Help Desk Software Niche (RMDY, INFR, SWRT)

STOCKTALK

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Technology Stocks
Help Desk Software Niche (RMDY, INFR, SWRT)

An SI Board Since December 1995

Posts	SubjectMarks	Bans	Symbol
135	3	0	VNTV

Emcee: SI (no user)	Type: Unmoderated

Introduction Market Data Compact

One software niche that I think will do exceptionally well in the next
couple of years is the Help Desk/Customer Support niche. As large
corporations struggle to reduce costs and meet the support challenges
of ever increasingly complex software/hardware (e.g. Win95), help desk
software is being viewed at many companies as mission criticle.
Some estimates put this industry revenue growth rate at 40-60%, and
all companies in the group recorded earnings growth over 100% this year.

Remedy (RMDY) is ranked by IBD with an EPS growth rank of 99.
They seem to be the market leader and the stock as swelled nearly
50% since Thanksgiving. Their Action Request System (ARS) is used
primarily by large companies supporting internal customers. www.remedy.com

Software Artistry (SWRT) markets the SA-Expert system. I think it
is the most flexible of the systems and it can be used to support
internal and external customers. The company has recorded 114% earnings
growth last quarter. www.softart.com

Inference (INFR) sells the CBR2 system, which I think is used at
Compaq and Microsoft to support their customers. Just yesterday the
company announced an extension to their product line that will allow
for customer support over the World Wide Web. Their stock as done well
following the announcement, up about 2 to over 19. Broderbund will
support their customers after Christmas using Inference's
new web software. www.inference.com

Other players in this niche are Astea International (ATEA) and
Scopus Technology (SCOP). I don't know as much about them.

Questions for those of you who might know:

1. Does anyone out there have earnings estimates for next year on
these companies? Analyst recommendations? These are thinly traded and
poorly covered issues and I'm having trouble getting info.

2. Is there any one out there who has evaluated or used these products?
I want to know who has developed the best tools in the market?

3. Can anyone tell me how to determine fair market value for these
types of stocks. PEs are relatively high, but so is earnings growth.
How does one know what price is fair?

Go to reply# or date (mm/dd/yy):

Reply	Message Preview	From	Recs	Posted
135	The rating criteria are described in a sidebar--there's a link from the pag	Shege Dambanza	-	1/15/1998
134	I saw that article - it's hard for me to imagine how SCOP could score signi	seth thomas	-	1/14/1998
133	While I don't vouch for the impartial nature of Upside magazine, Howard And	Rick Thomas	-	1/14/1998
132	>>they [Aberdeen] fail to define 'Customer Interactive (sic) Softwar	Mike Buckley	-	10/30/1997
131	Preplanned volume discounts are different from cutting list prices. For exampl	seth thomas	-	10/29/1997
130	Steve, For the record, I was trying to be nice too. There are many good compani	Rick Thomas	-	10/29/1997
129	Some comments: While they attempt to position themselves as impartial, these m	Shege Dambanza	-	10/29/1997
128	RIck, thanks for trying to fill in some of the blanks. Actually, some of the in	seth thomas	-	10/29/1997
127	Good questions Steve. I don't have the report in front of me, so I can'	Rick Thomas	-	10/28/1997
126	When they talk about market share, are they referring to dollars, seats, or ins	seth thomas	-	10/28/1997
125	Here are excerpts from another report by the Aberdeen Group talking about the H	Rick Thomas	-	10/28/1997
124	Thanks, Mike. It"s hard enough for us folk who actually work at these com	Kevin Rose	-	7/26/1997
123	Ok, I apologize that SWRT fell like the dog it is.... Just kidding... please	Sniper	-	7/26/1997
122	There is an intersting article about the issues facing the sales force automati	Mike Buckley	-	7/26/1997
121	>>and what exactly do you do there... mailroom boy??<< I'm sor	Mike Buckley	-	7/25/1997
120	Guess what... SWRT is a DUD! And the action in the stock price shows that the	Sniper	-	7/25/1997
119	Frank, I'll be interested to see what Jim or anyone has to say about SWRT&	Mike Buckley	-	7/25/1997
118	Jim: I was recently contacted by a headhunter looking for some heavy-duty marke	Naveen Kumar	-	7/25/1997
117	dear jim just curious? you beat estimates but stock drops almost 3 bucks.what	frank 3	-	7/24/1997
116	Just to kill off another one of sniper's rumors, SWRT has not stopped const	Jim Shepherd	-	7/24/1997
115	Uh, perhaps because the Aurum customer support module sucks?	Shege Dambanza	-	7/24/1997
114	Does anyone havc thoughts about why Baan is buying Aurum, yet selected Scopus p	Mike Buckley	-	7/24/1997
113	>>Beating estimates ain't what it used to be.<< Good point. E	Mike Buckley	-	7/24/1997
112	Beating estimates ain't what it used to be. Estimates for high-growth comp	Shege Dambanza	-	7/24/1997
111	Yep, that's good news about SWRT beating estimates. Don't ya just love	Mike Buckley	-	7/23/1997

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