Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware in late 2023 and almost immediately sparked a firestorm with licensing changes in which some customers saw a 12x increase in their licensing costs. CISPE, the European cloud organization, called out Broadcom’s “brutal” tactics, saying they “will decimate Europe’s independent cloud infrastructure sector.”

According to The Register, those brutal tactics appear to be backfiring. At Nutanix’s Next conference in Barcelona, Computershare’s CTO Kevin O’Connor spoke about Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware. Without naming VMware specifically, O’Connor said Computershare was using Nutanix AHV and another unnamed hypervisor from a “well-known competitor” when he arrived at the company 18 months ago. While he would have preferred to consolidate on one, the numbers didn’t make sense at the time.

After receiving a phone call about “the change,” in which he was told the licensing cost for the unnamed hypervisor would increase by 10 to 15 times. O’Connor began the migration to AHV, saying the decision will pay off in “single digit months.”

The Register emphasizes that, while O’Connor never specifically mentions VMware by name, the facts presented in his keynote leaves little doubt that he was talking about VMware.

The account is bad news for Broadcom, as it illustrates that companies may not be nearly as beholden and depended on VMware as the its new parent company would like to think.

Broadcom has a long-standing reputation for growing through acquisitions, and then squeezing every last bit of profit out of the companies it acquires. This reputation created a great deal of concern among those inside and outside the company in the months before the acquisition was completed.

“It’s like a sinking ship and we’re being asked to row until we go under,” one engineer said at the time, estimating that half of his work acquaintances are looking for other jobs. “Do I hang out here and the boat’s probably going to sink? Or do I jump ship because other people are?”

“People feel betrayed,” another VMware engineer. “For my team of 10 I know four of us are actively interviewing.” Another one said that “the only thing keeping many people here is the specter of a recession.”

Broadcom’s CEO has taken steps to reassure customers but, if Computershare’s example is any indication, those steps are falling short. Only time will tell if the company will adjust course or continue to lose customers.

A Strategic Focus on Generative AI

During the interview, Selipsky elaborated on AWS’s significant strides in generative AI, which has quickly morphed into a multibillion-dollar business. This growth is not just a reflection of current trends but a forward-looking strategy that involves continuous innovation and adaptation to meet diverse customer needs. Selipsky emphasized the variety of AI models AWS offers, tailored not just to industry-wide applications but also to very specific business functions, from drug research to educational tools.

Introducing Amazon Bedrock

One of the pivotal developments Selipsky discussed was the launch of Amazon Bedrock, a platform designed to streamline the process of AI model evaluation for AWS customers. Bedrock allows users to define their criteria—whether prioritizing accuracy, speed, or cost—and assess various models based on uploaded sample data. This capability is crucial for businesses aiming to integrate AI seamlessly and effectively into their operations.

Moreover, AWS has expanded the flexibility of Bedrock by enabling customers to import their custom models, including those modified from open-source frameworks or developed in collaboration with companies like Meta. This feature not only enhances the personalization of AI solutions but also bolsters the security measures essential for operating in sensitive fields such as healthcare and finance.

Amazon Bedrock offers several key features designed to facilitate the development and deployment of generative AI applications across various industries:

1. Fully Managed Service: Amazon Bedrock provides a fully managed environment, which simplifies the development process by managing the underlying infrastructure, allowing developers to focus on building applications.
2. Choice of Foundation Models: Bedrock offers a selection of high-performing foundation models from both Amazon and leading AI companies. This variety enables users to choose the most suitable model for their specific needs.
3. Broad Set of Capabilities: The service includes a wide range of tools and capabilities to build generative AI applications, enhancing privacy and security while supporting innovation and productivity.
4. Privacy and Security: Customer data used within Bedrock is kept private and secure. Amazon asserts that it does not use this data to train its base models, share it with any third parties, or improve its own models.
5. Ease of Use: Bedrock is designed to be user-friendly. It provides tools that help developers create applications without needing extensive knowledge of data science. It also facilitates the easy deployment of these models into production.
6. Customization and Flexibility: Amazon Bedrock allows customers to bring their own custom models, including those that are open source or modified from other sources, into the Bedrock environment. This feature supports customization and adaptation to specific business needs.
7. Scalability: As a cloud-based service, Bedrock can scale according to the customer’s needs, supporting everything from small experiments to enterprise-level deployments.
8. Diverse Applications: Bedrock supports a wide array of use cases, from advancing drug discovery to enhancing customer service experiences, demonstrating its versatility across different sectors.

These features collectively make Amazon Bedrock a robust platform for businesses looking to leverage generative AI to drive innovation and productivity.

Competitive Edge in Cloud AI

The conversation also touched on what sets AWS apart in a crowded market where many providers are vying to lead in AI services. Selipsky pinpointed several areas where AWS aims to excel:

1. Ease of Use: Ensuring that AWS platforms, particularly Bedrock, are user-friendly and accessible, allowing clients to get up and running with generative AI swiftly.
2. Choice and Accessibility: Providing a comprehensive suite of AI models that are readily available and maintain a consistent user experience, regardless of the specific model employed.
3. Unmatched Security: In a landscape where data breaches are increasingly common, AWS commits to leading in security and operational excellence, acknowledging the heightened concerns around privacy and safe AI deployment.
4. Reliable Availability: As demand surges, AWS is rapidly expanding its global infrastructure to ensure it can meet customer needs without compromise.

