Information Services Group Inc (III) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome, everyone, to the Information Services Group fourth quarter '23 conference call. This call is being recorded, and a replay will be available on ISG's website within 24 hours. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Barry Holt for his opening remarks and introductions. Mr. Holt, please go ahead.

早安，歡迎大家參加資訊服務集團 23 年第四季電話會議。本次通話正在錄音，24 小時內將在 ISG 網站上提供重播。現在我想請巴里·霍爾特先生致開幕詞和介紹。霍爾特先生，請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Hello, good morning. My name is Barry Holt. I'm a Senior Communications Executive at ISG. I'd like to welcome everyone to ISG's fourth quarter conference call. I'm joined today by Michael Connors, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Michael Sherrick, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，接線生。你好早安。我叫巴里‧霍爾特。我是 ISG 的高級傳播主管。我歡迎大家參加 ISG 第四季電話會議。今天，董事長兼執行長 Michael Connors 也加入了我的行列。執行副總裁兼財務長 Michael Sherrick。

Before we begin, I'd like to read a forward-looking statement. It is important to note that this communication may contain forward-looking statements which represent the current expectations and beliefs of the management of ISG concerning future events and their potential effects. These statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.

在我們開始之前，我想閱讀一份前瞻性聲明。值得注意的是，本通訊可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述代表了 ISG 管理階層目前對未來事件及其潛在影響的期望和信念。這些陳述並不是對未來結果的保證，並且存在某些風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與預期結果有重大差異。

For a more detailed listing of the risks and other factors that could affect future results, please refer to the forward-looking statement contained in our Form 8-K that was furnished last night to the SEC and the Risk Factors section in ISG's Form 10-K covering full year results you should also read ISC's annual report on Form 10-K and any other relevant documents, including any amendments or supplements to these documents filed with the SEC. You'll be able to obtain free copies of any of ISG's SEC filings on either ISG's website at www.isg-one.com, or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. ISG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

有關可能影響未來結果的風險和其他因素的更詳細列表，請參閱昨晚向 SEC 提供的表格 8-K 中包含的前瞻性聲明以及 ISG 表格 10- 中的風險因素部分。您還應該閱讀ISC 的10-K 表年度報告和任何其他相關文件，包括向SEC 提交的這些文件的任何修訂或補充。您可以在 ISG 的網站 www.isg-one.com 或 SEC 的網站 www.sec.gov 上免費取得任何 ISG 向 SEC 提交的文件副本。 ISG 不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述以反映後續事件或情況的義務。

During this call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures which ISG believes improves the comparability of the Company's financial results between periods and provides for greater transparency of key measures used to evaluate the company's performance. The non-GAAP measures, which we will touch on today include adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings and the presentation of selected financial data on a constant currency basis.

在本次電話會議中，我們將討論某些非 GAAP 財務指標，ISG 認為這些指標可以提高公司不同時期財務表現的可比性，並提高用於評估公司績效的關鍵指標的透明度。我們今天將討論的非公認會計準則指標包括調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的淨利潤以及以固定貨幣為基礎的選定財務數據的列報。

Non-GAAP measures are provided in additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. For the reconciliation of all non-GAAP measures presented to the most closely applicable GAAP measure, please refer to our current report on Form 8-K, which was filed last night with the SEC.

非 GAAP 指標以附加資訊形式提供，不應單獨考慮或取代根據 GAAP 編制的財務結果。有關所有非 GAAP 衡量標準與最接近適用的 GAAP 衡量標準的調節，請參閱我們昨晚向 SEC 提交的 8-K 表中的最新報告。

And now I'd like to turn the call over to Michael Connors, who will be followed by Michael Sherrick. Mike?

現在我想將電話轉給邁克爾康納斯 (Michael Connors)，隨後由邁克爾謝里克 (Michael Sherrick) 接聽。麥克風？

Thank you, Barry, and good morning, everyone. Today we will review our results for the fourth quarter and full year, including our recurring revenue growth and our strong Q4 cash generation, our investments into growth initiatives, enterprise AI and next-generation sourcing and the current demand environment and our outlook for the [first] quarter. Although our fourth quarter was saw 2023 was largely a successful year for ISG.

謝謝你，巴里，大家早安。今天，我們將回顧第四季度和全年的業績，包括我們的經常性收入成長和第四季度強勁的現金產生、我們對成長計劃、企業人工智慧和下一代採購的投資以及當前的需求環境和我們對[第一季。儘管我們看到第四季度，但 2023 年對 ISG 來說基本上是成功的一年。

We grew our top line 2% in an industry that was down 6% last year. We advanced our recurring revenues by 16%, and we invested in two growth areas, enterprise AI, and next-gen sourcing. For the full year, IOC delivered record revenues of $291 million given the overall IT and business services industry was down 6% last year as reported by the ISG index in January, we consider our top line growth of 2% to be solid. Our strategic investments in recurring revenue streams continue to pay off.

在去年下降 6% 的行業中，我們的收入成長了 2%。我們的經常性收入成長了 16%，並投資於兩個成長領域：企業人工智慧和下一代採購。鑑於 1 月份 ISG 指數報告稱，去年整個 IT 和商業服務行業下降了 6%，IOC 全年收入達到創紀錄的 2.91 億美元，我們認為 2% 的收入增長是穩健的。我們對經常性收入流的策略性投資持續獲得回報。

For the year we generated record recurring revenues of $125 million, up 16%, driven by our research and ISG. platform businesses. Recurring revenue represents 43% of our total firm-wide revenue, up 500 basis points from the prior year. Our Q4 results, $66 million of revenues and adjusted EBITDA of $6 million were impacted by slower client decision making due to the uncertain macro environment as well as the advent of a eye, which is extending sales cycles more on that latter point in a moment.

今年，在我們的研究和 ISG 的推動下，我們的經常性收入達到創紀錄的 1.25 億美元，成長了 16%。平台企業。經常性收入占我們公司總收入的 43%，比前一年增加 500 個基點。我們第四季的業績、6600 萬美元的收入和 600 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA 受到宏觀環境不確定性導致客戶決策緩慢以及眼睛的出現的影響，眼睛的出現在後一點上進一步延長了銷售週期。

During Q4, we saw growth in our research platforms and software advisory businesses and in our Consumer Services and Public Sector industries. Recurring revenue represented 45% of our total firm-wide revenue for the quarter. We also generated nearly $10 million of cash in the fourth quarter. The highest amount in the year since 2019.

在第四季度，我們看到我們的研究平台和軟體諮詢業務以及消費者服務和公共部門產業的成長。經常性收入佔本季公司總收入的 45%。我們還在第四季度創造了近 1000 萬美元的現金。創2019年以來年度最高金額。

Now a further word on the demand environment. It's easy to understand how current macro conditions are impacting client decision making. What's less evident is the impact of a eye on the market. And we have seen this before. Most recently with the advent of cloud computing, it takes a while for the market to adjust to a major new technology for many enterprises, knowing how to apply and govern AI is a challenge.

