Two leading vendors in the IT systems and performance management tools fraternity, CA and Compuware, have released quarterly earnings results and shed light on future plans for their respective product and services strategies. CA announces its new CEO and Compuware looks ahead to future plans including a focus on the cloud environment.
Two leading vendors in the IT systems and performance management
tools fraternity, CA and Compuware, have released quarterly earnings
results and shed light on future plans for their respective product and
services strategies.
On Jan. 28, both CA and Compuware announced third-quarter earnings.
In addition, CA announced the appointment of William McCracken as its
CEO.
"Over the past five months, Bill has helped direct the day-to-day
management of CA and has been integral in developing and executing the
strategy to position the company for market leadership," said Gary
Fernandes, lead independent director at CA, who headed the board search
committee, in a statement. "We had the benefit of watching him lead the
company and it became evident to us that Bill McCracken has the
knowledge, industry expertise and experience to take CA to the next
level. The board unanimously decided that Bill was the best choice to
sustain the company's momentum and lead it going forward."
McCracken joined CA's Board of Directors in 2005 and became
non-executive chairman in 2007. Prior to joining CA, McCracken held
numerous executive positions at IBM during his 36-year tenure, most
recently as a member of the Chairman's Worldwide Management Council and
general manager of IBM's printing division. He previously served as
president of IBM's EMEA and Asia PC Company and as general manager of
marketing, sales and distribution for IBM PC Company.
"Over the past few months, CA has introduced a number of new and
enhanced products in the security, IT management, virtualization and
automation spaces and made investments to bolster our cloud computing
offerings by acquiring NetQoS and Oblicore," McCracken said. "These
moves strengthen our position as a leader in next-generation
infrastructure management."
CA's North American revenue was $655 million, up 7 percent in
constant currency and 8 percent as reported from the prior year period,
while international revenue was $473 million, down 1 percent in
constant currency and up 9 percent as reported year-over-year. Overall
revenue was $1.13 billion compared to $1.04 billion for the same period
a year ago.
During an earnings call with analysts, McCracken said, "Revenue for
the period was up, cash flow was strong and we again improved operating
margins. Another important indicator, revenue backlog, was up - both
total revenue backlog and short term."
Listing CA's highlights for the quarter, McCracken said:
??Ã First, while still
in early stages, we made progress getting our EMEA and Services
businesses back on track.
??Ã Second, Security -
our Identity and Access Management business reported record new product
sales.
??Ã Third, Clarity -
our project and portfolio management solution - had one of its best
quarters ever, with more than 40 new customers added in North America
alon
??Ã Fourth, Mainframe
2.0 and our initiatives designed to change mainframe management
continue to drive momentum in the business. Since its introduction in
May, mainframe software manager - the first deliverable in the
Mainframe 2.0 initiative - has been deployed by more than 150 customers.
??Ã And, finally, our
application performance management business recorded its strongest
quarterly performance ever. CA Wily now manages the world's most
mission critical business services, including nine of the world's top
10 banks, the world's top 10 telecoms and the world's top four
entertainment companies.
Meanwhile, also reporting its third quarter earnings, Compuware saw
software license fees of $52 million compared to $53.1 million
(excluding divested products) and $60.5 million (as reported) in the
third quarter last year. Maintenance and subscription fees were $117.6
million in the third quarter compared to $108.5 million (excluding
divested products) and $116.6 million (as reported) in the third
quarter last year. Revenue from professional services in the third
quarter was $60.3 million, compared to $91.5 million in the same
quarter last year.
"Compuware's third quarter performance featured solid execution
against each of our key growth drivers, as well as strong profitability
and cash flow," said Compuware President and Chief Operating Officer
Bob Paul, in a statement. "Our strategy of streamlining operations and
increasing focus on areas where we have industry leadership is working,
and Compuware is well-positioned to deliver continued progress in
financial performance."
Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.
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