Yazılar

Wiz Appoints Fazal Merchant as President and CFO to Prepare for IPO

/in /tarafından

Israeli cloud security firm Wiz has appointed veteran executive Fazal Merchant as its president and chief financial officer (CFO) to continue its rapid growth and pave the way for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) in the next year.

Merchant’s appointment comes after the company turned down a reported $23 billion acquisition offer from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in July. Wiz’s CEO Assaf Rappaport emphasized that the company’s focus would now be on an IPO and reaching an annual recurring revenue of $1 billion.

Currently, Wiz generates approximately $500 million in annual revenue, having grown significantly since its 2020 founding. The company serves half of the Fortune 100 companies and has raised $1.9 billion in private financing, with a valuation of $12 billion after raising $1 billion in May 2023.

Merchant, who previously served as co-CEO of U.S. cybersecurity firm Tanium and CFO of DreamWorks Animation, highlighted Wiz’s healthy liquidity and its strategy to prepare for the IPO. He noted that IPO readiness could take 12 months, or potentially longer, depending on market conditions.

Merchant also emphasized Wiz’s goal of becoming the leader in cloud security as the global shift to cloud computing continues, with only 15% of the world’s infrastructure in the cloud. As the company expands in Europe and Asia, it sees significant growth potential in the cybersecurity sector.

 

Oracle Misses Quarterly Revenue Estimates Amid Intense Cloud Competition

/in /tarafından

Oracle Corporation (ORCL.N) reported weaker-than-expected revenue growth for its fiscal second quarter, signaling increasing pressure in the competitive cloud services market. Shares of the company dropped over 7% in extended trading following the announcement.

Key Financial Metrics

  • Quarterly Revenue: Oracle posted $14.06 billion, a 9% year-over-year increase but slightly below analysts’ expectations of $14.11 billion, as per LSEG data.
  • Adjusted Earnings per Share (EPS): The company reported $1.47 per share, narrowly missing Wall Street’s forecast of $1.48.
  • Third-Quarter EPS Outlook: Oracle predicts adjusted EPS of $1.50 to $1.54, lower than the market expectation of $1.57.

Cloud Growth and Competitive Landscape

Oracle’s cloud segment continues to grow but faces tough competition from established players such as Microsoft and Amazon, often referred to as “cloud hyperscalers.” Despite this, Oracle has strategically partnered with these rivals by embedding its database architecture into Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS), enabling seamless data integration for customers.

Chief Executive Safra Catz expressed confidence in Oracle’s long-term growth, projecting total cloud revenue to exceed $25 billion in fiscal 2025. However, the company’s significant investment in cloud infrastructure—particularly through partnerships with Nvidia and the expansion of data centers—has led to increased capital expenditures and margin pressure.

Industry Insights

The tech industry’s high expectations for artificial intelligence (AI) have fueled Oracle’s 80% stock surge this year. However, analysts, including Rebecca Wettemann of Valoir, caution that these expectations are “overheated.”

Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson, noted that Oracle remains a “distant fourth hyperscaler” in the cloud market despite its aggressive investments.

Challenges Ahead

Oracle’s need for substantial capital investment to keep up with competitors underscores the challenging nature of the cloud industry. While its partnerships and infrastructure upgrades may help close the gap, concerns over profitability and sustained growth in the face of rivals like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google remain significant hurdles.

Amazon Unveils “Buy with AWS” Button for Cloud Software Vendors

/in /tarafından

Amazon is expanding its cloud business by introducing a new feature called the “Buy with AWS” button, aimed at streamlining the purchasing process for cloud software vendors and their customers. This feature, announced at Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Reinvent conference in Las Vegas, allows software vendors to embed a payment option on their websites that enables customers with AWS accounts to buy services directly, taking advantage of pre-agreed discounts.

AWS, the leading cloud provider, brings in over $100 billion in annual revenue, and many software vendors, including Databricks, Wiz, and Workday, host their products on AWS. Now, these vendors can simplify the transaction process, providing a more seamless buying experience for users who are already part of the AWS ecosystem.

Matt Yanchyshyn, AWS’ vice president of marketplace and partner services, emphasized that the new button is designed to increase both customer and partner loyalty, ultimately improving sales conversion rates. The integration is simple for software companies, with the only requirement being that they sell through the AWS Marketplace, where Amazon has recently reduced fees to 3% or lower in some cases.

On the consumer side, the introduction of the “Buy with AWS” button mirrors Amazon’s successful “Buy with Prime” program, which allows retailers to integrate Amazon’s fulfillment network into their own websites. However, the AWS button offers a key difference—there are no fees for software vendors to embed it on their sites. This arrangement results in more revenue for Amazon, as the purchases are tied to services running on AWS.

“Buy with Prime is a separate initiative, but we work closely with that team,” said Yanchyshyn, highlighting the distinction between the two programs. “Buy with AWS is focused on a different use case.”

For cloud software vendors like Databricks, the new feature promises to simplify the purchasing process and increase AWS usage. David Meyer, senior vice president of product management at Databricks, noted that “Buy with AWS” will likely lead to a higher share of revenue from AWS deployments, as it simplifies the buying process.

Workday, which provides finance and human resources software, plans to implement the button for its Adaptive Planning product, acquired in 2018. The company hopes that the button will expedite procurement and make it easier for customers to adopt their software through the AWS Marketplace.

“If this works well, we may expand its use to more products,” said Matthew Brandt, Workday’s senior vice president of global partners. He also mentioned that buyers who are familiar with AWS may be more inclined to choose Workday as a provider.

Industry analysts, such as Ed Anderson from Gartner, believe that the “Buy with AWS” button could prompt other cloud providers to introduce similar features for third-party websites, a move that could further simplify cloud software transactions and increase cloud providers’ market share.