TEK2day Podcast

The Fiserv First Data deal stresses the importance of innovation and tells you what we already knew - the legacy players aren't truly innovating in the payments space. Thus the string of payments-related mergers of the past several years.

We expect Amazon and Google to dominate the connected home space. It helps to be a platform company.

CEORater: CEO & Company Profiles. Crowdsourced Reviews

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TEK2day: Technology, Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Leadership, Entrepreneurship

Website: https://tek2day.com/

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Twitter: @TEK2dayOfficial

CEORater Founder & CEO Jon Maietta

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathanmaietta

Twitter: @jonathanmaietta

Medium: @jonathanmaietta

We walk through the three types of RPA business models and how we would value them:

1.) IT Services model: IT Services firms create custom bots for clients. This is a people-intensive business model that you may find at companies such as Infosys, Wipro, Tata, Accenture and IBM Global Services

2.) Tools model: Software robotics companies that develop tools which are sold to customers. Customers use those tools to build their own bots. There is a consulting/services/training element to this model as business user customers need to be educated about the bot building process. Automation Anywhere is an example of a tools company. This type of business is more scalable and profitable than the first scenario.

3.) Software Robotics: software companies that build robotics into their cloud-based technology offering. Robotics are embedded into the platform, customers are not required to build the bots themselves. This model is the most scalable of the three and most profitable. Investors may ask "Wouldn't model 2 be more profitable given that customers are building the bots?" The answer is "No", because that consulting layer isn't going away. Users will always have questions that need to be answered - vendors can't simply deliver a portfolio of tools and walk away from the customer. SS&C Technologies is an example of a company in scenario 3 where the RPA capability is embedded in the technology platform ("Singularity")

We cover our outlook for the large platform technology companies as well as some domain-specific companies. M&A is part of our outlook. We also touch on AI, ML and RPA.

Here's the Amazon Key press release: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190107005925/en/

Here is our TEK2day article: "The Three Rings of Amazon": https://tek2day.com/2018/03/02/three-rings-amazon-amzn/

Here's a link to the TEK2day.com article that we reference in the podcast: https://tek2day.com/2019/01/07/ces-week-device-oems-should-not-underestimate-consumers-concerns-around-data-privacy-and-cybersecurity/

If you follow this podcast or follow us at TEK2day.com you are aware that we have been negative on Apple's lack of innovation for the better part of two years. Recently most of the company's revenue growth has come from iPhone price increases rather than unit sale growth. Apple's recent decision to pull unit sale disclosures was a tell tale sign that the hardware/phone business was not great. Hardly a surprise as competitive offerings from lower-priced competitors (think OnePlus) offer beautiful phones with essentially the same features at a lower price point - not to mention an opportunity to differentiate from your parents in terms of your phone! Further, the camera/pics/video are what most people care about and Apple doesn't have any great camera innovations to speak of. Meanwhile, Google has included military grade night-vision capability in its camera. If AAPL does not plan to innovate on the device itself, time to accelerate innovation as it relates to software & services. Electronic Medical Records ("EMRs") is a great place to start. Apple recently announced a deal with the VA to this end.

View the CEORater Technology Founder CEO Index article at TEK2day complete with component stocks: https://tek2day.com/2018/12/31/ceorater-technology-founder-ceo-index-outperformed-in-2018/

From our recent TEK2day.com piece: Innovation as a LOB or Innovation as a Service: https://tek2day.com/2018/12/26/smart-innovation-innovation-as-a-lob-or-innovation-as-a-service/

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