Future Investments and Ethical AI

Looking forward, Selipsky is keenly aware of the balance AWS must strike between aggressively investing in AI capabilities and avoiding the pitfalls of overspending. This cautious yet proactive approach is informed by close engagement with customers and a deep understanding of the internal needs of Amazon. The company is poised to leverage its robust supply chain, including AWS-designed GPUs, to enhance service delivery without sacrificing efficiency or security.

Conclusion

As AWS continues to innovate and expand its AI offerings, the implications for businesses and consumers are profound. With Adam Selipsky at the helm, AWS is not only shaping the future of cloud computing and artificial intelligence but also setting new standards for security and user-centric technology solutions. As the hyperscale data center market evolves, AWS’s strategic investments and commitment to ethical AI practices will likely keep it at the forefront of this technological revolution, promising a future where cloud computing is safer, faster, and more accessible than ever before.

Dropbox revealed the incident in a filing with the SEC, saying it became aware of the incident on April 24, 2024, and activated its cybersecurity incident response to contain the breach.

Upon further investigation, we discovered that the threat actor had accessed data related to all users of Dropbox Sign, such as emails and usernames, in addition to general account settings. For subsets of users, the threat actor also accessed phone numbers, hashed passwords, and certain authentication information such as API keys, OAuth tokens, and multi-factor authentication.

The company says there is no indication that users’ content was accessed.

Based on what we know as of the date of this filing, there is no evidence that the threat actor accessed the contents of users’ accounts, such as their agreements or templates, or their payment information. Additionally, we believe this incident was limited to Dropbox Sign infrastructure and there is no evidence that the threat actor accessed the production environments of other Dropbox products. We are continuing our investigation.

Dropbox says it is working with law enforcement and will notify users as appropriate.

Anderson, who has spent a decade navigating both platforms, emphasized that while both services have their strengths, there are significant advantages to choosing Azure for specific applications. His insights, drawn from extensive personal experience, challenge the view that AWS is always the superior choice.

1. PaaS Website Hosting: Anderson pointed out that Azure App Service, a platform-as-a-service offering, allows users to host multiple sites at a single cost effectively. Unlike AWS’s Elastic Beanstalk, which requires a separate virtual machine for each application, Azure can host up to 64 websites on one virtual machine, significantly reducing costs and complexity.

2. Exclusive Access to OpenAI’s GPT-4: Azure stands out by integrating OpenAI’s GPT-4 directly into its environment, offering a significant advantage for enterprises looking to leverage the latest AI without compromising data security. In contrast, AWS users must rely on third-party solutions to access GPT-4, potentially leading to higher costs and integration challenges.

3. Cost-effective SQL Server Hosting: For SQL Server users, Azure offers compelling pricing that vastly undercuts AWS. Anderson highlighted that a basic SQL Server instance on Azure can cost as little as $5 per month, compared to $60 per month for a comparable setup on AWS, making Azure an attractive option for cost-conscious businesses.

4. Transparent Cost Management Tools: Azure also provides more user-friendly cost management tools, allowing users to easily track the cost of each virtual machine and service without additional fees. AWS, on the other hand, charges users to access detailed billing insights, which can complicate budget management for smaller companies or startups.

5. Advanced Storage Options with SFTP, SMB, and NFS Support: Azure offers robust support for various file storage protocols such as SFTP, SMB, and NFS right out of the box. This versatility is particularly beneficial for organizations that require flexible, secure file access across different operating systems and devices. AWS offers similar capabilities but often at an additional cost, which can be a barrier for businesses needing extensive file storage solutions.

Anderson’s analysis is critical for businesses deciding between Azure and AWS. By highlighting specific scenarios where Azure provides better value or functionality, Anderson helps potential cloud service customers make more informed decisions based on their specific needs rather than prevailing market trends.

As cloud technologies evolve, the battle between Azure and AWS will likely intensify, with each platform racing to outdo the other in features, cost-efficiency, and scalability. For now, Anderson’s breakdown offers a fresh perspective on a debate central to the future of technology infrastructure development.

Unveiled amid much anticipation, BeeStation represents a novel approach to cloud storage. It offers users a unique blend of convenience, security, and accessibility. Unlike traditional cloud services that rely on remote servers maintained by third-party providers, BeeStation brings the cloud experience directly into users’ homes.

At the heart of BeeStation is its simplicity and user-friendly design. Resembling a standard hard drive, this personal cloud system seamlessly integrates into users’ home networks with minimal setup requirements. Users can swiftly connect BeeStation to their network by scanning a QR code, setting the stage for a personalized cloud experience.

What sets BeeStation apart is its ability to function as a dedicated storage hub for the entire household. By creating individual accounts for family members, each user gains exclusive access to their slice of the cloud, tailored to their storage needs and preferences. Whether backing up photos from smartphones or storing critical documents, BeeStation offers a seamless and secure solution for managing digital content.