現在進一步談談需求環境。很容易理解當前的宏觀狀況如何影響客戶的決策。不太明顯的是眼睛對市場的影響。我們以前已經見過這種情況。最近，隨著雲端運算的出現，市場需要一段時間才能適應許多企業的重大新技術，了解如何應用和治理人工智慧是一項挑戰。

They need time to understand the practical applications and see the potential for ROI. before they go all in much of the hype today is around generative AI, but other forms of AI or already taking root clients are asking us to embed AI in almost all of our sourcing transactions in areas such as AI ops and AI enabled applications.

他們需要時間來了解實際應用並看到投資回報率的潛力。在他們開始之前，今天的大部分炒作都是圍繞著生成式人工智慧，但其他形式的人工智慧或已經紮根的客戶要求我們將人工智慧嵌入到人工智慧操作和人工智慧應用程式等領域的幾乎所有採購交易中。

They are also seeking data and AI capabilities to experiment to take full advantage of AI. However, our clients need to see the big picture and create a strategic plan for adopting AI at scale. And this is where I see concern. Ioc launched a new enterprise AI advisory business at the start of this year to guide clients through the intricate maze of AI adoption.

他們也正在尋求數據和人工智慧能力進行實驗，以充分利用人工智慧。然而，我們的客戶需要縱觀全局並制定大規模採用人工智慧的策略計劃。這就是我所看到的擔憂之處。Ioc 在今年年初推出了一項新的企業人工智慧諮詢業務，以指導客戶穿越人工智慧採用的錯綜複雜的迷宮。

We brought together our trusted experience and technology sourcing our deep expertise in AI and our broad access to the provider ecosystem to create a new and unique approach to sourcing a aye clients are relying on our experts to establish their AI strategy set guardrails, identify use cases and build their AI ecosystem.

我們匯集了值得信賴的經驗和技術，我們在人工智慧方面的深厚專業知識以及我們對供應商生態系統的廣泛訪問，創造了一種新的、獨特的方法來採購客戶依賴我們的專家來建立他們的人工智慧策略、設定護欄、確定用例並建立他們的人工智慧生態系統。

And to ensure we are capturing new opportunities, we have scaled up our workforce training and certifying more than 1,200 of our employees and enterprise AI. during the fourth quarter, demand for AI and digital transformation is growing. Our pipeline does slower. The close is 14% larger now than it was last year.

為了確保我們抓住新的機遇，我們擴大了勞動力培訓並對 1,200 多名員工和企業人工智慧進行了認證。第四季度，人工智慧和數位轉型的需求不斷增長。我們的管道速度較慢。現在的收盤價比去年上漲了 14%。

Our other key investment is in our new sourcing platform. Yesterday, we announced the launch and availability of ISG Tango first, fully integrated digital platform designed to simplify and expedite sourcing ISG Tangoe as a result of a year-long development effort. It digitizes all elements of ISG. future stores, the industry's most respected sourcing process and methodology from initial service scope to provider selection to contract creation and signature.

我們的另一項重要投資是新的採購平台。昨天，我們宣布推出並推出 ISG Tango 第一個完全整合的數位平台，經過一年的開發努力，旨在簡化和加快 ISG Tangoe 的採購。它將 ISG 的所有元素數位化。未來商店，業界最受推崇的採購流程和方法，從最初的服務範圍到供應商選擇，再到合約創建和簽署。

The new platform leverages ISG's market leading transaction data provider revaluations and market insights and includes a virtual deal rooms to secure document exchange and user interaction powered by AIST. Tangoe also automate automate contract creation and provide real-time predictive insights to streamline the entire transaction process and accelerate time to value because of its ability to scale. Ioc, Tangoe will allow us to capture more on advice transaction activity over the next few years.

新平台利用 ISG 市場領先的交易資料提供者重估和市場洞察，並包括一個虛擬交易室，以確保由 AIST 提供支援的文件交換和使用者互動。Tangoe 還可以自動創建合同，並提供即時預測見解，以簡化整個交易流程，並由於其擴展能力而加快價值實現時間。Ioc、Tangoe 將使我們能夠在未來幾年捕捉更多建議交易活動。

Among our current G2000 clients. And for the first time, it will allow us to penetrate the underserved mid-market. We spend about $130 billion on technology and business services annually, mostly been through on advise transactions. This is an exciting new development for ISG. We expect ISTK. go to help us expand our margins in line with our other elements of our ISGNX. operating model.

我們目前的 G2000 客戶之一。這將使我們第一次能夠打入服務不足的中端市場。我們每年在技術和商業服務上花費約 1300 億美元，其中大部分用於建議交易。對於 ISG 來說，這是一個令人興奮的新進展。我們期待 ISTK。幫助我們根據 ISGNX 的其他要素擴大利潤。營運模式。

Now turning to our regions. The Americas delivered $40 million of revenue in the quarter, down 8% versus the prior year. For the full year, revenues were $173 million, up 4%. During Q4, we saw double digit growth in our consumer public sector, energy and utilities industry verticals and among our services research was also up double digits.

現在轉向我們的地區。美洲地區本季營收 4,000 萬美元，較上年下降 8%。全年營收為 1.73 億美元，成長 4%。第四季度，我們的消費者公共部門、能源和公用事業垂直產業實現了兩位數成長，我們的服務研究也實現了兩位數成長。

Key client engagements during the fourth quarter included 17 US Steel, Carnival and Safeway during the quarter, a global hospitality and entertainment company awarded ISGA. strategically important data analytics and AI engagement. Far work will help this client leverage recent advances in AI to support personalized marketing and optimize their operations. We were also selected by a U.S. state government to support upcoming implementation of a new statewide ERP system for finance and procurement.

第四季的主要客戶包括 17 家美國鋼鐵公司、Carnival 和 Safeway，這是一家全球酒店和娛樂公司，榮獲 ISGA 獎。具有戰略意義的數據分析和人工智慧參與。遠距工作將幫助該客戶利用人工智慧的最新進展來支援個人化行銷並優化其營運。我們也被美國州政府選中來支持即將實施的新的全州財務和採購 ERP 系統。

Turning to Europe, our Q4 revenues of $20 million were down 15% from last year. For the full year, revenues were flat at $90 million. During the quarter, Europe delivered double digit revenue growth in our banking industry vertical and in our network and software advisory business. Key client engagements in Europe in the fourth quarter included the financial services firm, IQE. two, Nestle, Volkswagen and Deutsche Bahn.

