Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Brian Denyeau - Oppenheimer.
Brian Denyeau - Oppenheimer
So if we can just dig into the methodology used for revising this guidance, specifically, it almost feels like you’re ex-ing out any contribution from North American finance. Would this change your guidance? Can you just sort of walk us through? I know you are being more conservative, but I mean, how conservative do you feel you are being? Is this kind of a worst-case scenario approach you would chose to use?
Steven R. Springsteel
With respect to North America, all those economic indicators, kind of deteriorated over the last month or so. So what we did is we heavily discounted financial services. We looked at what we had projected for Citi and we moved a lot of that out.
And then we kind of did a little bit of a reduction with respect to some of the EMEA financial services numbers as well. As the previous forecast and the previous guidance did not incorporate mega deals into the bookings numbers and so forth, we did not include them here either. So, that’s kind of the high level approach that we took.
Brian Denyeau - Oppenheimer
Did you make any substantial changes to your closure rates or kind of pipeline methodologies for the other verticals you plan?
Steven R. Springsteel
No. Actually, we didn’t adjust the closure rates to the other verticals. In fact, what we are doing this year is focusing on expanding geographically into areas such as Russia, the Asia Pacific region. We are looking to bring on a couple of people in Spain. So those emerging markets we’re continuing to invest in and then we think those will add incrementally to what we have.
Brian Denyeau - Oppenheimer
So that to move from 23 to 30 in quota carriers over the next nine months, that’s the same number you have used before. Are you basically just moving from hiring people in the States and focusing now on taking those people over? You’re not adding people in the States at this point.
Peter Norman
If you look at the hiring, where we are at, I think we are okay in the United States. We have beefed up our Alliances area. We have brought on a VP of Alliances and then we also have somebody heading up Alliances in EMEA for us. So that’s a key area of focus for us.
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