“Think of it as your own personal cloud, right in the comfort of your home,” explains Tech Guide Editor Stephen Fenech. “With four terabytes of storage capacity, users have ample space to safeguard their valuable data and create personalized backups for peace of mind.”

One of BeeStation’s standout features is its versatility in connectivity. Whether users are within their home network or accessing files remotely, BeeStationn ensures seamless access to stored data anytime, anywhere. This flexibility empowers users to stay connected and productive, whether they’re at home or on the go.

The introduction of BeeStation reflects a growing demand for personalized and secure storage solutions in an increasingly digital world. As individuals and families continue to generate and accumulate vast amounts of digital content, the need for reliable and accessible storage options becomes more pronounced.

“By bringing the cloud experience into users’ homes, BeeStation offers a compelling alternative to traditional cloud services,” remarks Fenech. “With BeeStation, users can take control of their digital content and enjoy the convenience of cloud storage without compromising on privacy or security.”

As consumers embrace the digital age and seek solutions that streamline their digital lifestyles, innovations like BeeStation are poised to reshape the landscape of personal storage. With its intuitive design, robust features, and commitment to user privacy, BeeStation emerges as a game-changer in personal cloud storage, promising a seamless and secure experience for users worldwide.

Avishai Sharon, Co-founder & CEO of TrenDemon, discussed their software on ILTV:

How Do You Connect Content Marketing to Sales?

My personal background was heading a marketing agency for many years and one of my biggest struggles was how do I prove our value and our effort to our customers and how do you connect the impact of what we call content marketing to business goals and to sales? When we couldn’t find an easy way to show that correlation three and a half years ago we went ahead and founded TrenDemon to help companies do just that.

We connect their marketing efforts, which today rely mostly on content, you want your audience to consume valuable content, as opposed to just advertising. The big challenge is how do you attribute those efforts to sales? There’s actually a prior problem, how do you actually map the customer journey? How do you track those different touch points into one picture?

Reverse Engineering Successful Customer Journeys

The first thing we do is look at all the different touchpoints that a customer has had over his lifecycle. We ask the question, not just where do they come from, but how deep was their engagement? Did they actually watch the video? Did they actually read the article? Then you can start reverse engineering those successful journeys and say what’s common about all of these successful journeys.

What we found, and this is the interesting thing, we’re working with over 90 companies today worldwide and the vast majority of content the companies produce, over 90 percent, is ineffective at driving business goals. As you guys know it’s very expensive to create quality content and it takes a lot of effort.

If People Read the Right Content They Will Covert to a Sale

The second interesting thing is that if you do manage to find those 10 percent and you find a way to get it in front of the right people you’re actually able to improve dramatically your results. So there’s not just a correlation between what buyers did beforehand, there’s also a causation, a causal relationship, that if people read the right content at the right time they’re more likely to follow a path. We’re not probably as sophisticated as we believe that we are.

We’re a SaaS company, a cloud-based solution. We’re working a lot in the US and one of our biggest markets and growing markets is Japan. They’re investing a lot of content and a lot on technology. Essentially, because we look at the customer journey and not necessarily specific languages we can operate in any environment which allows us to grow pretty much anywhere. As long as they have content, which means that they’re producing something other than just advertising, they want people and audiences to actually engage with what they’re producing and they do have some business outcomes that they’re looking to measure.

About TrenDemon:

Founded in 2013, TrenDemon is the world’s leading content marketing attribution and optimization solution, helping marketers prove and improve their content’s impact.

TrenDemon insights can help you uncover your content marketing ROI, impact on business goals, and engagement to help guide the content strategy. Our optimization units will help you increase conversions and shorten time to convert on your owned assets.

TrenDemon proudly serves a wide range of customers, from Fortune 500s and brands to SaaS, B2B, and financial companies and is backed by leading VCs.

Amazon and Microsoft compete in the cloud computing space, with the companies being the first and second-largest cloud providers respectively. Despite being rivals, a new report says Microsoft is on the verge of gaining Amazon as a Microsoft 365 customer.

According to Insider, via Reuters, Amazon is getting ready to purchase upwards of one million Microsoft 365 licenses, in a five-year deal that is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.

It is believed Amazon will begin deploying as early as November 1.

Benefits of Migrating to a Cloud-Based LIS

Migrating your LIS to a cloud-based solution offers several advantages over traditional on-premises systems:

1. Reduced IT infrastructure costs: With a cloud-based LIS, there is no need to invest in expensive hardware or maintain a dedicated IT team for system maintenance. Instead, your LIS provider manages the infrastructure, allowing you to allocate resources to other critical areas of your laboratory operations.
   
2. Scalability and flexibility: A cloud-based LIS can easily scale to accommodate your laboratory’s growth, allowing you to add or remove users, storage, and features as needed. This flexibility ensures that your LIS can adapt to your laboratory’s changing needs without significant investments in hardware upgrades or software licenses.
   
3. Enhanced data security and compliance: Cloud-based LIS providers typically offer robust security measures, including data encryption, user authentication, and access controls, to protect sensitive laboratory data. Additionally, cloud providers often undergo regular security audits and maintain compliance with industry-specific regulations, ensuring that your data remains secure and compliant with relevant standards.
   
