Clouded Judgement

AUGUST 4, 2023

” These are two quotes about AWS on the Amazon earnings call. AWS grew 16% in Q1, but called out growth in April (first month of Q2) was 11%. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4).

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure Cost optimization & reporting AWS 130

SaaStr

OCTOBER 13, 2022

ChartMogul is an analytics platform to help you run your subscription business. Our mission is to build powerful and secure cloud software for subscription businesses of all sizes, with a strong emphasis on good design and ease of use. ChurnZero is the Customer Success platform and partner for growing SaaS and subscription businesses.

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 190

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Azure AWS Enterprise readiness 190

ChurnZero

JUNE 24, 2022

In our webinar, 2022 SaaS retention benchmarks , SaaS Capital Manager Director Rob Belcher shares the results from their 11th annual B2B SaaS benchmarking survey. You can download the full report for net retention and gross retention benchmarks as well as retention metrics in relation to ACV, growth, size, and more.

Benchmarks 98

Benchmarks Retention Software Review Technical Review 98

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 28, 2023

AWS (Amazon), Azure (Microsoft), and Google Cloud (Google) all reported this week. Then AWS appeared to add fuel to that hope before giving us a huge rug pull. After all, they had a lot of AI tailwinds, and benefited tremendously from consolidation (without a headwind of a larger base of smaller startups, like AWS).

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS AI Search 130

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Hyperscaler Preview Next week Amazon, Microsoft and Google report earnings and we’ll see Q3 data for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4).

Cloud 161

Cloud Azure AWS Software Review 161

Clouded Judgement

MARCH 22, 2024

Enterprise software businesses strive for 90-95% gross retention (generally the percent of revenue that sticks with you vs churns altogether), with net expansion in the 120%+ range (the aggregate change in expansion - contraction - churned revenue). Namely, retention!! For “fake” ARR, retention can vary wildly.

AI 183

AI Revenue Cloud Technical Advisors 183

Clouded Judgement

JANUARY 6, 2023

Cloud Downgrades This week UBS came out with a couple research reports citing concerns in AWS / Azure growth. This brings me back to AWS / Azure downgrades. This was the worst tone that we’ve heard in years from large AWS/Azure partners, a group that usually expresses different shades of optimism about AWS/Azure growth.”

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Underperforming Technical Team 130

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

” We saw some green shoots in AWS and a few other consumption names, and overall sentiment seemed more positive. Partly due to larger layoffs, as well as stronger bookings And finally - net retention. Not surprising, net retention continued to fall.

Cloud 169

Cloud Software Review AWS Trends 169

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Hyperscalers Report Quarterly Earnings This week we saw AWS (Amazon), GCP (Google) and Azure (Microsoft) report earnings. Overall, it wasn’t pretty… AWS grew 28% when expectations were 30-31%. Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Follow along to stay up to date!

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Cost optimization & reporting 130

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 21, 2023

Next week we get all 3 hyperscalers reporting (AWS from Amazon, Azure from Microsoft, and GCP from Google). On AWS, in their Q4 earnings call they said AWS was growing “mid teens” in January (down from 20% in Q4). Companies that do not disclose subscription rev have been left out of the analysis and are listed as NA.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

Clouded Judgement

JUNE 9, 2023

Expansion revenue is still declining (we see this in falling net retention rates), but gross retention remains strong. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). New customer growth seems to be picking up.

Trends 130

Trends Cloud Azure AWS 130

Clouded Judgement

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

” From AWS (paraphrased): They said they expect the reaccleration they saw in Q4 to continue into 2024 2024 Estimate Updates One important metric I’m tracking this quarter is the change in 2024 estimates pre / post earnings. Companies that do not disclose subscription rev have been left out of the analysis and are listed as NA.

Cloud 161

Cloud AWS Metrics Subscription 161

Clouded Judgement

JULY 28, 2023

AI = Data + Compute I’ll continue beating this drum, but we got two great quotes from Azure and AWS this week. ” Then at AWS Summit they called out “Your data is your differentiator when it comes to Generative AI.” AWS reports next week. ” Data is more important than ever! So what did we learn?

