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Business Wire
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
8x8 Named in Tech Titans Report as Top UK Public Sector Tech Supplier
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As UK public sector organizations find themselves under increasing pressure to modernize, a new report recognizes 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) as a key driver of transformation. The latest Tech Titans report by data insights company Tussell and digital trade association techUK highlights vendors helping government bodies unify systems, reduce complexity, and deliver better outcomes. 8x8 stands out for its role in enabling this shift through the 8x8 Platform for CX – the industry's most integrated customer experience platform, combining Contact Center, Unified Communications, and CPaaS in a single solution. According to the report, the top 150 suppliers – just 2 percent of the market – captured 84 percent of the UK's £19.6 billion public sector tech spend, underscoring the growing demand for trusted, scalable platforms like 8x8. Public Sector Tech Spend Hits Record High - and Set to Continue The findings, curated from Tussell's database of government contracts and invoices, show spending surged across central government, healthcare, and national security sectors, while only local government saw a modest decline. The spending is set to continue with at least £28.2bn of Tech Titan contracts set to be renewed or bid for by July 2029. Organizations need to make the right call 'Between the PSTN switch-off in early 2027, AI demands, and legacy systems past their sell-by date, the stakes have never been higher,' said Jamie Snaddon, GVP, Managing Director of EMEA at 8x8, Inc. 'Public sector teams can't afford - in any sense of the word - to get it wrong. We're helping them cut through complexity, unify communication, and serve faster.' The Changing Nature of Public Sector Spending The Tussell report shows the shifting face of spending and needs across the public sector, revealing: IT Resellers Lead Growth: IT resellers saw the highest growth among supplier types, with a 77% increase in direct public sector revenue over four years Central Government + NHS Drive Investment: These two verticals showed the strongest spend growth Missed Frameworks = Missed Revenue: Suppliers lost out on £11.4 billion in public sector opportunities by not being listed on the right frameworks. The Public Sector Is Shifting from Custom to Configured: The dominance of resellers and modular platforms reflects a broader trend: buyers now favor scalable, low-friction tech over complex, bespoke implementations. Trusted by Government, Built for What's Next 8x8 has a strong history of providing services and expertise across the UK public sector, including Oldham Council, London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, and many more with a range of tools including The 8x8 Platform for CX and Ballot It, the election assistant tool. 8x8: Supporting Public Sector Modernization 8x8 provides an AI-enabled platform that brings together contact center, unified communications, and CPaaS capabilities. Public sector organizations — from government departments to NHS trusts — are using it to streamline communication, reduce system fragmentation, and improve service coordination. Download the Report The full report can be found on the Tussell website. About 8x8 Inc. 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) connects people and organizations through seamless communication on the industry's most integrated platform for Customer Experience – combining Contact Center, Unified Communication, and CPaaS solutions. The 8x8® Platform for CX integrates AI at every level to enable personalized customer journeys, drive operational excellence and insights, and facilitate team collaboration. We help customer experience and IT leaders become the heartbeat of their organizations, empowering them to unlock the potential of every interaction. For additional information, visit or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. Copyright 8x8, Inc. 8x8® is a trademark of 8x8, Inc. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alibaba Just Released New AI Models for Apple. Does That Make AAPL Stock a Buy?