4. Accessibility and collaboration: A cloud-based LIS enables authorized users to access laboratory data from anywhere with an internet connection, facilitating collaboration and decision-making among laboratory staff and external stakeholders.
   
   
5. Automatic updates and backups: With a cloud-based LIS, software updates and backups are managed by the provider, ensuring that your system remains up-to-date and your data is securely backed up without manual intervention.
   

Step-by-Step Guide to Migrating to a Cloud-Based LIS

Step 1: Assess Your Laboratory’s Needs and Requirements

Before migrating to a cloud-based lab information system like NovoPath, it is essential to evaluate your laboratory’s unique needs and requirements. Consider the following factors:

• Data storage and management: Determine your laboratory’s data storage needs and how a cloud-based LIS can address them. Consider factors such as data volume, growth rate, and retention policies.
• Integration with existing systems: Identify the systems and instruments that your LIS will need to integrate with, such as electronic medical records (EMRs), laboratory instruments, and third-party software solutions.
• Security and compliance requirements: Understand your laboratory’s security and regulatory compliance requirements to ensure that the cloud-based LIS you choose meets these standards.
• Budget and resources: Establish a budget for the migration process, including costs for software licenses, implementation services, and ongoing support.

Step 2: Select a Cloud-Based LIS Provider

Once you have a clear understanding of your laboratory’s needs, begin researching cloud-based LIS providers. Evaluate potential providers based on factors such as:

• Features and functionality: Ensure that the provider’s LIS offers the features and functionality required to support your laboratory’s workflows and processes.
• Integration capabilities: Confirm that the provider’s LIS can integrate with your existing systems and instruments seamlessly.
• Security and compliance: Verify that the provider’s LIS meets your laboratory’s security and compliance requirements.
• Customer support and service: Assess the provider’s reputation for customer support and service, including their responsiveness, expertise, and availability.

Step 3: Develop a Migration Plan

Once you have selected a cloud-based LIS provider, work with them to develop a detailed migration plan. This plan should outline the steps and timelines for each phase of the migration process and address key considerations such as:

• Data migration: Determine how your existing data will be transferred to the new cloud-based LIS, including data mapping, conversion, and validation processes.
• System integration: Plan for the integration of your existing systems and instruments with the new cloud-based LIS.
• User training and support: Develop a training plan to ensure that laboratory staff are familiar with the new LIS and can effectively use its features and functionality.
• Testing and validation: Schedule time for thorough testing and validation of the new cloud-based LIS to ensure that it meets your laboratory’s needs and requirements.

Step 4: Execute the Migration Plan

With a comprehensive migration plan in place, begin executing the plan in collaboration with your cloud-based LIS provider. Key steps during this phase include:

• Data migration: Transfer your existing data to the new cloud-based LIS, following the data migration plan and ensuring data integrity throughout the process.
• System integration: Integrate your existing systems and instruments with the new cloud-based LIS, validating that data flows seamlessly between platforms.
• User training and support: Train laboratory staff on the new LIS, providing ongoing support and resources to facilitate a smooth transition.
• Testing and validation: Conduct thorough testing and validation of the new cloud-based LIS, addressing any issues or concerns that arise during this process.

Step 5: Monitor and Optimize

After successfully migrating to a cloud-based LIS, continue to monitor the system’s performance and optimize its features and functionality to meet your laboratory’s evolving needs. Regularly review key analytics to identify areas for improvement and work with your cloud-based LIS provider to implement necessary changes or enhancements.

Should You Migrate Your Lab?

Migrating to a cloud-based Laboratory Information System (LIS) offers numerous benefits, including reduced IT infrastructure costs, improved scalability, enhanced data security, and increased accessibility. By carefully assessing your laboratory’s needs, selecting the right cloud-based LIS provider, and developing a comprehensive migration plan, you can ensure a successful transition to a more efficient and secure laboratory data management solution.

Avishai Sharon, Co-founder & CEO of TrenDemon, discussed their software on ILTV:

How Do You Connect Content Marketing to Sales?

My personal background was heading a marketing agency for many years and one of my biggest struggles was how do I prove our value and our effort to our customers and how do you connect the impact of what we call content marketing to business goals and to sales? When we couldn’t find an easy way to show that correlation three and a half years ago we went ahead and founded TrenDemon to help companies do just that.

We connect their marketing efforts, which today rely mostly on content, you want your audience to consume valuable content, as opposed to just advertising. The big challenge is how do you attribute those efforts to sales? There’s actually a prior problem, how do you actually map the customer journey? How do you track those different touch points into one picture?

Reverse Engineering Successful Customer Journeys

The first thing we do is look at all the different touchpoints that a customer has had over his lifecycle. We ask the question, not just where do they come from, but how deep was their engagement? Did they actually watch the video? Did they actually read the article? Then you can start reverse engineering those successful journeys and say what’s common about all of these successful journeys.

What we found, and this is the interesting thing, we’re working with over 90 companies today worldwide and the vast majority of content the companies produce, over 90 percent, is ineffective at driving business goals. As you guys know it’s very expensive to create quality content and it takes a lot of effort.