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

ChurnZero

JUNE 24, 2022

In our webinar, 2022 SaaS retention benchmarks , SaaS Capital Manager Director Rob Belcher shares the results from their 11th annual B2B SaaS benchmarking survey. You can download the full report for net retention and gross retention benchmarks as well as retention metrics in relation to ACV, growth, size, and more.

Benchmarks 52

Benchmarks Retention Software Review Technical Review 52

OPEXEngine

DECEMBER 7, 2021

The pricing model, which leads to increases or decreases in revenue based on how much customers engage with a service, has been gaining on the more traditional subscription model as the main way SaaS companies make money. It has tended to be used most in infrastructure platforms, like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. Enterprise companies.

Subscription 52

Subscription Payment Features Pricing SaaS 52

ChurnZero

AUGUST 11, 2020

Did you know that 60% of SaaS companies reported a negative impact on customer retention and upsell deals due to the pandemic? Customer retention, along with new customer acquisition, has been challenging for most companies when the pandemic hit. And, as you know, a better customer experience leads to better customer retention.

Retention 97

Retention Strategy Underperforming Technical Team Software Review 97

The Angel VC

MAY 12, 2018

We generate over 90% of our revenue from self-serve channels — users who purchase a subscription through our app or website. As a result, we may be unable to address any retention issues with specific users in a timely manner, which could harm our business.” We “ do not track the retention rate of our individual users”.

AWS 187

AWS Scale Subscription Payment Features 187

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Then, we moved to a more customer-friendly model with SaaS and subscription-based pricing. What’s evolved over the years and is driven by hyper-scalers like Google Azure, AWS, Twilio, and Stripe is the consumption-based model. In this approach, you’re paying a lot to reps for retention.

Compensation 173

Compensation Sales Azure AWS 173

OPEXEngine

JUNE 11, 2020

You hear the terms SaaS, subscription, term licenses and perpetual license software tossed around frequently. We sometimes hear companies call themselves “SaaS” companies, because they sell subscriptions, but they do not host software. The product is hosted by the vendor or a 3 rd party (like AWS).

SaaS Payments 52

SaaS Payments Payment Solutions Subscription Payment Features 52

OpenView Labs

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

This is why we’re seeing more and more SaaS companies—Datadog, Twilio, AWS, Snowflake, and Stripe, to name a few—find success with product led growth paired with usage-based pricing. But growing with a usage-model is not as straightforward as traditional subscription SaaS. Then they tell their boss what to buy.

Scale 98

Scale Pricing Scaling AWS 98

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

AWS growth seems to be re-accelerating, and qualitative feedback from a number of companies in Q2 (especially those with July quarter ends) suggested new customer bookings conversations were picking up. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4).

Software Review 130

Software Review Cloud Software AWS 130

Clouded Judgement

AUGUST 11, 2023

The good news is gross retention (ie churn) stayed constant. The hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP) are seeing some uptick, but this is largely from selling compute (ie cloud GPUs). Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4).

Cloud 130

Cloud Trends Azure GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

Clouded Judgement

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP as companies look for cloud GPUs who aren’t building out their own data centers) Infra (Data layer, orchestration, monitoring, ops, etc) Durable Applications We’ve clearly well underway of the first 3 layers monetizing. Model providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc as companies start building out AI).

Cloud 183

Cloud Artificial Intelligence AI GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 183

Clouded Judgement

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

In the short term, enjoy the ride as the chase continues 😊 Kind of related to all of this - we now have seen the Q4’s from AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). Lots of deceleration in growth.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Generative AI 130

SaaStr

MAY 15, 2024

In this week’s Workshop Wednesday, RevenueCat CEO Jacob Eiting and Growth Advocate David Barnard share their annual State of Subscription Apps report with us. So, let’s look at the state of subscription apps and how B2B SaaS can learn from it. Churn is much higher on consumer subscriptions, but you have higher expansion revenue.

Subscription 267

Subscription Payment Features B2B Mobile 267

Clouded Judgement

MARCH 31, 2023

The majority of COGS (revenue less COGS = gross profit) fall in hosting costs (ie AWS), and some customer support. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). This post and the information presented are intended for informational purposes only.