轉向歐洲，我們第四季的營收為 2000 萬美元，比去年下降了 15%。全年營收持平於 9,000 萬美元。本季度，歐洲銀行業垂直領域以及網路和軟體諮詢業務的收入實現了兩位數的成長。第四季度歐洲的主要客戶包括金融服務公司 IQE。兩家是雀巢、大眾和德國鐵路。

In the fourth quarter, we expanded our already robust relationship with a European CPG company by delivering a nearly $2 million software advisory engagements. We helped this client renegotiate its worldwide contracts with SAP, Microsoft, DocuSign and Adobe at a savings of more than $10 million. And we began an assessment of the Company's procurement and vendor management organization to generate ongoing sustainable savings.

第四季度，我們提供了近 200 萬美元的軟體諮詢業務，擴大了與一家歐洲 CPG 公司業已牢固的關係。我們幫助該客戶與 SAP、Microsoft、DocuSign 和 Adob​​e 重新談判其全球合同，節省了超過 1000 萬美元。我們開始對公司的採購和供應商管理組織進行評估，以實現持續可持續的節約。

Now turning to Asia Pacific, our Q4 revenues of $6 million were down 12%. For the full year, they were down 5% to $28 million in the fourth quarter, we saw double digit growth in our banking and manufacturing industry verticals. Key clients in the quarter included the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Home Affairs, CBH group and Insurance Australia Group. In Q4, ISG deliver a sourcing advisory and software negotiation support to a leader in the Australian grain industry for its transformation journey from legacy SAP to ask for Hana.

現在轉向亞太地區，我們第四季的營收為 600 萬美元，下降了 12%。全年來看，第四季下降了 5%，至 2,800 萬美元，但我們的銀行和製造業垂直產業出現了兩位數的成長。本季度的主要客戶包括澳洲稅務局、內政部、CBH 集團和澳洲保險集團。第四季度，ISG 為澳洲糧食產業的領先企業提供採購諮詢和軟體談判支持，協助其從傳統 SAP 轉型為 Hana 。

Now let me turn to guidance. We expect the market to accelerate over the course of this year. As inflation continues to call central bank response in clients become more comfortable with a decision making. With this in mind, for the first quarter, we are targeting revenues between $65 million and $67 million and adjusted EBITDA between $6 million and $7 million I would point out that we will face a difficult comp with our record first quarter last year based on our next two year business plan and in anticipation of accelerating demand and the margin impact we expect from ISG. Tango. We remain committed to driving toward our target of a 17% adjusted EBITDA margin for the firm by the end of 2025.

現在讓我談談指引。我們預計今年市場將加速發展。隨著通貨膨脹持續影響央行的反應，客戶的決策變得更加輕鬆。考慮到這一點，我們第一季的目標收入在 6,500 萬美元至 6,700 萬美元之間，調整後的 EBITDA 在 600 萬美元至 700 萬美元之間。加速和利潤率影響的預期。探戈。我們仍致力於實現 2025 年底公司調整後 EBITDA 利潤率達到 17% 的目標。

So with that, let me turn the call over to Michael, who will summarize our financial results. Michael?

因此，讓我將電話轉給邁克爾，他將總結我們的財務表現。麥可？

Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. And before I begin, I want to provide some context on a bad debt reserve we took in the quarter. During the fourth quarter, we recorded a reserve for bad debt of $4.8 million related to collections from a supply base client that were past due and for which we were unable to agree upon a revised payment structure.

謝謝你，麥克，大家早安。在開始之前，我想提供一些有關本季度壞帳準備金的背景資訊。在第四季度，我們記錄了 480 萬美元的壞帳準備金，這些壞帳準備金與逾期的供應基地客戶的收款有關，而且我們無法就修改後的付款結構達成協議。

I want to stress that this is a reserve. We are early in the collection process and that we are both pursuing collections of the full amount owed. We will use all channels, legal and other available to us towards such collections.

我想強調的是，這是一個儲備。我們正處於催收過程的早期階段，我們都在追討全額欠款。我們將使用所有可用的合法管道和其他管道來收集此類資訊。

Now onto the details of the quarter, revenues for the fourth quarter were $66.2 million, down 11% compared with the fourth quarter last year. Currency positively impacted reported revenues by $0.7 million versus the prior year. In the Americas, reported revenues were $40.1 million, down 8% versus the prior year. In Europe, revenues were $20.2 million, down 15%, and Asia Pacific revenues were $5.9 million, down 12%.

現在來看季度的細節，第四季的營收為 6,620 萬美元，比去年第四季下降 11%。與前一年相比，貨幣對報告收入產生了 70 萬美元的正面影響。在美洲，報告收入為 4,010 萬美元，比上年下降 8%。在歐洲，收入為 2,020 萬美元，下降 15%，亞太地區收入為 590 萬美元，下降 12%。

Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA was $5.9 million, down from $11.1 million last year, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 8.9% compared with 15% in the prior year's fourth quarter. ISG. had a fourth quarter operating loss of $3.5 million compared with operating income of $7.2 million in the prior year.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 590 萬美元，低於去年的 1,110 萬美元，導致 EBITDA 利潤率為 8.9%，而去年第四季為 15%。ISG。第四季營業虧損為 350 萬美元，而上一年營業收入為 720 萬美元。

Our reported net loss for the quarter was $2.9 million or a loss of $0.06 per fully diluted share compared with net income of $4.3 million or $0.09 per fully diluted share in the prior year. Excluding the previously mentioned reserve, net income and GAAP EPS would have been $0.8 million and $0.02 per fully diluted share respectively.

我們報告本季的淨虧損為 290 萬美元，或完全稀釋每股虧損 0.06 美元，而前一年的淨利潤為 430 萬美元，或完全稀釋每股虧損 0.09 美元。不包括前面提到的儲備金，完全稀釋每股淨利潤和 GAAP 每股收益將分別為 80 萬美元和 0.02 美元。

Fourth quarter adjusted net income was $3.1 million, or $0.06 per fully diluted share, compared with adjusted net income of $6.5 million or $0.13 per fully diluted share in the prior year's fourth quarter. Headcount as of December 31, 2023 was 1,518, down 32 professionals or 2.1% from the third quarter.

第四季調整後淨利為 310 萬美元，或完全稀釋每股 0.06 美元，而去年第四季調整後淨利為 650 萬美元，或完全稀釋每股 0.13 美元。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，員工總數為 1,518 人，比第三季減少 32 名專業人員，即 2.1%。

Consulting utilization for the fourth quarter was 65%, impacted by slower client decision making in the quarter and our retention of advisory talent. Our full year utilization was 70%, even with some cost-cutting moves in Q4 and Q1, we are maintaining our core strength in advisory services, retaining the key talent we need when demand begins to accelerate this year. Our balance sheet continues to be solid and provides us with the flexibility to support our business over the long term.