If People Read the Right Content They Will Covert to a Sale

The second interesting thing is that if you do manage to find those 10 percent and you find a way to get it in front of the right people you’re actually able to improve dramatically your results. So there’s not just a correlation between what buyers did beforehand, there’s also a causation, a causal relationship, that if people read the right content at the right time they’re more likely to follow a path. We’re not probably as sophisticated as we believe that we are.

We’re a SaaS company, a cloud-based solution. We’re working a lot in the US and one of our biggest markets and growing markets is Japan. They’re investing a lot of content and a lot on technology. Essentially, because we look at the customer journey and not necessarily specific languages we can operate in any environment which allows us to grow pretty much anywhere. As long as they have content, which means that they’re producing something other than just advertising, they want people and audiences to actually engage with what they’re producing and they do have some business outcomes that they’re looking to measure.

About TrenDemon:

Founded in 2013, TrenDemon is the world’s leading content marketing attribution and optimization solution, helping marketers prove and improve their content’s impact.

TrenDemon insights can help you uncover your content marketing ROI, impact on business goals, and engagement to help guide the content strategy. Our optimization units will help you increase conversions and shorten time to convert on your owned assets.

TrenDemon proudly serves a wide range of customers, from Fortune 500s and brands to SaaS, B2B, and financial companies and is backed by leading VCs.

Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO of Adobe, discusses how the pandemic has created another “inflection point” in the move toward digital transformation:

Digital Transformation Is A $120 Billion Opportunity

It was a good quarter all around. All of our businesses performed exceedingly well. On the Creative Cloud and the Document Cloud, not only did we have a great acquisition. in other words, new customers adopting the platform, but we really focused on engagement and demonstrating the value of our products to our customers. Even our retention levels came back to pre-COVID levels which we believe is a really good sign.

What’s happening in the world is the businesses that we’re in, namely creativity and enabling people to tell their story, what’s happening with documents and accelerating document productivity, and what’s happening associated with every single enterprise needing to engage with their customers digitally, when you add all of this up we think it’s over a $120 billion of an addressable market opportunity for Adobe.

Pandemic Was Inflection Point For Everything Being Digital

What the pandemic and the current health situation has done is that it has created yet another inflection point for everything being digital. What we will have to continue to monitor is what happens in the spending environment. But as it relates to the overall need for the kinds of solutions that Adobe provides as well as the importance of digital in the marketplace I think that’s going to be sustainable for decades. You’re not going to put the genie back in the bottle as it relates to engaging digitally and creating content digitally.

We believe that we’re in this third phase of what is happening in the enterprise. Traditionally, businesses first focused on automating the back office, and then they focused on automating the front office for knowledge workers. It’s absolutely clear that the biggest imperative that exists in the enterprise today is how do you engage with customers? This is a category that we call Customer Experience Management.

Customer Insight Is Key To Your Digital Transformation

If you’re an enterprise today and you’re thinking about digital transformation, what’s top of that stack in terms of where you have to invest is to make sure that you have insight into what your customers are doing. How are they engaging with you? What’s the profile? How do you deliver the personalized experience?

We really believe that what you’re seeing in the enterprise spend environment is that the companies that are focused on this next generation of delivering customer engagement, the customer experiences, and the insight associated with how to take the most advantage of that data, they’re going to be the secular winners moving forward.

Dan Springer, CEO of DocuSign, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and he says that businesses are not going back to a manual world:

COVID Pandemic Accelerated Digital Transformation

We’ve been really pleased with the growth we’ve had since going public a few years. We have also seen significant acceleration since the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s obviously a horrible pandemic and our number one priority has been the health and wellbeing of our employees so we can take good care of our customers. As you can see in our Q1 earnings we did see an acceleration of our bookings to 59 percent.

Traditionally, if you look at the billings-type metric they have been in the mid-30s’. A significant portion of that (increase) was due to increased use cases from customers driving that digital transformation faster with services like DocuSign.

Companies To Stay In This Digitally Transformed World

One of the things we’ve seen with the pandemic impact is that it has really accelerated the path that companies were already on to drive that digital transformation. We don’t see companies after the pandemic settles down going back and saying they want more paper and more manual processes.

Once they’ve got the benefits from that efficiency in their business, the better customer experience, and the better employee experience, they’re going to stay in a digitally transformed world. They are going to use DocuSign and other fantastic services to do that.

The Future Is Going To Have eSignature At The Center

We really think that the future is going to have eSignature at the center of what we call the overall Agreement Cloud. Companies want to be more agreeable. They want to be easier to do business with and be easier to do business for. They’re going to not just use DocuSign for signature but all of the other components of preparing agreements and managing those agreements digitally once they’ve been created. That’s why we’re excited about our very robust future.

We just past a billion dollars in revenue (for DocuSign eSignature). We are only four percent penetrated today and we’re six times larger than the next biggest player in the space. There’s not a lot of penetration yet in that core business. Notary is still predominantly done manually. We are making investments there. We believe we can bring the same ease of use that we brought to eSignature we can bring to notary.

