Application Software
Case studies in application software.
8x8 Inc.: Scale Usage-Based AI or Defend Recurring Revenue?
At the close of 5 August 2026, 8x8 had reported a quarter in which platform-usage revenue grew quickly while subscription revenue declined and company-wide gross margin fell. The company was also describing higher adoption of AI products, but it did not disclose AI-specific paid revenue or product-level margins. Read case
Adobe Inc.: Choosing an Emphasis for the Next AI Cycle
On 22 September 2026, Adobe had just filed its third-quarter Form 10-Q, following its 10 September results announcement. Anil Chakravarthy, appointed president and chief executive officer effective 1 December, was preparing to take the role. Read case
Autodesk: the last perpetual license?
On 23 March 2016, Autodesk filed its annual report for the fiscal year ended 31 January. Most new perpetual licenses for individual software products had stopped selling on 1 February. A second milestone was four months away: on 1 August, Autodesk planned to stop selling new perpetual licenses for its Design & Creation Suites and affected products. Read case
Cadence Design Systems — Integrating BETA CAE
On 3 June 2024, Cadence Design Systems announced that it had completed its acquisition of BETA CAE Systems International AG. Cadence described BETA CAE as a provider of multi-domain engineering simulation and analysis software with a strong automotive footprint and customers in aerospace, industrial, and healthcare. Read case
Datadog — How Wide Should the Platform Reach?
Datadog ended the second quarter of 2026 with revenue of $1.121 billion, up 36% from a year earlier. The company also reported about 4,720 customers with annual recurring revenue (ARR) of at least $100,000, up from about 3,850 a year earlier. In its latest annual report, it said customers were using a growing number of products across its observability and security platform. Read case
Fair Isaac Corporation: Competing on Mortgage Scores
On 9 September 2026, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) changed an important condition in the conforming-mortgage market. All lenders approved to sell loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac could use VantageScore 4.0 on eligible loans without first obtaining written approval. A lender could continue using Classic FICO. Read case
Intuit: How Much Should the Agent Do?
Intuit’s strategy is to build an AI-driven expert platform for consumers, businesses and accountants. Its FY2026 Form 10-K describes combining company data, AI, domain expertise and a network of AI-enabled human experts to provide recommendations and complete tasks. Read case
Palantir: Where Should the Next Deployment Team Go?
Palantir Technologies has two large, fast-growing customer markets. U.S. commercial revenue is accelerating amid customer interest in its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), while government programs continue to account for slightly more than half of company revenue. Read case
PTC: Where to Place the Next Dollar of Growth?
At 4:59 p.m. on May 1, 2024, PTC's executive team had a new target to work with. The industrial software company had just reported 12% constant-currency growth in annual run rate (ARR) for its second fiscal quarter. It had also lowered its mid-term ARR growth target from the mid-teens to the low double digits. Its free-cash-flow targets for the next two years remained intact. Read case
Roper Technologies — Where Should the Next Dollar Go?
At 7:59 a.m. on October 23, 2024, Roper Technologies had just released third-quarter results; its earnings call was scheduled to begin at 8:00. Revenue was $1.765 billion, up 13%, while organic revenue increased 4%. Adjusted EBITDA was $717 million, up 10%, and management said adjusted free cash flow grew 15%. Read case
Salesforce — Funding the Next Layer of the Customer Platform
At 4:05 p.m. on November 29, Salesforce made its third-quarter FY2024 results public. Revenue had grown 11% year over year, subscription and support revenue 13%, and current remaining performance obligation 14%. The company also reported a 17.2% GAAP operating margin and a 31.2% non-GAAP margin. Read case
Soluna Holdings: What Should the Next Kati 2 Commitment Require?
Soluna Holdings had a clear development ambition for Project Kati 2: develop a large AI and high-performance computing campus beside wind generation in South Texas. By the end of September 2026, the company had formed a joint venture with Metrobloks, advanced design, engaged a prospective tenant and signed supplier letters of intent. Read case
SoundHound AI: How Fast Should LivePerson Move into OASYS?
SoundHound AI completed its acquisition of LivePerson on September 4, 2026. In the closing announcement, SoundHound said LivePerson’s digital-engagement platform would be integrated into OASYS, its conversational-AI platform, to support interactions across voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels. Read case
Synopsys: Who Owns the Engineering Agent?
On September 28, 2026, Synopsys announced AgentEngineer, a portfolio of long-horizon engineering agents, and Autopilot, a platform intended to orchestrate agents, tools, models, and engineering workflows. The company said more than 50 customer engagements were underway and that general availability was planned by year-end. Read case
Trimble Inc. — Sequencing the AGCO Joint-Venture Interfaces
On September 28, 2023, Trimble and AGCO signed an agreement to combine much of Trimble’s precision-agriculture business with AGCO’s JCA Technologies business in a joint venture. Trimble agreed to contribute its precision-agriculture business, excluding certain GNSS and guidance technologies, and AGCO agreed to contribute JCA. AGCO would own 85% and Trimble 15% after closing. Read case
Tyler Technologies and NIC — Integrate the Platform or Coordinate Around Local Contracts?
Tyler Technologies announced on 21 April 2021 that it had completed its acquisition of NIC Inc. The companies served different parts of the government market: Tyler emphasized local-government software, while NIC had a substantial state-enterprise digital-services business. Read case
Workday — How Far Should AI Agents Go?
Workday had made its Sana Self-Service Agent available to customers through Flex Credits and announced a partnership that would put Workday agents into Google’s Gemini Enterprise environment. These moves offered routes to broader access. Read case