Businesses need to keep pace with technology if they hope to remain competitive. That means upgrading IT infrastructure, rethinking outdated practices, and implementing digital solutions that drive efficiency. But those changes don't come cheap. In fact, the International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that, by 2025, enterprises will spend $2.8 trillion per year on digital transformation projects.
That staggering figure is more than double what was spent in 2020, and it should be a powerful tailwind for industries like cybersecurity and cloud computing, both of which play critical roles in helping businesses modernize their operations. For that reason, CrowdStrike (CRWD 0.99%) and Cloudflare (NET 0.73%) look like smart ways to invest in the multi-trillion dollar digital transformation industry.
Here's why.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike is an artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity company. Its easy-to-deploy platform delivers 21 different modules through a single sensor. That differentiates it from legacy vendors, which often burden device performance with multiple software installations, one for each set of capabilities. CrowdStrike also offers more automation than any other product on the market, which makes security operations less complex for clients.
More importantly, CrowdStrike's cloud-native architecture means it can crowdsource tremendous amounts data from across its ecosystem of protected endpoints (devices) and cloud workloads. Each day, its AI engine analyzes approximately 1 trillion signals to predict and prevent attacks, and each new data point makes its platform a little more effective. That keeps CrowdStrike on the bleeding edge of threat intelligence, and the company has earned a reputation for industry-leading threat detection.
In fact, the IDC recently recognized CrowdStrike as the world leader in endpoint security, noting that its market share increased four percentage points in the past year to reach 14.2% in 2021. Not surprisingly, the company has also delivered monster financial results over the past year. Its customer base grew 75% to 14,687, revenue soared 69% to $1.3 billion, and free cash flow (FCF) jumped 67% to $411 million. Perhaps more importantly, CrowdStrike introduced its latest module: Extended Detection and Response (XDR). The XDR module unifies security signals across email, cloud infrastructure, endpoints, and networks, accelerating threat detection and response.
Going forward, managements puts its market opportunity at $55 billion in 2022, but believes that figure could reach $116 billion by 2025, evidencing the company's tremendous runway for growth. And in light of CrowdStrike's strong competitive position, I think shareholders will see monster returns over the next decade.
Image source: Getty Images.
2. Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a cloud computing company on a mission to build a better internet. Its portfolio encompasses a range of application, network, and security services that rely on its global network -- which sits within 50 millisecond of 95% of internet users worldwide -- to accelerate and protect corporate resources and infrastructure.
For example, Cloudflare One is a secure access service edge (SASE), a product that allows clients to provision connectivity and security tools from the cloud. That's important, because enterprises have traditionally taken a castle-and-moat-approach to network security. All sensitive information was kept on-site, all traffic was routed through a corporate hub, and a firewall was erected around the corporate perimeter. However, trends like remote work and cloud computing have made that approach impractical. Sensitive data is often stored off-site, and forcing traffic through a bottleneck results in poor network performance.
Cloudflare One solves those problems, providing employees with a fast and secure connection to business-critical applications, whether they are working at home, in the office, or from a local coffee shop. And since its launch in October 2020, over 5,500 enterprises have already adopted the SASE platform. But that's just one example of Cloudflare's ingenuity. More broadly, its capacity for innovation has made the company a key enabler of digital transformation. In fact, nearly 20% of the internet relies on Cloudflare's content delivery network, while the next-closest competitor holds just 1.5% market share.
Financially, Cloudflare is firing on all cylinders. Over the past year, its customer count grew 26% to surpass 140,000 and revenue rose 52% to $656.4 million, and while the company is still FCF negative on a trailing-12-month basis, it posted positive FCF of $8.6 million in the most recent quarter.
Looking ahead, Cloudflare is set to maintain that momentum. Research company Gartner estimates that 60% of enterprises will have plans to adopt SASE solutions by 2025, up from 10% in 2020. That trend should be a tailwind for Cloudflare One. Better yet, the company puts its market opportunity at $100 billion by 2024, and given its strong market presence, Cloudflare is well-positioned to capitalize on that opportunity and take share in the cloud computing industry. That's why this monster growth stock could make you richer in the long run.
