If you own a smartphone you are probably familiar with automated notifications. From convenient reminders that you’ve used up almost all of your data for the month, to messages asking you to verify an account, to alerts from health apps, these notifications help make everyday life easier. Not only is this issue’s Project Alpha pick the secret behind these communications services, but it also dominates this niche market despite its small market cap. West Corporation (Nasdaq: WSTC)is a global telecommunications provider with a broad portfolio of product offerings ranging from 9-1-1 call processing to enterprise conferencing services to notification… Read More
If you own a smartphone you are probably familiar with automated notifications. From convenient reminders that you’ve used up almost all of your data for the month, to messages asking you to verify an account, to alerts from health apps, these notifications help make everyday life easier. Not only is this issue’s Project Alpha pick the secret behind these communications services, but it also dominates this niche market despite its small market cap. West Corporation (Nasdaq: WSTC)is a global telecommunications provider with a broad portfolio of product offerings ranging from 9-1-1 call processing to enterprise conferencing services to notification systems in healthcare facilities. West operates in five main segments generating sales of more than $2.2 billion, with its conferencing and collaboration services segment contributing to roughly half of the firm’s revenue. As the largest provider of conferencing and collaboration solutions in the world, West managed over 65 billion telephony minutes and facilitated over 167 million conference calls in 2015 for prominent clients such as IBM (NYSE: IBM), Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), and Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO). In 2015, the unified communications segment generated $1.5 billion in revenues and contributed to 82.9% of the firm’s operating income. Read More