The growing usage of data is giving rise to the need for both equipment and security. In such circumstances, the need for companies like Windstream (WIN, Financial) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW, Financial) is increasing. Let's take a look at the prospects of both companies and see how they are positioned for the long run.
Windstream's prospects
Windstream's data and integrated service grew by 3% driven by solid sales of IP-based solutions and next generation data. Also, the datacenter and managed services revenue which totaled roughly $30 million increased 23%. Also Broadband is now available to roughly 27,000 new homes as part of the broadband stimulus project and the company further expects to substantially complete the stimulus buildout this year, reaching approximately to 75,000 homes, which should provide additional opportunities for unit and revenue growth.
Apart from these priorities, Windstream has implemented various new initiatives to power its marketing program and improve its sales and productivity in the first quarter. It has completed the rollouts of a sales management platform companywide that has advanced lead generation tools to increase sales success and maximize opportunities with new and existing customers that could increase its margin in the second half of the year.
Windstream has also launched a new advertising campaign primarily designed to increase brand awareness, and it highlights its integrated value proposition, unique capabilities and customized solutions. The company has already started seeing positive momentum as this new marketing program gained traction. Windstream is also focused on bringing many pricing initiatives in practice in the second half of the year that should result in improving business revenue trends along with this marketing campaign.
Windstream has incurred about $14 million in cash expenses in the reported quarter, as the company made huge investments in the business channel to support its marketing initiatives including increased advertising as well as data center expansion. Windstream further expects these investments to drive incremental sales throughout this year.
Palo Alto's prospects
Palo Alto provides proactive protection and prevention from future attacks to the entire paying customer base coupled with providing very fast prevention from future attacks to the customer where the new attack originated. Comparatively, there’s no other company in the security market that’s capable of providing this level of detection and prevention and soon Palo Alto plans to provide additional and unique prevention capabilities at the endpoint with the integration of the Cyvera endpoint protection technology.
Palo Alto is focused on providing proactive rather than just reactive protection capabilities to the customers by sincerely observing the endpoint security market and finally acquiring Cyvera looking at its unique ability to prevent endpoint attacks at the critical exploit phase. The company is fast on integrating the Cyvera product into its platform by calendar year-end and this endpoint capability is believed to be disruptive to the endpoint security market in the same way as the next generation Firewall and cloud-based subscription services are today in the network security market.
Palo Alto continues to optimize distribution channels globally with reference to go-to-market. Its customer satisfaction scores are also much above the industry’s average. It has plans to continue to refine territories and upgrade its team to constantly improve the point of contact for the enterprise customers and value-added partners.
Conclusion
Thus, investors looking to profit from the technologies of tomorrow should definitely consider these two stocks from an investing point of view, as they can deliver solid growth.
