Tag: CEO

Bill McDermott is stepping down as SAP CEO

How Bill McDermott Rescued SAP in its Darkest Hour: Courageous Leadership

October 11, 2019
It was early 2011. SAP had been rocked by slumping sales, a depressed stock price, unhappy customers, a disenchanted workforce, and a disastrous but short-lived CEO appointment.  At a sales kickoff meeting, newly named co-CEO Bill McDermott took the stage. He told the global sales team that not only would the company get back on
Larry Ellison says Oracle Autonomous Database is only the beginning

Hello, IBM and Microsoft: Larry Ellison’s Big Plans for Oracle Autonomous Database

September 16, 2019
Calling his new Autonomous Database “the most exciting and successful new-product offering in the history of our company,” Oracle founder Larry Ellison is expecting to trigger a massive wave of revenue growth for Oracle with a product he says every customer needs but no other vendor offers. Ellison delivered an extreme buildup for the industry’s
Satya Nadella and Rohan Kumar speak about the new Microsoft Azure Cloud limitless database

Satya Nadella Promises ‘Hyperscale Limitless Database’ on Microsoft Azure Cloud

September 10, 2019
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted an intriguing video on LinkedIn this week extolling the virtues of what he called a “hyperscale limitless database” to meet the surging needs of the data-driven economy. I am *clearly* no expert on database technology. But I surmise that the key takeaway of the video from Nadella and corporate VP

Microsoft’s $1B Bet: “Most Important Technological Development in Human History”

July 31, 2019
If you believe it’s important to dream big dreams, then you gotta love the expectations behind Microsoft’s decision to invest $1 billion with partner OpenAI: to achieve nothing short of “shape the trajectory of humanity.” There’s been a fair amount of chit-chat about the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership to create AGI (artificial general intelligence). But largely overlooked
New insights into Google Cloud and its recent success

Inside Google Cloud’s Breakout $2B Quarter: 10 Key Insights

July 29, 2019
CEO Thomas Kurian has lit a customer-centric fire under Google Cloud. And 10 key points from last week’s earnings call reveal the major factors driving new levels of success since Kurian assumed control in January. Those drivers have also pushed Google Cloud up one spot to #6 in the weekly Cloud Wars Top 10 rankings. 
Workday on the rise: the company could soon have a billion-dollar quarter

Workday’s Path to a $1-Billion Quarter: 10 Key Insights

May 31, 2019
It’s extremely likely that within the coming year, Workday will report its first billion-dollar quarter. “Plucky little Workday”—what a myth!! Through its long-time focus on customer success, judicious acquisitions, rigorous deployment of modern technology and bold but steady leadership, Workday has become one of the most successful and fast-growing enterprise software companies in the world.
On the ground for the Cloud Wars interview with Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith

SAP Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith: ‘I Was Alone for 17 Years—I Know What That’s Like’

May 21, 2019
Six months ago, SAP announced its plan to spend $8 billion to acquire experience-management unicorn Qualtrics, a company whose revenue was 1/50th of SAP’s. Today, SAP has rebranded itself as “the experience company powered by the Intelligent Enterprise.” This is a remarkable adjustment from its traditional “intelligent enterprise” promise—and an unmistakable sign of just how
Bob talks with Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith at SAP Sapphire Now 2019

Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith | Q&A at SAP Sapphire Now 2019

May 17, 2019
Cloud Wars caught up with Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith during SAP's big Sapphire 2019 event in Orlando. About 6 months after agreeing to an acquisition by SAP and about 3 months after the deal was completed, the Qualtrics co-founder and Chief Executive had some compelling insights and stories to share. We discussed how SAP's global

SAP CEO Bill McDermott | Exclusive Q&A at Sapphire Now 2019

May 16, 2019
In an exclusive interview during SAP’s big Sapphire 2019 event in Orlando, SAP CEO Bill McDermott sat down with Cloud Wars to talk the past, present, and future of his company. On the heels of his second main-stage keynote of the conference, McDermott described SAP’s sweeping transformation, its breakthrough acquisition of Qualtrics, the strategic significance