AI To Power The DocuSign Agreement Cloud

Much bigger than that, even expanding upon the opportunity of eSignature is that broader Agreement Cloud opportunity. We think this is the next big cloud opportunity. You are going to see companies increasingly say I don’t just want to do the workflow and signature. I also want to drive the creations of those agreements. I want to think about artificial intelligence and search capability to manage my agreements. This would enable me to actually manage my business and make my company more agreeable.

Those are some of the investments we’re making. That’s why we just finished the acquisition of Seal Software last month so we can bring additional artificial intelligence and analytic capability to help people run their businesses better.

The cloud computing market is experiencing major growth, due in no small part to the pandemic and the rise of hybrid work. All three of the top providers are experiencing major growth, with no signs of it slowing down. According to McDermott, cloud computing’s success is because of its “pervasive” and transformative nature.

“It simplifies everything. Everything’s on the mobile. Everything’s beautiful and easy to use,” McDermott told Yahoo Finance.

“It’s one platform that can single thread business across an entire enterprise, all functions of the business. So, it is a great unifier in a sense, because some people have very powerful Chief Information Officers, others have Chief Digital Officers, others have Chief People officers, others have these wonderful data managers,” McDermott added. “But to have one platform, that single thread, all of those powerful relationships to deliver great experiences is super exciting to us.”

While the economic downturn has many companies hedging their bets and cutting costs, McDermott believes the cloud computing market can continue growing, buoyed by companies’ digital first strategies.

“Ninety-five percent of CEOs have a digital first strategy. So, they’re leaning in to digital transformation. Because it’s the only way out. On one hand, it’s software as the great deflationary force,” McDermott said. “On another hand, if you can’t transform and recreate your business model, and innovate digitally, you lose the game. So, CEOs are very well aware of this. So, that tailwind is super strong.”

McDermott’s predictions are good news for the cloud market and underscore the opportunities available to cloud providers.

Box is one of the leading cloud storage platforms and has been moving into the digital signature market with its Box Sign service. The company’s latest update brings the power of Box Sign to AppExchange customers.

The global pandemic greatly sped up the transition to digital documents, with remote teams needing a way to handle agreements and digital signatures. Box first entered the market in mid-2021, building its product on its SignRequest acquisition earlier that year. Since then, the company has been gaining customers and competing with existing players in the market, such as DocuSign and Adobe.

Read More: COVID Accelerated Digital Transformation, Says DocuSign CEO

“From streamlining customer relationships to closing deals from anywhere, we are excited to fuel growth for our customers,” said Diego Dugatkin, Chief Product Officer at Box. “The innovation we are delivering today helps end-users work more fluidly with their Box content right from within Salesforce and gives developers additional flexibility to support a wide range of business processes. We are only scratching the surface of what Box and Salesforce can do together for customers, so you can expect to see even more developments between our two platforms in the future.”

For its part, Salesforce welcomed the new update and what it means for AppExchange customers.

“We are excited that Box is continuing to innovate on AppExchange to help our hundreds of joint customers move their critical business process to the cloud,” said Woodson Martin, GM of Salesforce AppExchange. “Digitizing transactions is a critical step in the process and with Box Sign for Salesforce, Box is simplifying the execution of documents from anywhere in a cost-effective way. AppExchange is constantly evolving to meet the needs of our customers, and we love watching our partners evolve alongside us.”

Not only has Salesforce transformed the way they work with Slack but so are the customers of Salesforce. The company sees Slack as a core platform for powering digital transformation.

“Customer 360 and Slack are powering this transformation for companies in every industry in every region of the world,” said Taylor in yesterday’s earnings call. “Slack outperformed our expectations in the first full quarter as a part of the Salesforce family. The number of customers on Slack who spent over $100,000 was up 44% year-over-year. The adoption of Slack Connect was up an astonishing 176% year-over-year. Slack is not just a product, Slack is a network, and it’s just incredible to see that growth.”

The company seemed pleasantly surprised about how transformative Slack is to the operations of large enterprises. As Slack brought on millions of new users during the pandemic they focused on innovation that has made Slack much more than a simple communications platform.

“Slack also continues to innovate at an unbelievable pace,” notes Taylor. “Slack Huddles, which is Slack’s new real-time audio capability, is already used weekly by over 1/3 of Slack users. And Slack Clips, the new asynchronous video capability, are being played nearly 1 million times a week. And this month at Slack Frontiers, which I hope all of you have watched; and if you haven’t, you can watch it online. Stewart and the team are now the next generation of Slack’s platform, and it’s going to truly transform the way companies think about workflows and automation.”

Customer 360 and Slack are powering this transformation for companies in every industry in every region of the world, according to Taylor.

Slack outperformed our expectations in the first full quarter as a part of the Salesforce family. The number of customers on Slack who spent over $100,000 was up 44% year-over-year. Adoption of Slack Connect was up an astonishing 176% year-over-year. Slack is not just a product, Slack is a network, and it’s just incredible to see that growth.

Slack also continues to innovate at an unbelievable pace. Slack Huddles, which is Slack’s new real-time audio capability, is already used weekly by over 1/3 of Slack users. And Slack Clips, the new asynchronous video capability, are being played nearly 1 million times a week. And this month at Slack Frontiers, which I hope all of you have watched; and if you haven’t, you can watch it online. Stewart and the team are now the next generation of Slack’s platform, and it’s going to truly transform the way companies think about workflows and automation.