第四季的諮詢利用率為 65%，受到本季客戶決策速度放緩以及我們保留諮詢人才的影響。我們的全年利用率為70%，即使在第四季度和第一季採取了一些成本削減措施，我們仍保持了諮詢服務的核心優勢，並在今年需求開始加速時保留了我們所需的關鍵人才。我們的資產負債表仍然穩健，為我們提供了長期支援業務的靈活性。

For the quarter, net cash provided by operations was a solid $9.7 million and $12.3 million for the year. We ended the quarter end the year with $22.6 million of cash up strong from $18.7 million at the end of the third quarter. During the fourth quarter, ISG paid dividends totaling $2.2 million and repurchased 1$.7 million of ICE shares.

本季營運提供的淨現金為 970 萬美元，全年為 1,230 萬美元。截至今年季末，我們的現金為 2,260 萬美元，較第三季末的 1,870 萬美元大幅增加。第四季度，ISG 支付了總計 220 萬美元的股息，並回購了 170 萬美元的 ICE 股票。

Our next quarterly dividend will be payable March 29 to shareholders of record as of March 19. We ended the fourth quarter with a debt balance of $79.2 million, unchanged from Q3. Importantly, we remain comfortable with our debt to EBITDA ratio. Our average borrowing rate for the quarter was 7%, up from 5.2% last year, and we ended the quarter with $49.7 million fully diluted shares outstanding.

我們的下一個季度股利將於 3 月 29 日支付給截至 3 月 19 日在冊的股東。在第四季結束時，我們的債務餘額為 7,920 萬美元，與第三季持平。重要的是，我們對債務與 EBITDA 的比率仍然滿意。本季我們的平均借款率為 7%，高於去年的 5.2%，本季結束時，我們的完全稀釋流通股價值為 4,970 萬美元。

Mike will now share concluding remarks before we take Q&A. Mike?

現在，在我們進行問答之前，麥克將進行總結發言。麥克風？

Thank you, Michael. To summarize, ISC. achieved record revenues and grew our recurring revenues by 16% in 2023, despite Q4 results that were impacted by slower client decision-making. We had an outstanding cash quarter in Q4, generating almost $10 million of cash. We made investments in both enterprise AI and next-gen sourcing to accelerate our growth. We are excited and optimistic about the future.

謝謝你，麥可。總而言之，ISC。儘管第四季度的業績受到客戶決策放緩的影響，但我們仍實現了創紀錄的收入，並且到 2023 年我們的經常性收入增長了 16%。第四季我們的現金季度表現出色，產生了近 1000 萬美元的現金。我們對企業人工智慧和下一代採購進行了投資，以加速我們的成長。我們對未來感到興奮和樂觀。

We expect client demand to accelerate over the course of 2024 as macro conditions improve and clients become more comfortable investing in a I mean overall, we have a solid business plan in place to enhance our growth and profitability, and we remain confident in reaching our stated objectives.

我們預計，隨著宏觀條件的改善以及客戶對投資更加放心，客戶需求將在 2024 年加速成長。

As always, we are focused on creating shareholder value for the long term. And we are steadfast in our mission to deliver operational excellence to our clients. So thank you very much for calling in this morning. And now let me turn the session over to our operator for your questions.

一如既往，我們致力於為股東創造長期價值。我們堅定不移地履行為客戶提供卓越營運的使命。非常感謝您今天早上打電話來。現在讓我將會議轉交給我們的接線生回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Dave Storms, Stonegate.

（操作員指示）Dave Storms，Stonegate。

Good morning. I was just hoping we could talk about the sales cycle, although I know you mentioned that clients are taking their time making decisions.

早安.我只是希望我們可以討論銷售週期，儘管我知道您提到客戶正在慢慢做出決定。

How willing are you to negotiate on things like price and term and to sales.

您是否願意就價格、條款以及銷售等問題進行談判​​？

So David, first of all, I think it's not a matter of price. The challenge from clients is what we are seeing is there's a lot more variables that they want to consider primarily around AI., they want to understand some use cases. They want some tutorials and they need to be educated on how AI before they enter into a multiyear agreement with a tech provider that's an added feature.

所以大衛，首先，我認為這不是價格問題。我們看到客戶面臨的挑戰是，他們想要主要考慮人工智慧方面的更多變量，他們想要了解一些用例。他們需要一些教程，並且需要在與技術提供者簽訂多年協議之前接受有關人工智慧如何使用的教育，這是一項附加功能。

It's going to be a good feature for the enterprise and it's going to be good for us too but what it does instead of moving right straight ahead into. Let's move on a transaction. Let's understand what the ecosystem is. It is being slowed down by a bit more on the AI. and understanding what that is because A., I will be a solution part of the solution of every deal.

這對企業來說將是一個很好的功能，對我們也有好處，但它所做的並不是直接進入。讓我們繼續進行交易。讓我們來了解一下什麼是生態系統。人工智慧的速度正在減慢。並理解那是什麼，因為 A.，我將成為每筆交易解決方案的一部分。

So I don't think it's price. I think that the slowdown is both a macro or the confidence level to move forward on things that's a little more discretionary in some cases is slower. And then also we are educating entities realizing if you will, and providing use cases to our clients around a I think that's really where the the sluggishness, if you will, of decision making not around price.

所以我覺得不是價格。我認為經濟放緩既是宏觀因素，也是對在某些情況下更加自由裁量的事情向前推進的信心水平的影響。然後，我們也在教育實體，讓他們意識到，如果你願意的話，並向我們的客戶提供用例，我認為，如果你願意的話，這確實是決策制定的緩慢之處，而不是圍繞價格。

Understood. That's great. Color. Thank you on. And then just I want to look back at acquisitions you made last quarter. Is there any update you can give us there about customer acquisition, how that integration is going. I know that opened up a lot of white space for ISG. and so on. An update.

明白了。那太棒了。顏色。謝謝你了。然後我想回顧一下你們上個季度進行的收購。您能否向我們提供有關客戶獲取以及整合進展的最新資訊？我知道這為 ISG 開闢了許多空白空間。等等。更新。

Yes, for the entire research outstanding, as we mentioned, when we acquired the asset Ventana kind of gives us access more access to the $800 billion software industry. And they are a terrific team of about two dozen analysts that understand software.

是的，就整個研究而言，正如我們所提到的，當我們收購 Ventana 資產時，我們可以更多地接觸價值 8000 億美元的軟體產業。他們是一支由大約兩打了解軟體的分析師組成的出色團隊。

They are a key part of the future of part of our recurring revenue streams because of the research associated with that segment. And as you can see with the overall research part of the business is part of our recurring revenue, and it's been growing at double digits. So we are very pleased. It's early stages and it's early stages and we can't be more pleased with the team and what they bring to the table.

