International Business Machines Corp. and Salesforce.com Inc. agreed to mingle their artificial-intelligence technologies in a bid to boost sales of data-analytics offerings. The companies Monday announced plans to offer integrated AI services that weave the broad human-like conversation and learning capabilities of IBM’s Watson with Salesforce’s more sales-oriented Einstein technology.
Category: Cloud Computing
In An Uncertain World, These Are The Business Trends We Can Count On
It’s never been good form to talk about politics among friends, but today it just can’t be helped. The Trump Administration is approaching governing in a radically different way, and the uncertainty that it breeds can have a paralyzing effect.
Why Amazon.com Inc. Is Investing Billions in India
India is the world’s second most populous country, its biggest democracy, and its sixth-biggest economy. And now, it appears to be the next big prize for Amazon.com When Amazon spots a market opportunity, it goes all in after it.
Snap Just Became One of Google’s Most Important Cloud Customers
One of the many interesting details revealed in Snap ‘s S-1 filing with the SEC is that it agreed to a $2 billion contract with Google Cloud in January. The agreement with the Alphabet Snap has used Google Cloud since its creation, but had been spending considerably less than the $400 million per year it’s slated to spend through 2021.
Better Buy: Apple Inc. vs. IBM
Apple, after reporting three consecutive quarters of sales declines, finally broke out of its funk last month when it reported solid, albeit muddled , holiday quarter results. IBM, after years of earnings declines, expects to return to growth on a per-share basis this year.
Microsoft Adds Patent Suit Protections For Cloud Customers
Microsoft Corp. will help cloud customers fend off patent lawsuits and expand coverage of related litigation costs, seeking to distinguish its services from rivals in the fast-growing market for internet-based computing. As more companies host their applications and services on Microsoft’s Azure and other cloud providers, they are increasingly becoming the target of lawsuits from companies seeking to make money by claiming patent infringement.
Amazon Forecast Sparks Investor Concern on Big Spending
Amazon.com Inc. projected earnings for the current quarter that indicate stepped up spending on warehouses, movies and gadgets will continue this year at the expense of profits. Operating income in the first quarter will be $250 million to $900 million, which is less than a year earlier even though revenue is forecast to increase as much as 23 percent to $35.8 billion.
Alphabet Earnings Marred by Taxman, While Revenue Jumps
Alphabet Inc. reported better-than-expected revenue thanks to a fast-growing cloud-computing business and booming YouTube video advertising, but the taxman spoiled the party. Fourth-quarter revenue, after payments for online traffic from distribution partners, was $21.2 billion, up 23 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a statement Thursday.
Alphabet Earnings Miss Analyst Estimates on New Hardware Costs
Alphabet Inc. profit missed analysts’ estimates, dented by heavy spending to support the internet giant’s growing cloud business and a one-time tax payment. Fourth-quarter revenue, after payments for online traffic from distribution partners, was $21.22 billion, the company said in a statement Thursday.
SAPVoice: How High-Tech Investments Make Smart Cities
My conversations with customers around the world often turn to the rise of technology companies — but not Google, Apple, IBM or even SAP-type technology companies. We talk about Airbnb, GO-JEK, Under Armour, Uber and others.
Amazon.com, Inc. Earnings: Will Big Investments Weigh on Profitability?
On the heels of a nice 37% gain in the company’s stock price in the past twelve months, the pressure is on for Amazon.com to deliver strongly when the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant reports fourth-quarter results on Thursday, Feb. 2. Ahead of the quarterly update, here’s a brief overview of what to watch when Amazon posts its earnings release. For Amazon’s fourth quarter, management expects the company to post strong revenue growth.
What Investors Should Expect When Intel Corp. Reports Fourth-Quarter Earnings
The semiconductor giant is slated to post fourth-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday, Jan. 26. Here’s what investors should look for in this update. Intel’s official guidance for the fourth quarter points to revenue rising approximately 5% year over year, stopping at $15.7 billion.
IBM Finally Turns the Corner
The tech giant reported its fourth-quarter results on Jan. 19, beating analyst estimates on all fronts and surpassing its goal of producing at least $13.50 in adjusted per-share earnings for 2016. IBM expects to produce at least $13.80 in adjusted EPS in 2017, a small but important increase.
Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff : ‘Expect Us to Look at Anything That’s Exciting’
Salesforce.com hopes to double its annual revenue, despite already being the fastest growing enterprise software company of all time. Cloud computing company Salesforce.com spent about $5 billion on acquisitions in the past year and it will continue to look at any “exciting” opportunities out there, CEO Marc Benioff said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday morning.
Why Amazon.com, Inc. Shares Gained 11% in 2016
If you bought Amazon shares at the 52-week lows in early February and sold them at the October peak, you would have seen a staggering 79% return in just eight months. And if you’re that lucky, I would advise you to stock up on lottery tickets, stat .
Alexa Could Be Amazon’s “Fourth Pillar”
All three have been instrumental to Amazon’s success over the past decade-plus and Bezos wrote, “I assure you that we also remain hard at work on finding a fourth [pillar].” It’s been two years since Amazon unveiled the Echo, which can serve as a hub for other smart-home devices like thermostats and lightbulbs, and its functionality has been extended through third-party “skills,” which function like voice-controlled apps.
Why Twilio, Northern Dynasty Minerals, and Ionis Pharmaceuticals Slumped Today
The stock market performed poorly on Wednesday, coasting into the end of what has been a strong year for most major market benchmarks. Popular stock market indexes were down as much as 1% on the day, and the Dow Jones Industrials fell by triple digits, getting further away from the much-watched 20,000 level.
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Investors are always looking for an edge — a new and better way to understand and analyze their current and future stocks. One of the best ways to improve in any endeavor is by learning from the wisdom of world-class performers, and this is true in investing, too.
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Staying relevant through constant innovation and disruption is more important in the tech industry than in arguably any other sector. By investing heavily in research and development , these companies are making expensive bets on the future and what technology and trends will lead it — along with their own sales and profits.
UPDATE 1-Amazon forecasts lower operating income as costs rise
The world’s largest online retailer also reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and missed Wall Street targets for its closely watched cloud computing unit, sending its shares down more than 4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. The Seattle-based company is spending heavily to take greater control of its delivery systems as well as expanding its video service around the world.