The world's largest software maker
Microsoft Corp.
(
MSFT
) will now be helping popular retailer
J. C. Penney Company Inc.
(
JCP
) to update its technology solutions. J. C. Penny's employees
will use Microsoft Office 365 throughout the company, thus
enabling efficient sharing of information and eventually
improving customer service.
Microsoft's Office 365 is a cloud-based subscription-based
software service. It was officially launched in 2011.
J. C. Penney operates more than 1100 stores across the U.S.
and Puerto Rico. The stores also house several leased departments
such as Sephora, Seattle's Best Coffee, optical centers, portrait
studios, jewelry repair, as well as the conventional merchandise
normally found in a departmental stores.
J. C. Penney is deploying Office 365 for its more than 177,000
employees located across its 1000 stores in the U.S. alone. The
employees of J. C. Penney can access the latest Microsoft Office
software from their smartphones, PCs or other smart devices, thus
making their job easier.
The software will help in bringing together its workforce on a
single platform, thus allowing them to transfer relevant
information at a faster rate. This will eventually improve the
flow of communication between them, allowing team members to work
effortlessly. All of these will ultimately help in bringing a
unique shopping experience to J. C. Penney's customers.
J. C. Penney has been seeing stiff competition from the likes
of
Wal-Mart
(
WMT
),
Target
(
TGT
) and
Macy's
(
M
).
Amazon.com Inc.
(
AMZN
), the leader in the online retail segment, is also making life
difficult.
Technology investments are very important for a retailer in an
increasingly digital world and it is possible that the company
will also opt for other Microsoft software; particularly so,
since it has seen issues with maintaining an optimal selection
that has impacted demand.
Just a few days back, the U.K.-based retailer Tesco also
deployed Office 365 at its headquarters and across its stores and
field offices in Europe and Asia.
Microsoft has been battling the slump in the PC market caused
by sluggish economy. In addition, the popularity of smartphones
and tablets from
Apple Inc.
(
AAPL
) and
Google Inc.
(
GOOG
) have been cannibalizing PC market sales. Thus, these
collaborations may ease some pressure on Microsoft going
forward.
As per research conducted by IDC, cloud-based services may
grow into a $100.0 billion market by 2016, representing a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.0%. Cloud services are
expected to drive the growth in IT going forward, generating
41.0% of all growth in IT by 2016. Thus the strengthening of
Microsoft's position in the segment is encouraging, as the PC
market is showing no signs of revival in the near future.
Microsoft reported revenue, excluding deferrals, of $16.01
billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2013, down 11.4%
sequentially and 7.9% from the year-ago period. Revenues also
missed the consensus by 2.5%.
Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, Target, Macy's and Wal-Mart
all have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while J. C. Penny has a Zacks
Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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GOOGLE INC-CL A (GOOG): Free Stock Analysis
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PENNEY (JC) INC (JCP): Free Stock Analysis
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MACYS INC (M): Free Stock Analysis Report
MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis
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TARGET CORP (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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