由於與該細分市場相關的研究，它們是我們經常性收入流的未來的關鍵部分。正如您所看到的，業務的整體研究部分是我們經常性收入的一部分，並且一直以兩位數的速度成長。所以我們非常高興。現在還處於早期階段，我們對團隊以及他們帶來的成果感到非常滿意。

Michael Mathison, Singular Research.

邁克爾·馬西森，奇異研究。

Good morning, guys.

早上好傢伙。

Good morning, Martin.

早安，馬丁。

Yes, a difficult macro environment. Congratulations on your resilience and doing better and the market as a whole.

是的，宏觀環境困難。恭喜您的韌性和做得更好以及整個市場。

Thank you.

謝謝。

My question's for you on you really and treat me with the idea of Tango that's potentially transformational opening up a lot of our transactions that you're not currently a part of. And do you have pilots lined up for that?

我的問題確實是問你的，請用 Tango 的想法來對待我，它可能會帶來變革，開放我們目前尚未參與的許多交易。你們有飛行員為此排隊嗎？

Yes, we are we have been beta testing this with a few clients that we are active in today. And just to put some parameters around the our view of ISG Tangoe this platform, it's going to provide to new opportunities for us in addition to being more efficient.

是的，我們一直在與我們今天活躍的一些客戶進行 Beta 測試。只是為了圍繞我們對 ISG Tangoe 這個平台的看法提供一些參數，除了提高效率之外，它還將為我們提供新的機會。

The two new opportunities are taking our current client base where they have smaller technology deals, and we are thinking of it as kind of less than $5 million of ACV a year. So some of these things are two and three years. So think about it as $10 million or $15 million type contracts that [G2000] point out that we have not really been able to tap into in an efficient way that we think Tangoe will allow us to then expand with the current client base.

這兩個新機會正在吸引我們現有的客戶群，他們擁有較小的技術交易，我們認為每年的 ACV 不到 500 萬美元。所以有些事情是兩年、三年的。因此，將其視為 1000 萬美元或 1500 萬美元類型的合同，[G2000] 指出我們還沒有真正能夠以有效的方式利用它，我們認為 Tangoe 將允許我們擴大當前的客戶群。

And then secondly, the mid-market and the mid-market think about it's certainly well below $10 billion of revenue but probably closer to the $5 billion. And under again, same kind of parameters, less than $5 million of ACV. That mid market is essentially on it buys and our sense is using the platform that we will be able to penetrate the mid-market at a bunch different price point for them and a good margin for us, whereas a lighter touch.

其次，中階市場和中階市場認為它的收入肯定遠低於 100 億美元，但可能更接近 50 億美元。同樣，在相同的參數下，ACV 還不到 500 萬美元。中端市場本質上是在購買，我們的感覺是使用這個平台，我們將能夠以一系列不同的價格點滲透到中端市場，並為我們帶來良好的利潤，而觸感則較輕。

But we will be able to have an access to that area. So that's how we think about Tangoe from as we think about our our margin target that we set for ourselves internally, which is trying to get that said, about 19% at the end of next year, we think Tangoe will allow us part of that way by margin expansion. So that's how we think about it.

但我們將能夠進入該區域。這就是我們對 Tangoe 的看法，因為我們在考慮我們為自己內部設定的利潤率目標時，我們試圖做到這一點，到明年年底約為 19％，我們認為 Tangoe 將允許我們實現其中的一部分通過利潤擴張的方式。這就是我們的想法。

Michael, interesting. Thank you. Turning to the macro environment, we're nearly to the end of Q1. Do you see any signs yet of stabilizing in the revenue environment, if so, in which geographies and which verticals would stand there?

邁克爾，有趣。謝謝。談到宏觀環境，第一季已接近尾聲。您是否看到收入環境有任何穩定的跡象？

You would take that one, Michael?

你會接受那個嗎，麥可？

Yes. No, I think, Michael, so yes, nothing Michael. Michael Sherrick. I think you I think you let me I'll take that one for you. You know, Michael, I think we've we've seen, as Mike noted, we've seen the strength and recovery in terms of pipeline right. So the demand is there is the decision making. I think we've had some we're pleased with what we're seeing in terms of building that pipeline and progressing it really in both Europe and the Americas. EMEA and Asia-Pacific, I think is more some more stable, if you will.

是的。不，我想，邁克爾，所以是的，沒什麼，邁克爾。邁克爾·謝里克.我想你 我想你讓我了 我會為你拿走那個。你知道，邁克爾，我想我們已經看到了，正如邁克指出的那樣，我們已經看到了管道方面的實力和復甦。所以有需求就有決策。我認為我們對在歐洲和美洲建造該管道並取得實際進展方面所看到的情況感到滿意。如果你願意的話，我認為歐洲、中東和非洲和亞太地區更穩定。

And so I think we feel good as we look at it, it really just comes down to the client decision making component, right? It's how quickly they make that decision and we're able to begin the project and burn the revenue. So I don't think it's really that different buyer by geo, to be quite honest. I think we're looking at the same. I think last year we saw softer in Europe that has improved in terms of the pipeline and what we're seeing there, I would you should not see it in the first quarter.

所以我認為當我們看到它時我們感覺很好，這實際上取決於客戶的決策部分，對嗎？關鍵在於他們做出決定的速度，以及我們能夠啟動該專案並消耗收入的速度。所以說實話，我認為不同地理位置的買家並沒有那麼不同。我想我們的看法是一樣的。我認為去年我們在歐洲看到了疲軟的情況，在管道方面有所改善，我們在那裡看到的情況，我希望你不應該在第一季度看到它。

That's why we gave the guidance we did. So you should see this as an acceleration as we progress through the year. Michael, got them.

這就是我們給出指導的原因。因此，您應該將其視為我們在這一年中取得進展的加速。邁克爾，明白了。

Thank you, Will. Thanks for all the color and good luck in the coming quarters.

謝謝你，威爾。感謝所有的色彩和未來幾季的好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Vincent Colicchio, Barrington Research.

文森特·科利奇奧，巴靈頓研究中心。

Yes, Mike, I'm curious how you would weight the two factors on your comfort with AI. and general economic concerns as a in terms of holding back a better spending through the balance of the year?

是的，麥克，我很好奇你會如何權衡這兩個因素對人工智慧的舒適度。以及總體經濟問題是否會阻礙今年餘下時間更好的支出？

Yes, I don't know if I could wait it, Vince, but I would say there's two things. The slower decision making clearly is the macro cloud, the confidence level to move forward on transformation at a pace is not quite there yet. And that's why I've said before, I think if there is some movement around rate cuts that they will add a level of confidence to the buying community that things are on its way back so that's one part of it.