“That is definitely what I saw firsthand,” said Co-CEO Mark Benioff. “I was like, how could it be that an airline is basically front-ending their entire system with Slack? That’s a shock to me.”

“Slack is the system of engagement for every workflow, every application, every person on your enterprise,” added Taylor. “It’s really an amazing platform vision. And absolutely watch Slack Frontiers. If you haven’t seen it, I think it will blow your mind.”

“Every CEO and every Board I talk to is focused on how they can succeed in this era of flexible work,” says Taylor. “According to Slack’s research, 93% of workers are looking for flexibility when they work, and 76% are looking for flexibility where they work. Companies need to connect their employees, their partners, their customers from anywhere because we all know we’re not going to be in the office 5 days a week.”

“Our offices aren’t going away,” he said. “It’s just that your digital headquarters is going to be more important because it’s truly the infrastructure that connects all of it, and especially in this new normal. And Slack and Customer 360 together are really powering this transformation.”

The two companies announced in December they had reached a deal for Salesforce to acquire Slack. The deal was seen as a way for both companies to better compete with Microsoft. Microsoft Teams had eclipsed Slack, in terms of user count, thanks in large part to being part of Microsoft 365. Similarly, Microsoft has made it a goal to topple Salesforce as the leading CRM provider.

The deal underwent additional scrutiny by the DOJ before receiving regulatory approval, paving the way for the deal to close.

Executives from both companies highlighted their intent to create a “digital HQ,” to serve as a way for companies to reinvent their productivity.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Slack as part of the Salesforce family, combining the #1 CRM and the trailblazing digital platform for the work anywhere world,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce. “Together we’ll define the future of enterprise software, creating the digital HQ that enables every organization to deliver customer and employee success from anywhere.”

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink and reshape how and where we work,” said Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO and Co-Founder. “Salesforce and Slack are uniquely positioned to lead this historic shift to a digital-first world. I could not be more excited for what’s to come.”

The deal was welcomed by other companies as well.

“We are obsessed with continually delighting our clients, and offering them the best experience and value across every interaction,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM. “Salesforce and Slack coming together will help us become more connected, more productive, and more innovative so we can better serve our clients.”

Manny Medina, CEO of Outreach, discusses the “rise of the revenue innovator” in an interview today on CNBC:

The Rise of the Revenue Innovator

We’re seeing the rise of what we call the “revenue innovator.” The revenue innovator is a different job description that has changed since the pandemic. It’s a data-driven digital-first predictable long-building trusting relationship kind of seller. What we are seeing is this influx and this growth in the type of seller that knows how to drive a digital conversation but is complemented with a hybrid approach of visiting your customer. It’s a very predictable, very data-driven kind of job description.

The growth happening across our customer base is the growth of that kind of seller. This is a seller and a customer-facing rep who is going to be very data-driven and very innovator-led. If we are going to think of the Salesforce numbers that just came out these are incredible signs of growth for the cloud platform. That’s an incredible sign of growth for us as well because what we are seeing is the system of action is taking place on top of the system of record that Salesforce is providing.

Second Wave of Digital Transformation

All of the companies that used to be in the mainstream economy are accelerating into the second wave of digital transformation. The first wave of digital transformation is to move all of the data into the cloud and that is happening but it’s not what companies are talking about. Companies are talking about how do you make me smarter? How do you make my teams more efficient? How do you make my teams digital-first?

How do I live and thrive in this new hybrid environment post-Covid in which the buyer is not ready to see sellers until post transaction until you are expanding not selling? All of these “before-laggers” are becoming early innovators and early adopters with new technology such as Outreach which is AI-driven and digital-first.

The new job description is the revenue innovators, the digital-first, and the digital native. They may not have them yet but they are coming online, they are getting these jobs. Those revenue innovators are the new revenue leaders. They are also hiring people of the same ilk that are looking to drive this innovation within their companies. That’s what you are seeing in this transformation. Transformations are always people first.

It’s this new wave of people that are coming into traditional companies that are driving this second digital transformation. They are forward thinkers and they are data-driven.

Outreach Doubling Headcount Again

Outreach is doubling its headcount again. We almost doubled from the beginning of the pandemic all the way to now and we expect to hit another double in terms of hiring. We expect another 600 to 700 people to come on board. Most importantly, what we are seeing is that our customers are growing as well. We sell seats ahead of sales demand and we are seeing sales seats being bought very quickly.

We are expecting our customers to be driving double-digit growth across the board. This is a great sign for the economy.

Implementation of a new tax technology throughout your business can make it easier to scale for growth, as well as integrate with your ERP, point of sale (POS), and subscription billing service. According to a survey conducted by CIO.com, 78% of IT professionals expect digital transformation to greatly impact their organization within a year. How are you going to change your business?

In this on-demand webcast, Heather Ingram, cloud practice leader from Vertex Consulting, and Vince Morasco, cloud manager from Vertex Product Management, will walk you through multiple areas to consider before, during, and after the migration.

