Latest news with #AIworkload
Tahawul Tech
2 days ago
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Rakuten Symphony finds the ‘IDEAL' value-added distributor for MEA expansion
Rakuten Symphony, Inc. recently announced that IDEAL Software Design, has been appointed as their value-added distributor for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. IDEAL will deliver the Rakuten Cloud portfolio of products, including Rakuten Cloud-Native Platform, Cloud-Native Orchestrator, and Cloud-Native Storage solutions, to resellers and end customers, with a primary focus on the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Rakuten Symphony and IDEAL have partnered to address the MEA region's burgeoning demand for managing distributed AI workload deployments at an affordable cost, while delivering locally managed and owned cloud-based operations. The partnership will support the expansion of the Rakuten Cloud portfolio into key markets and verticals in the MEA region. IDEAL will drive business development, implementation, and Level-1 and Level-2 support for the Rakuten Cloud portfolio, focusing on government and private cloud projects where data sovereignty is paramount. IDEAL's expertise will help organisations in the region safely modernise their data infrastructure and applications. The collaboration will support enterprises in the region with opportunities in edge computing, enabling stateful applications for modern use cases across retail, manufacturing, utilities, education, financial services, and logistics. Udai Kanukolanu, Global Head of Sales, Rakuten Symphony, said, 'Rakuten Symphony is pleased to announce IDEAL Software Design as a value-added distributor for the Middle East and Africa. This partnership underscores Rakuten Symphony's commitment to empowering organisations in the region with secure, cloud-native solutions that address the unique challenges of data sovereignty and digital transformation'. Ivor Rankin, General Manager, IDEAL Software Design, said, 'We are proud to partner with Rakuten Symphony to bring its cloud portfolio to the Middle East and Africa region. IDEAL Software Design is committed to supporting customers in the region with modernising their data infrastructure and applications. Together, we will deliver next-generation solutions that enable digital transformation across key industries'. Anirban (Oni) Chakravartti, SVP, Head of Sales for Enterprise, Cloud Business Unit, Rakuten Symphony, said, 'Rakuten Symphony's partnership with IDEAL Software Design is a significant step in strengthening our market presence in the Middle East and Africa region. As a leading regional value-added distributor, IDEAL is well positioned to elevate Rakuten Symphony's go-to-market strategy and enhance our channel coverage. Rakuten Symphony is committed to a mutually beneficial partnership that aims to deliver exceptional value-added services to IDEAL's resellers through the Rakuten Cloud portfolio'. For more information about Rakuten Cloud offerings, visit: Image Credit: Rakuten Cloud & IDEAL Software Design
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Revealing Analyst Questions From DigitalOcean's Q1 Earnings Call
DigitalOcean's first quarter performance for 2025 saw revenue and non-GAAP profit surpass Wall Street expectations, but the market responded negatively, reflecting investor caution about the company's outlook. Management attributed the quarter's results to continued momentum with digital native enterprise customers, particularly those with high annual spending, and strong AI workload growth. CEO Paddy Srinivasan highlighted a '41% year-over-year increase in revenue from customers who are at $100,000-plus annual run rate,' emphasizing the impact of targeted product innovation and expanded account coverage. The company also pointed to improvements in net revenue retention and efficient cost management, with gross margin expansion aided by data center optimization. Is now the time to buy DOCN? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $210.7 million vs analyst estimates of $208.6 million (14.1% year-on-year growth, 1% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.56 vs analyst estimates of $0.44 (26.3% beat) Adjusted Operating Income: $62.27 million vs analyst estimates of $53.38 million (29.6% margin, 16.7% beat) The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $880 million at the midpoint Management reiterated its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance of $1.90 at the midpoint Operating Margin: 17.9%, up from 6.2% in the same quarter last year Net Revenue Retention Rate: 100%, up from 99% in the previous quarter Annual Recurring Revenue: $843 million at quarter end, up 14.1% year on year Billings: $210.9 million at quarter end, up 14.1% year on year Market Capitalization: $2.53 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Jason Ader (William Blair) asked about the timeline for the GenAI platform's general availability and DigitalOcean's AI differentiation. CEO Paddy Srinivasan projected a launch by the end of Q2 or early Q3 and emphasized a 'full stack' approach across infrastructure, platform, and application layers. Pinjalim Bora (JPMorgan) questioned macroeconomic impacts on customer demand. Srinivasan noted that while some segments, such as AdTech, showed caution, the diversified customer base limited exposure to any one sector. Gabriela Borges (Goldman Sachs) inquired about the potential for more large, multi-year deals. Srinivasan described increasing predictability and larger deal discussions, driven by product and go-to-market advances, enabling staged workload migrations. James Fish (Piper Sandler) probed the rationale for front-loaded capital expenditures and future CapEx plans. CFO Matt Steinfort responded that new capacity, especially in Atlanta, underpins growth projections and that alternative financing tools are being considered for larger opportunities. Mark Zhang (Citi) asked how DigitalOcean achieved sales and marketing leverage despite new programs. Srinivasan explained the company is in early stages of optimizing its sales motions and will ramp investments cautiously as unit economics become clearer. In the coming quarters, our team will closely monitor (1) the adoption and monetization of the GenAI platform as it moves from beta to general availability; (2) the success of the expanded named account model in driving high-value customer growth and retention; and (3) the impact of alternative capital strategies on growth and cash flow. Execution on AI initiatives, new product launches, and continued gross margin improvements will be key signposts for progress. DigitalOcean currently trades at $28.02, down from $32.76 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it's free). The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025. While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we're homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver's seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