是的，我不知道我是否可以等待，文斯，但我想說有兩件事。決策制定速度較慢顯然是宏觀雲的影響，快速推進轉型的信心水準尚未達到。這就是為什麼我之前說過，我認為如果降息方面出現一些變化，他們將為購買群體增加一定程度的信心，讓他們相信情況正在好轉，所以這是其中的一部分。

The AI. piece is just a bit of a slowing down of how you can pace it. So we are started and a number of clients around AI around helping them with their sourcing strategy, but they want to be educated because they want to be able to use AI to their benefit other providers themselves. Our goal on one to tried to take some of that a high margin for themselves. And of course, our role from an enterprise standpoint is we want to get the enterprise to be able to recover that AI. productivity.

人工智慧.這只是稍微放慢了你的節奏。因此，我們開始與人工智慧相關的許多客戶一起幫助他們制定採購策略，但他們希望接受教育，因為他們希望能夠使用人工智慧來使其他提供者本身受益。我們的目標之一就是試圖為自己爭取高利潤。當然，從企業的角度來看，我們的角色是我們希望讓企業能夠恢復人工智慧。生產率。

So in order to do so, they want to make sure they understand what is there, what is possible, how fast could it happen in a high sign a three or four or five year contract with a large technology provider. What can I expect to have in terms of a high productivity and how we'll identify it as an enterprise. So that might that would be how I would distinguish the two events.

因此，為了做到這一點，他們希望確保自己了解與大型技術提供者簽訂的三年、四年或五年的合約中存在什麼，什麼是可能的，以及它能以多快的速度發生。我期望在高生產力方面擁有什麼以及我們如何將其識別為企業。所以這可能就是我區分這兩個事件的方式。

And if we look at the pipeline, I think you said it's been improving some are you seeing a better mix away from cost reduction or is that still a relatively high portion of the mix?

如果我們看看管道，我想你說它一直在改進，你是否看到了遠離成本降低的更好組合，或者這仍然是組合中相對較高的部分？

So it's still it's still a heavy mix. I would say that the transformation piece is picking up. So the balance is getting closer on transformation in the pipeline. And I think what we'll see as the year progresses, I think we'll start seeing the pipeline in the back half of the year, it'll be heavier on transformation than cost and the Dubai client.

所以它仍然是一個沉重的混合體。我想說的是，轉型正在加速。因此，管道轉型的平衡越來越接近。我認為隨著今年的進展，我們將看到下半年的管道，轉型將比成本和杜拜客戶更重要。

Are they a financially distressed client? I'm just kind of characterize how you feel about being able to ultimately collect from them?

他們是陷入財務困境的客戶嗎？我只是描述一下您對最終能夠從他們那裡收集到的感覺如何？

Yes. And also as we have no knowledge that the client has any financial issues unable to pay the reserve was really a function of the aging of the receivables and the inability for us along with the client to agree upon a revised payment plan. And really at that point, we felt it was appropriate to take the reserve, but it has nothing to do with any knowledge or understanding of an inability to pay.

是的。而且，由於我們不知道客戶有任何財務問題而無法支付準備金，這實際上是由於應收帳款的帳齡以及我們與客戶無法就修改後的付款計劃達成一致的結果。事實上，在這一點上，我們認為收取準備金是合適的，但這與對無力支付的任何了解或理解無關。

And then one last one, Mike, on what verticals, do you feel best about for the year?

最後一個問題，麥克，您今年在哪些垂直領域感覺最好？

Would you say Well, right now, manufacturing is very high on for sure. I think utilities are also leading a bit of the path. And interestingly, the public sector is moving. As you know, they tend to be the laggard on everybody else moved.

你會說好吧，現在製造業一定非常發達。我認為公用事業公司也在這方面處於領先地位。有趣的是，公共部門正在改變。如你所知，他們往往落後於其他所有搬遷者。

That pace in the public sector usually is a slow slow follower, but we're seeing some good growth in the public sector area, and that's very much could be a double digit grower of this year, both in the US and outside the US, those would be the three areas in particular and maybe consumer services. I would probably add, Vince. So those would be the areas.

公共部門的這種步伐通常是一個緩慢的追隨者，但我們看到公共部門領域出現了一些良好的增長，今年很可能是兩位數的增長，無論是在美國還是在美國以外，這尤其是三個領域，也許還有消費者服務領域。我可能會補充一點，文斯。這些就是這些領域。

And as UK part of that had to do a lot of business with the U.K. government?

作為英國的一部分，必須與英國政府做很多生意？

Yes, the EU, I would say the UK of the Italian government, Australia for sure. During the back half of the year, we have a number of things in the pipeline in Australia and certainly at the state level, we just I think mentioned one of them. We just won a pretty good-sized deal in one of the states.

是的，歐盟，我想說的是義大利政府的英國，當然還有澳洲。今年下半年，我們在澳洲有很多事情正在醞釀中，當然在州一級，我想我們只是提到了其中之一。我們剛剛在其中一個州贏得了相當大的交易。

And they're also wanting to understand how they can transform, how they might be able to use AI, how they can protect themselves so that there's guardrails. There's a lot more protections and compliance issues on the public sector, but they are now beginning to move around, if you will, at a little bit faster pace than they have over the year. That's why we're pretty bullish on what we're seeing on the public sector.

他們也想了解如何轉型，如何使用人工智慧，如何保護自己，以便有護欄。公共部門有更多的保護和合規問題，但如果你願意的話，它們現在開始以比去年更快的速度移動。這就是為什麼我們非常看好公共部門的情況。

Thanks, Mike.

謝謝，麥克。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Joshua Zoepfel, Noble Capital.

約書亞·佐普菲爾（Joshua Zoepfel），貴族資本。

Good morning, guys. I've taken over for Jim to that depth morning. So I kind of wanted to start off just by looking at just America, obviously down during the quarter. It wasn't just I know you guys obviously are talking about slowness in decision making. Was it just that you kind of seeing more things happening where maybe trend down first quarter bleeding into 2024. You can a little color on that.

早上好傢伙。我已經接替吉姆到那個早上了。因此，我想首先只關注美國，該季度明顯下滑。我不只是知道你們顯然在談論決策緩慢。是不是你看到更多事情發生，第一季的趨勢可能會下降到 2024 年？你可以在上面加點顏色。

You know, look, I think all the regions on, you know, have a bit of slower decision making and I don't know they're not any no region is immune to it at the moment. And so I would say though, if you took the Americas overall for the year, they're up 4%.