Cloud 130

Cloud Sales Hiring AI Headcount 130

Intercom, Inc.

DECEMBER 31, 2019

The wave of SaaS companies that built themselves on the likes of AWS and Azure have reinforced the pre-eminence of cloud computing. What was perhaps less predictable was the ensuing prevalence of the subscription-based business model. Perhaps nowhere is the impact of the subscription model quite as dramatic as in popular culture.

Payment Solutions 259

Payment Solutions Payment Methods Software SaaS Payments 259

ChurnZero

MARCH 31, 2022

Following the webinar, we invited Dave to give his rapid-fire takes on tracking the retention of auto-renew customers, calculating customer lifetime value as a startup, comping CSMs on expansion, determining the importance of measuring time to value, and much more. tech ops, AWS, technical support). A: I love auto-renews.

Customer Success 98

Customer Success Metrics Technical Review Scale 98

OpenView Labs

MARCH 4, 2021

For their first five years in business, HubSpot offered three subscription packages ranging in price from $3,000 to $18,000 per year. Net revenue retention was near 70%, a far cry from the 100%+ that most SaaS companies aim to achieve. In subscription SaaS businesses, the annual contract renewal is fraught with anxiety.

Pricing 55

Pricing Outsourced Development Marketplace as a Service AWS 55

Frontegg

MAY 27, 2021

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a consumer-centric scaling, conversion, and retention philosophy that uses the product itself as the primary growth driver. Founded : 2011 Known customers: Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, AWS, Unity, Udemy, Shopify Price starts at: $38/month per user. #2 Best For: Subscription Management, Billing.

Payment Solutions 98

Payment Solutions SaaS Payments Payments Scale 98

OPEXEngine

OCTOBER 17, 2019

SaaS vendors delivering subscriptions as well as professional services typically have gross margins between 60-70%. High gross margins together with high customer retention rates for a SaaS company at scale contribute to higher valuations, up to 20X or even 30X revenues in today’s market.

Scale 40

Scale SaaS AWS Revenue 40

OpenView Labs

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

And allocating additional resources toward your customer’s long-term success pays huge dividends – improving retention by just 1% affects a company’s bottom line by around 7%. The prototypical company with a Customer Success team is a high-priced subscription business with 12–24 month contracts. Impact on Customer Success teams.

Customer Success 43

Customer Success Revenue AWS Retention 43

OpenView Labs

MARCH 16, 2021

And compared to their peers, companies with usage-based pricing trade at a 50% revenue multiple premium and see 10 percentage points better net dollar retention rates. But the shift from pure subscription to usage-based pricing is nearly as complex as going from on-premise to SaaS. Game over for subscription-based pricing?

Pricing 52

Pricing Payments SaaS Payments Payment Solutions 52

SmartKarrot

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Increase the retention and growth of the most valuable customers. Identify business opportunities with customers to improve retention. Establish clear retention goals and process milestones for the client and Customer Success team to work toward. Ensure customers are taking a ‘never lose a subscription’ approach.

Customer Success 19

Customer Success Scale AWS Cloud 19

SmartKarrot

JANUARY 11, 2023

The pie tastes awful. Lack of success means the customer may cancel their subscription. Outcome selling in companies will help increase retention. Similarly, let’s consider the pie. Imagine you have served your friends or family a slice. They have a look of expectation on their faces. It’s a disaster! Each will cost you money.

Entertainment 19

Entertainment AWS B2B Customer Success 19

ProfitWell

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

An automatic subscription renewal charge for a subscription you’re no longer using or that you don't even remember signing up for. Even worse, you go to cancel your subscription, only to discover it's nearly impossible. What is a subscription renewal? Shipping the product to customers (for ecommerce subscriptions).

Payment Features 49

Payment Features Subscription Payment Methods Merchant Services 49

Intercom, Inc.

DECEMBER 13, 2018

I saw we had the opportunity to do that in London and to do something that will be new for Facebook, in the same way that AWS was a new business model and product line for Amazon and a bet that paid off very well. The shift to mobile, the shift to subscriptions – especially with our gaming partners – was very similar.

Scale 151

Scale Marketplace as a Service Mobile Sales Hiring 151