For Apple (AAPL), artificial intelligence is the key to future-proofing its robust devices and services ecosystem. Yet in China, Apple's second-largest market, the company's AI ambitions have hit a wall. Between trade tensions, strict regulations, Beijing's data-localization demands, fierce competition for device sales, Apple's Intelligence suite remained locked out of the mainland. Alibaba Group (BABA) has just handed Apple a potential key. Its Qwen3 AI models have been fine-tuned for Apple's MLX framework, enabling them to run natively on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Tesla's Robotaxis Reportedly Sped and Veered Into the Wrong Lanes. Does This Crush the Bull Case for TSLA Stock? 1 Dividend Stock to Buy Yielding Over 7% Ditch Big Tech and Buy These 3 Popular Stocks in 2025 Instead Our exclusive Barchart Brief newsletter is your FREE midday guide to what's moving stocks, sectors, and investor sentiment - delivered right when you need the info most. Subscribe today! It is a strategic play. Apple needs a domestic AI partner to navigate China's tight controls, and Alibaba's open-source route gives it both flexibility and local legitimacy. This could finally pave the road for Apple Intelligence to launch in China - a much-needed boost for iPhone sales. Nearly six months into 2025, and Apple bulls are still bruised, with shares 23% off their peak. So, will this Alibaba alliance reignite the rally or trigger more turbulence? Apple (AAPL), the $3 trillion global tech titan from Cupertino, redefined technology with the iPhone, Mac, and iPad. But its real power play now is the services segment. With over a billion paid subscribers and high-margin offerings like iCloud, Apple Music, and the App Store, it is weathering global headwinds while tightening its grip on the digital ecosystem. Despite being big on innovation, AAPL's stock has slumped 19.5% in 2025, making Apple the worst YTD performer among the Magnificent Seven. Regulatory headwinds and mounting competition have eroded investor confidence. While large-cap tech rebounded in May, Apple missed the rally and dropped 6% that month alone. The decline deepened with rising tariff tensions, especially fears of a 25% hit if Apple doesn't shift manufacturing to the U.S. Yet the core issue extends beyond geopolitics and trade friction. 'Apple Intelligence' debuted at WWDC 2024, failed to generate lasting enthusiasm, hindered by limited device compatibility and the postponement of key features like the enhanced Siri. Legal pressures and underwhelming developments at WWDC 2025, where cosmetic updates overshadowed bold innovation, further reinforced perceptions that Apple is trailing AI leaders such as Google (GOOGL). While the company's ecosystem remains robust, its current AI narrative lacks the momentum to inspire market confidence. Apple's fiscal Q2 2025 arrived on May 1 with both flash and friction. Revenue hit $95.4 billion, climbing 5.1% year over year, while net income rose to $24.8 billion. EPS beat expectations by 2.5%, up 8% at $1.65. While CEO Tim Cook credited the iPhone 16e demand and momentum from Mac and iPad, what really stood out was Apple's services - Apple TV+, Music, and the App Store – generating $26.6 billion, growing in double digits, and pulling the ecosystem tighter. Apple closed the quarter with $28.2 billion in cash, dwarfing its $6 billion in short-term liabilities. The company doubled down on shareholder returns, authorizing a massive $100 billion stock buyback and raising its dividend by 4% to $0.26 per share. Yet behind the gloss, headwinds stirred. A $900 million tariff drag looms over the June quarter, and China's 2.3% sales dip to $16 billion whispers of regional fatigue. For the June quarter, management sees low to mid-single-digit revenue growth and gross margins between 45.5% and 46.5%. Analysts monitoring the company remain optimistic, predicting its EPS to be around $7.11 for fiscal 2025, up 5.3% year over year, before surging by another 7.9% annually to $7.67 in fiscal 2026. Lately, Apple's innovation engine has felt eerily quiet. Siri's major upgrade isn't coming until spring 2026, and its much-hyped Apple Intelligence suite is still MIA in China. As local competitors surge ahead with feature-packed AI devices, Apple risks looking outdated in its second-largest market. But Alibaba's move could flip the script. It could finally clear the regulatory fog and let Apple roll out Apple Intelligence in China, where tight data laws demand a domestic partner. However, the alliance is drawing fire back home. U.S. lawmakers worry the deal could unwittingly help China advance its AI agenda using Apple's ecosystem. Critics argue that it echoes the TikTok saga, raising national security red flags. Investors might want to tread carefully, despite Apple's long-standing reputation for navigating storms with precision. AAPL stock has a consensus 'Moderate Buy' rating overall. Out of 37 analysts covering the tech stock, 18 recommend a 'Strong Buy,' three advise a 'Moderate Buy,' 13 analysts play it safe with a 'Hold' rating, one has a 'Moderate Sell' rating, and two have a 'Strong Sell' rating. The average analyst price target for AAPL is $230.75, indicating potential upside of 14%. The Street-high target price of $300 suggests that the stock could rally as much as 50%. On the date of publication, Sristi Suman Jayaswal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. 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