你知道，你看，我認為所有地區的決策速度都有點慢，我不知道他們目前是否沒有任何地區可以倖免。所以我想說，如果你考慮美洲地區今年的整體情況，他們會成長 4%。

And considering where the overall market was, which was down about six, we think the Americas had a strong performance and frankly Europe being flat for the full year and that kind of a market. It's not what we are used to clearly historically. But considering the are these conditions on, I wouldn't differentiate by region at the moment.

考慮到整體市場的情況，下降了大約六分之一，我們認為美洲表現強勁，坦白說，歐洲全年表現平平，而這樣的市場。這顯然不是我們所習慣的歷史。但考慮到這些條件，我目前不會按地區進行區分。

Okay. And then just looking at the income statement, I saw SG&A expenses kind of went up very much over 25%. Can you kind of provide a little color as to why that could be?

好的。然後只要查看損益表，我就發現 SG&A 費用上漲了 25% 以上。你能提供一些解釋為什麼會這樣嗎？

Yes, the biggest component of that is that the reserve the debt we took is in that number. So if you normalize for that, you'll you'll see that SGA was up probably a little under $1 million. And that was as we had all discussed, I think post the call last time we had our several internal events that take place in the fourth quarter that had not taken place pre-COVID. And so we had expected that sequential increase, absent again, the reserve.

是的，其中最大的組成部分是我們所承擔的債務準備金就是這個數字。因此，如果您對此進行標準化，您會發現 SGA 的成長可能略低於 100 萬美元。正如我們大家所討論的那樣，我想在上次我們在第四季度舉行的幾項內部活動（這些活動在新冠疫情之前沒有發生過）時發布了電話會議。因此，我們預期儲備金會連續增加，但再次缺席。

Okay. Perfect. And then the last one from you guys on that. If you're talking about device to tango and all the assets, put them somewhere, if we get any update just on the training as a service, now you have a good question.

好的。完美的。然後是你們關於這一點的最後一篇。如果您正在談論探戈設備和所有資產，請將它們放在某個地方，如果我們僅獲得有關培訓即服務的任何更新，那麼現在您有一個很好的問題。

Our training as a service, we just won a very large deal with one of our largest automotive clients. It's a multiyear, multimillion dollar deal. We're very bullish on what we call has the training as a service. So yes, that is that is moving along nicely. And most of it is recurring multiyear type type agreements. So that's the push on that and that, of course, is helping our overall recurring revenues.

我們的培訓即服務，剛剛與我們最大的汽車客戶之一贏得了非常大的交易。這是一項為期數年、耗資數百萬美元的交易。我們非常看好所謂的培訓即服務。所以，是的，這一切都進展順利。其中大部分是經常性的多年類型協議。這就是推動這一點的動力，當然，這也有助於我們的整體經常性收入。

Yes. Thanks for taking my questions.

是的。感謝您回答我的問題。

Yes. Thank you.

是的。謝謝。

Marc Riddick, Sidoti & Company.

馬克·里迪克，西多蒂公司。

Morning for anymore. So I wanted to circle back to that Tango for a moment. Could you talk a little bit about sort of the the sort of high yield view that as rolling out as far as the fields, are you going to need to in the type of investments you're going to need to make and the adding of headcount or any potential, you know, a services or things that you see underneath that umbrella that you'll be investing throughout the year?

早安了。所以我想暫時回到探戈。您能否談談高收益觀點，即在各個領域推廣時，您是否需要進行投資類型以及增加員工人數或您知道，您在全年投資的保護傘下看到的任何潛在服務或事物？

Yes, good question. So the Tango platform Version one is done. We developed it during the course of kind of under wraps on purpose for competitive reasons during 2023. So it is ready and it is going to going to be it's being soft launched now. We have some beta clients that are using it.

是的，好問題。這樣Tango平台第一版就完成了。出於競爭原因，我們在 2023 年期間故意開發了它。所以它已經準備好了，現在將進行軟啟動。我們有一些測試版客戶正在使用它。

Keep in mind with this is -- this takes our provider research, our market intelligence, what we call our candidate kind of provider qualification systems. It's known in the industry, a CPQs arm, and we load it all into the platform it's fully integrated. And then it allows the Enterprise plus the bidders, if you will, on the service side and ISG then to be able to use a platform to be able to go from beginning to end and execute a transaction.

請記住這一點——這需要我們的提供者研究、我們的市場情報，以及我們所謂的候選類型的提供者資格系統。它在業界被稱為 CPQ 手臂，我們將其全部加載到完全整合的平台中。然後，它允許企業加上投標者（如果願意）在服務端和 ISG 上能夠使用一個平台從頭到尾執行交易。

That's the beauty of it is secure. It's got its own data room. It uses all of our data collection Our capabilities are you can team interact, et cetera. So that's kind of version one. These things always have add-ons and you make changes.

這就是它的美妙之處是安全。它有自己的數據室。它使用我們收集的所有數據。這就是第一版。這些東西總是有附加元件，你可以進行更改。

So we would expect, I would call it a small kind of capital spend each year and think about it in the $0.5 million range, not much greater than that. And in terms of people know, we have the talent. We've taken one of our most senior partners to lead our global effort around ISG. Tango. And our plan is that we will be easing it out here kind of there in the first several months of this year.

因此，我們預計，我將其稱為每年的一小部分資本支出，並在 50 萬美元的範圍內考慮，不會比這個大多少。就人們所知而言，我們有人才。我們任命了一位最資深的合作夥伴來領導我們圍繞 ISG 的全球工作。探戈。我們的計劃是，我們將在今年的前幾個月在這裡或那裡放鬆它。

And then our plan is that this will be the platform that we will use for every transaction sourcing transaction that we have going forward. So that's the idea that we'll eliminate in our Excel spreadsheets and eliminate a lot of different conversations.

然後我們的計劃是，這將成為我們未來進行的每筆交易來源交易的平台。因此，我們將在 Excel 電子表格中消除這種想法，並消除許多不同的對話。

It eliminates a lot of kind of all, you know, each unit or each party doing different things in a different way. So it will be much more productive. And frankly, we think it will speed up to for the enterprise to get real value out of the decision at a faster pace. So that's that's the beauty of this arm, and we will see it unfold here over the months ahead.

它消除了很多，你知道，每個單位或每個團體以不同的方式做不同的事情。所以它會更有生產力。坦白說，我們認為企業將更快地從決策中獲得真正的價值。這就是這隻手臂的美妙之處，我們將在未來幾個月看到它在這裡展現。

Great. And then in the from the prepared remarks or the press release, definitely, I think in your remarks as well, you made mention as far as some of the the client wins in around AI related a engagements. I was wondering if you'd talk a little bit about maybe some of the things that maybe drove some of those wins and maybe the and maybe how you're seeing the competitive environment from winning those engagements at such an important and opportune time frame?

