Verizon Communications is seeing "robust growth" in cloud computing because customers are looking to lower their IT costs, Lowell McAdam, the incoming chief executive, told CNBC Friday.
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Lowell McAdam
To accelerate its footprint in the cloud, Verizon acquired Terremark Worldwide for $1.4 billion in mid-April and is "marrying that together" with the assets they already had like Cybertrust and all of its IT infrastructure, said McAdam, currently Verizon's chief operating officer. He becomes CEO as of Aug 1.
"Those are doing very well for us," he added.
Cloud computing allows users to access the Internet anywhere, anytime and be able to use any or all of the data and applications you want.
Verizon second-quarter earnings top estimates as revenue rose 2.8 percent to $27.5 billion, in line with analysts' expectations. Also, the wireless provider saw a big boost from the iPhone, adding more subscribers on contracts in the second quarter than it had in two and half years.
"We're seeing nice smartphone penetration," he said. "But you're also seeing a major expansion in our Internet devices."
Earlier this month Verizon ended unlimited data plans and converted to tiered data pricing because the company sees a "huge wave of video coming and that's going to take a lot more capacity," McAdam explained.
However, he said Verizon does "expect to see the revenue go up significantly" from heavy data users.
As far as the transition from COO to CEO, McAdam said he's been directly involved in a number of strategic decsions such as the Google partnership, Apple, and Terremark. "It's a very smooth handoff of the baton because he's [outgoing CEO Ivan Seidenberg] gotten me very involved in these issues over the last couple of years."
Seidenberg will remain chairman of the company.
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