Sponsored by Vertex

Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, describes the company’s debit card as the anti-credit card:

Affirm’s Debit Card Is The Anti-Credit Card

It should not be called a credit card for sure in part because it’s sort of the anti-credit card. I don’t need to be provocative but the idea of credit cards fundamentally is to get you to spend, get into debt, and stay in debt. You will not know when you’re done paying off any specific purchase. You’re not really sure exactly how much you’re gonna pay. You should actually expect late fees if you miss a payment.

Literally, every single one of these things is the exact opposite for Affirm’s card. You know exactly what you’re going to pay. You know exactly what the schedule of repayment is and there’ll be no late fees under any circumstances. It’s sort of the exact opposite in many ways. It does serve the same purpose. You get to pay for things right now or over time.

Card Form Factor Is Extraordinarily Elegant

I don’t really know how long the card as a form factor will be with us, but I do think it’s extraordinarily elegant. The majority of the offline world certainly in the US still transacts with plastic and chips these days so I think it’s important to meet the customer where they are. I do know that our user base is primarily millennials and Gen Z’s. They love their debit cards they love to transact with them offline.

The purpose of this product was to bring by functionality that they have really loved online and really offline as well with us but have never had in a card. Particularly, a card that is embedded inside their daily everyday spend tool. The debit card form factor is a metaphor for everyday spend and that’s what we’re trying to get to.

What I Care About Is The Return Of The Country

The primary signal that I care about is the return of the country. We’re all kind of holding our breath a little bit to see when vaccines are coming. There are a bunch of reopenings and, knock on wood, everything sort of starts to come back to a little bit more normal. There’s just an incredible amount of opportunity to grow with this product that we have. It’s seen so much adoption in areas like travel, which has been effectively zero growth for the last several quarters because of the pandemic.

There are lots of interesting new challenges as the country reopens. The dominant thread is that there is that reopening creates a lot more opportunity for this product. We have proven that this product is what our customer wants and needs. This debit card will absolutely meet them where they are as they hopefully come out of their houses and go into restaurants and coffee shops and start traveling and buy tickets.

Aneel Bhusri, co-CEO of Workday, discusses how the pandemic will drive digital transformation forward at an even faster pace:

Digital Transformation To Be Faster Trend Out Of Pandemic

The first three quarters during the pandemic were challenging. The vagaries of subscription accounting models are such that it is a lag indicator. We expect new bookings growth to accelerate this year and that is our primary indicator and the way we run the business. We’re very excited about where we’re headed. That acceleration will probably take at least a year to show up in subscription accounting numbers just because of the way the model works. 

What’s been interesting about the pandemic is that for companies that were in the cloud they figured out how to how to thrive and adjust to the new world. Companies that weren’t in the cloud realized that they needed the flexibility, agility, and ability to plan instantaneously. They needed those capabilities. In many ways, companies like Nike that are just such great market-leading companies, recognize that they needed to move this capability to the cloud. So I think actually digital transformation will come out as a faster trend out of the pandemic. 

Employee Engagement Rose To The Top Of The List

It comes back to the flexibility and agility that that cloud solutions like Workday provide. We’ve been very fortunate. We’re so happy to have Laboratory Corporation of America become a customer. J&J is a customer. Visor’s a customer. AstraZeneca is a customer. I just feel honored to be able to support these companies who are doing the best they can to save our lives and are just doing amazing work with the vaccines and testing. We’ve always had a strength in the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics role. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they’re successful because they’re taking care of all of us.

Coming back to what we learned during the pandemic, employee engagement just rose to the top of every CEO’s list and every head of HR’s list. In a remote work orientation, it was harder to really understand how do employees think about the company they work at, their engagement level, their comfort with their manager, and if they are feeling fulfilled at work. We were already down the path at Workday with something called Pulse Surveys. We recognized that this emerging trend was going to be critical going forward. 

We Fell In Love With Peakon So We Acquired Them

We concluded that we had to get in this market now, the market’s happening now, and Peakon is the well-known leader in this category. Peakon is a UK-based company with an amazing management team. We fell in love with the product and the management team so we made them part of Workday. They’re one of the new generations of companies that’s machine learning first.

They really use machine learning in the right way to guide decisions and really give you insight into how employees are thinking about the company that they’re working for and how engaged are they. That is a supercritical set of information that’s going to drive companies going forward.

“We’re going to very much resist just adding back what we had before just because we can,” Mr. Teunissen said. “You could argue that a company should have the discipline to always do that, but a pandemic really sharpens your focus.”

Tripadvisor has reduced the company headcount by nearly 62 percent, from 4,194 pre-pandemic to 2.596 currently. Simultaneously, like most other companies, Tripadvisor employees have been predominantly working remotely and for the most part, they plan to continue with that strategy.

Mr. Teunissen said he is looking closely at Tripadvisor’s real estate footprint to determine how much office space the company will need after the pandemic, as it expects to adopt a hybrid model of remote and office work.

Tripadvisor has roughly 30 offices spanning about 600,000 square feet and its lease obligations totaled $168 million as of Dec. 31. The company is considering subletting more of its space and, in some cases, moving to smaller locations, Mr. Teunissen said.