Krista Macomber

Editor’s note: NetApp is planning to cut 12 percent of its work force and is restructuring after another quarter of financial decline. Those layoffs will hit NetApp’s campus in RTP, the company confirmed Thursday. Will the plan work? And what impact will the recent acquisition of SolidFire have? Technology Business Research Analyst takes a look. HAMPTON, N.H. – NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP) continues to navigate challenges as customers transition away from legacy storage technologies, and peers such as Dell, HPE, Pure Storage and Nimble Storage apply more aggressive pricing pressures. Revenue from NetApp’s strategic solutions, which include its Clustered Data...

Editor’s note” Lenovo disclosed revenues today that fell below analysts’ expectations, triggering an 11 percent drop in its stock. But the company did report a bigger-than-expected profit, something the world’s No. 1 PC seller attributed largely to cost cuts. So what’s happening to Lenovo? Our Insiders get an in-depth analysis from Krista Macomber of Technology Business Research. HAMPTON, N.H. – Lenovo is focusing current year  efforts on sustaining Enterprise Group revenue growth and improving cost discipline to drive corporate profits. Lenovo’s Enterprise Group (EG) remains a bright spot for the company, with segment revenues rising 8% year-to-year to $1.3...

Editor’s note: EMC (NYSE: EMC), which has a major presence in the Triangle and is planning 1,400 layoffs, shows in its latest earnings report that it is making multiple changes. But the company, which has announced plans to be acquired by Dell, must move faster, writes analyst Krista Macomber of Technology Business Research. HAMPTON, N.H. – EMC is building scale in emerging markets, but faster share gains are needed to sustain corporate growth. EMC’s financial performance in 2015, including for the fourth quarter, demonstrates the company’s need to continue increasing its footprint in, and revenue base from, emerging technology areas....

Editor’s note:IBM’s latest quarterly earnings report shows that Big Blue’s transformation depends on accelerated software and services offerings, writes Technology Business Research Analyst Krista Macomber. HAMPTON, N.H. – IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) 2016 growth depends on accelerated software and services transformation IBM’s 2015 financial performance underscores the magnitude of IT industry transformation as well as the magnitude of IBM’s own resultant makeover. During the year, revenue from IBM’s strategic imperatives (cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security, or CAMSS), rose 17% year-to-year, contributing 35% of the company’s total revenue. Meanwhile, IBM’s total revenue in 2015 declined 12% as the company endured...

Analysis: Intel ends a revenue decline of two straight quarters and slows a drop in operating income with a 2015-ending quarter that shows some investments are paying off, writes Technology Business research Krista Macomber. What bets are delivering? WTW Insiders find out. HAMPTON, N.H. – Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) closed out 2015 by capitalizing on high-end client processor demand and increasing revenue in strategic segments such as non-volatile memory (NVM), the Internet of Things (IoT), and next-generation data center architectures. Intel’s revenue grew 1.3% year-to-year to $14.9 billion in 4Q15 after two quarters of decline, and operating income declines slowed,...

Analysis: Lenovo will sharpen execution on strategic data center opportunities in coming months, based on what the company said and its moves in recent months as amplied in its most recent earnings report last month, says analyst Krista Macomber of Technology Business Research. HAMPTON, N.H. – With restructuring complete, Lenovo will sharpen execution on strategic data center opportunities Lenovo’s Enterprise Group achieved a number of key wins in C3Q15. The company reported 550% year-to-year Enterprise Group revenue growth, with $900 million in System x revenues and 42% year-to-year ThinkServer revenue growth. TBR estimates Lenovo sparked double-digit year-to-year System x...

Editor’s note: Cisco’s latest quarterly financial results demonstrate its increasingly successful adaptation to next-generation IT architectures under new CEO Chuck Robbins, writes Technology Business Research Analyst Krista Macomber. HAMPTON, N.H. – Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) had plenty of bright spots in its CY3Q15 earnings that directly reflect its extension from high-end networking hardware into critical growth markets such as hybrid cloud. Total revenue rose 3.6% year-to-year to $12.7 billion, with product revenues expanding 4% year-to-year to $9.8 billion. Notably, Cisco’s Data Center, Collaboration and Switching segments rose 24%, 17% and 5%, respectively, during the same time period. These results point...

Editor’s note: Under direction from a new CEO, UNC graduate Chuck Robbins, Cisco focuses on business model simplicity and agility to increase its footprint in next-generation IT environments, says Technology Business Research Analyst Krista Macomber. Cisco released its most recent earnings report on Wednesday, and Robbins handled the call. He took over as CEO just three weeks ago. HAMPTON, N.H. – Although buoyed by a strong U.S. dollar, Cisco’s 2Q15 revenue growth of 3.9% year-to-year is a testament to the company’s ability to evolve long-standing corporate strategies in the face of disrupted IT models. The company achieved record quarterly...

Editor’s note: Today is earnings news day for Cisco, and its new CEO Chuck Robbins – a UNC graduate – will be on the firing line with the tech giant expected to report what Technology Business Research Analyst Krista Macomber forecasts will be “tepid” growth. But don’t look for Robbins to slow down any of the strategic changes he is making after replacing John Chambers. Cisco employs thousands of people at its sprawling campus in RTP. HAMPTON, N.H. – Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) achieved tepid growth in 2Q15, per TBR estimates, but the company cannot slow its execution on strategic initiatives. In...