偉大的。然後，在準備好的演講或新聞稿中，當然，我認為在您的演講中，您也提到了客戶在人工智慧相關業務中獲勝的一些內容。我想知道您是否能談談可能推動其中一些勝利的一些因素，也許您如何看待在如此重要和適當的時間框架內贏得這些業務所帶來的競爭環境？

Yes. So look, I think first things that we did is we had to make sure that our clients understood that we were educating ourselves. We were getting access to all of our technology providers, understanding what they each were doing around the AI. area we began to we did some research. You may recall that we launched late in the third quarter last year around AI. globally.

是的。所以看，我認為我們做的第一件事是我們必須確保我們的客戶明白我們正在教育自己。我們正在接觸所有的技術供應商，了解他們各自在人工智慧領域所做的事情。我們開始對該領域進行了一些研究。您可能還記得，我們​​在去年第三季末推出了人工智慧相關產品。全球。

And so I think that that has helped us. So we were able to get into things like we're in a global hospitality and entertainment company, and they're they want us to be able to use AI to have the user interface be smarter and quicker with their with their customer base.

所以我認為這對我們有幫助。因此，我們能夠進入像我們在全球酒店和娛樂公司一樣的情況，他們希望我們能夠使用人工智慧讓使用者介面更聰明、更快速地與他們的客戶群互動。

I'm a major kind of global oil and gas company down in Houston, Texas. Wanted us to understand how they might be able to use a I as they think about their oil drilling capabilities, what would be the ecosystem who might be out there relative that can help them from an AI standpoint, who are the providers, the upstarts, the new players, so creating an ecosystem and a AI ecosystem is also part of the key to all of this, just like we have an ecosystem to do apps.

我是一家位於德州休士頓的大型全球石油和天然氣公司。希望我們了解他們在考慮自己的石油鑽探能力時如何使用人工智慧，從人工智慧的角度來看，可能存在哪些可以幫助他們的生態系統，誰是供應商、暴發戶、新玩家，所以創建一個生態系統和人工智慧生態系統也是這一切關鍵的一部分，就像我們有一個生態系統來做應用程式一樣。

We have an ecosystem to do applications and HR and so forth. They're looking to ISG. to create this ecosystem where they can tap into who are the players that can help me in my particular industry specific. We have a European utility company, a Canadian bank. We have a railway company in Europe. These are the kinds of companies and basically in almost every industry that was wanting to understand how a I might be able to help them in their ops in their applications and in their customer experiences. Hopefully, that helps a little bit more.

我們有一個生態系統來處理應用程式和人力資源等。他們正在尋找ISG。創建這個生態系統，讓他們可以了解哪些參與者可以在我的特定行業中為我提供幫助。我們有一家歐洲公用事業公司、加拿大銀行。我們在歐洲有一家鐵路公司。這些公司基本上在幾乎每個行業都希望了解我如何能夠幫助他們在應用程式和客戶體驗方面進行操作。希望這能有所幫助。

Yes, absolutely. And then the last one for me is that we're shifting over to use of cash. I mean, we had the purchases have been finalized late last years. Maybe you could talk a little bit about maybe what you're seeing as far as acquisition pipeline as to availability and valuation and you know whether or not there's opportunities in general and then maybe a little more specifically around your AI journey?

是的，一點沒錯。對我來說最後一個問題是我們正在轉向使用現金。我的意思是，我們在去年年底就已經完成了採購。也許你可以談談你所看到的收購管道、可用性和估值方面的情況，你知道總體上是否存在機會，然後也許更具體地圍繞你的人工智慧之旅？

Well, let me comment on the M&A, and then I'll ask Michael just comment about our use of cash in general on that right now, the M&A environment, we continue to look at areas that we think can add recurring revenue streams for in the area of digital, which includes a eye for us. If you think about what we just did with Ventana Research, the reason is they have recurring revenues into the software industry and it's a large industry.

好吧，讓我評論一下併購，然後我會請邁克爾評論一下我們目前對現金的整體使用情況，併購環境，我們繼續尋找我們認為可以增加經常性收入流的領域數字領域，其中包括我們的眼睛。如果你想想我們剛剛對 Ventana Research 所做的事情，原因是他們在軟體產業擁有經常性收入，而且這是一個很大的產業。

So we continue to look at that. You know, we are always pretty damn pretty disciplined around our pricing, and that's why we danced for quite some time we're pretty balanced. We know what we want to do and at what levels do we do it out. And so the pipeline is still quite good for us. We're continuing to look, but we also are very measured in our approach, and it is still part of our overall String of Pearls strategy.

所以我們繼續關注這一點。你知道，我們在定價方面總是非常嚴格，這就是為什麼我們跳舞了很長一段時間，我們非常平衡。我們知道我們想做什麼，以及我們在什麼水平上做到這一點。所以管道對我們來說仍然相當好。我們正在繼續尋找，但我們的方法也非常謹慎，這仍然是我們整體珍珠鍊策略的一部分。

Michael, I would just comment overall, you know, I mean, that the overall marketing no change to our uses of cash. As you know, we really have for four areas. We can put a dividend, M&A, debt paydown and buyback. And I think as you've seen, we've been opportunistic opportunistic across those just based on return and where we think the greatest value will be created. So really no change there.

邁克爾，我只想總體評論，你知道，我的意思是，整體行銷沒有改變我們對現金的使用。如您所知，我們確實有四個領域。我們可以派發股利、併購、償還債務和回購。我認為正如你所看到的，我們一直在那些僅基於回報和我們認為將創造最大價值的領域採取機會主義。所以確實沒有任何改變。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

And I'm showing no further questions. I'll turn the call back to Mike Connors for his closing remarks.

我沒有再提出任何問題。我將把電話轉回麥克康納斯，讓他作結語。

Okay. Well, thank you, and let me close by saying thank you to all of our professionals worldwide for their dedication to our clients and for working together as a global team to deliver a largely successful year in 2023, our people have a passion for delivering the best advice and support to our clients as they continue their digital and AI journey in both good times and in more uncertain times.

好的。好的，謝謝，最後，請允許我向我們全球所有專業人士表示感謝，感謝他們為我們的客戶所做的奉獻，感謝你們作為一個全球團隊共同努力，在2023 年取得了巨大成功，我們的員工熱衷於交付無論是在美好時期還是在更加不確定的時期，為我們的客戶繼續他們的數位和人工智慧之旅提供最好的建議和支援。

And I could not be more proud of them and what they have all accomplished and thanks to all of you on the call today for your continued support and confidence in our firm have a great rest of the day.

我為他們和他們所取得的成就感到無比自豪，並感謝今天參加電話會議的所有人對我們公司的持續支持和信任，祝你今天休息愉快。

This does conclude today's conference. You may disconnect at anytime.

今天的會議到此結束。您可以隨時斷開連線。