Piper reveals top cloud automation software picks heading into 2023

Piper Sandler analyst James Fish says his top cloud automation software picks are Five9 (FIVN), Arista Networks (ANET) and Nutanix (NTNX) heading into 2023. Over the last few weeks, there have been various news items that had large impacts on the space, Fish tells investors in a research note. The Avaya (AVYA) bankruptcy possibility is a positive for the rest of the space, in particular the contact center as a service and unified communications as a service players, as customers accelerate their shift off Avaya and to the cloud, Fish tells investors in a research note. In addition, his base-case for the pending VMware (VMW), Broadcom (AVGO) tie-up is that the deal will close on time. While the deal between Nutanix and HP Enterprise (HPE) appears off the table, Nutanix has "multiple fundamental tailwinds that leaves it well-positioned," writes Fish. The analyst does not believe bNutanix’s strategic takeover story is "necessarily over." Lastly, the lack of the R&D tax credit in the latest government funding bill could result in earnings estimates being impacted across technology, he writes.