The standards created by partners to promote digital transformation.”
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A year ago, Bill McDermott resigned as CEO of technology giant SAP, leading the smaller and newer rival ServiceNow in the enterprise software field.

Since the quarterly earnings results announced by the two companies are quite different, this highlights the way the pandemic is disrupting the software market, a professional move that seemed particularly wise this week.

SAP slashed its revenue expectations and shocked Wall Street. Its stock price plummeted on Monday. CEO Christian Klein warned that “by 2020, some hard-hit industries will experience serious investment delays.” Worrying about the software market’s weakness in the ongoing crisis has triggered a sell-off of shares of other suppliers, including ServiceNow.

But ServiceNow’s report eliminated these concerns on Thursday as it exceeded Wall Street’s expectations and improved its prospects, causing its stock price to rise by more than 5%. UBS (UBS) analyst Karl Keirstead told investors in a report on Thursday that ServiceNow’s results are “approximately as clean as expected, and should help restore better SaaS Confidence in company stocks.”

“I chose ServiceNow for a reason,” McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow told Business Insider. “You know me for a long time and you know that I have done all the research. I understand that ServiceNow has a world-class platform with products that customers are enthusiastic about. They like it. We will become the defining enterprise software company of Windows. 21st Century.”

Although traditional vendors like SAP sell software used to run internal data centers of large companies and are still considered competitors in the fast-growing enterprise cloud software market, they are still struggling to align with the momentum of cloud-based companies. In the beginning, just like ServiceNow, it can automate the workflow. McDermott believes that companies born in the cloud clearly have advantages.

He said: “It’s actually about speed.” “You know where you are going. And the challenge is how did you get there yesterday? For any company, the world will not stop. So go there quickly. Because of those Companies that can’t get there won’t.” Do it. “

McDermott said that because the pandemic has led to a sharp shift to remote work, forcing companies to adopt cloud and other digital technologies faster, the lead of companies that are not troubled by traditional businesses is expanding.

He said: “You have basically seen a world that needs to be digitally transformed-in the midst of digital transformation-but in fact it has been accelerated through COVID.” “And we are redefining the world of work, right in front of our eyes.”

This is highlighted by the company’s recent deals with the NBA and WNBA, the latter using ServiceNow’s platform to manage its operations and the final game of the 2019-2020 season during the pandemic.

McDermott said: “They solved the entire bubble on ServiceNow,” he was referring to the special area Disney World created in Disney World to protect NBA players during the game. “You are seeing a clear transition to the cloud. You are seeing a clear shift to a platform that has created standards for a small number of customers and partners to drive digital transformation.”

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