Sales Hacker

MARCH 25, 2025

Ray breaks down why the rise of AI agents is a tectonic shift, how businesses are already seeing ROI, and what it means for SaaS, team structure, and go-to-market strategies. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

AI Search 67

AI Search AI Scale Software 67

Tom Tunguz

MARCH 28, 2020

I’ve also heard anecdotally that some forms of content marketing are doing well in an era when knowledge workers sit before our laptops all day. I couldn’t find real-time data about bandwidth, but Google’s Trends product does show near up to date Google queries, which is a good proxy.

Trends 354

Trends Azure Software Review Content Marketing 354

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 26, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Subscribe now Azure Report - Cloud Infra Looks Good! For software, all eyes were on Azure - which grew 31% YoY (ahead of expectations closer to 29%). So the overall Azure quarterly revenue figure is already not entirely spot on.

Azure 184

Azure Cloud Software AI 184

SaaStr

DECEMBER 28, 2023

And broader Cloud players had great years too, from MongoDB to Cloudflare to Azure, if not quite as crazy as at the peak of 2021. But the trend of slowing growth in 2023 wasn’t just a thing — it was an All Time Low. Still, the trend line does make you worry a smidge. We’ve always bounced off the lows.

Azure 349

Azure Cloud SaaS Trends 349

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 25, 2023

I’m watching public company earnings to identify early trends in the software market to inform startups’ plans for 2023. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) & Microsoft Azure had strong quarters with about 28% annual revenue growth each. The total customer count for Azure’s OpenAI has grown dramatically.

AI Search 264

AI Search AI Azure GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 264

Tom Tunguz

JANUARY 23, 2023

I’m watching public company earnings to identify early weaknesses in the software market. The transcript highlights the major trends in software of 2023. Below, I’ve listed those trends with data & excerpts from the earnings call transcript. Yesterday, Microsoft announced earnings.

Azure 256

Azure Underperforming Technical Team Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning 256

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

I’m watching public company earnings to identify early weaknesses in the software market. A year ago, AWS, GCP, & Azure averaged 44% annual growth. Overall, given the trends we’re seeing, I expect cloud growth rates to fall into the 18-22% range for 2023, about of the growth rate of a year ago.

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 313

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Cloud AWS Sales Hiring 313

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 30, 2024

Cloud Capex in Q1 AWS $14 billion Azure $14 billion Google Cloud $12 billion These are not one-time investments, but part of a broader trend that started to occur after the introduction of GPT 3 in mid-2020 Amazon was the first to invest significantly. “Moving to AWS.

Cloud 309

Cloud AWS Azure AI 309

Tom Tunguz

JULY 25, 2023

I’m watching public company earnings to identify early trends in the software market to inform startups’ plans for 2023. Both Google & Microsoft announced growth rates in GCP & Azure that held steady from one quarter to the next. Yesterday, Microsoft & Google announced earnings. The desire for AI is broad.

Azure 238

Azure GCP(Google Cloud Platform) AI Cloud 238

Tom Tunguz

MARCH 1, 2025

I analyzed Q4 revenue data from publicly traded companies across multiple sectorssoftware companies, consulting firms, and hardware manufacturers to determine which segment dominates the AI market. In second place, Microsoft’s AI business, including Azure, is at a $3.25b Q4 revenue. Maybe this group doubles the revenue.

AI 245

AI Revenue Azure Consulting 245

Clouded Judgement

JUNE 19, 2024

It’s worth pointing out that Azure is a bit above the long term trendline, while AWS is still below (but accelerating up). What I’ve shown below is the market-adjusted stock price reaction. This means I’ve removed any impact of broader market shifts to isolate the company’s earnings impact on the stock.

Cloud 318

Cloud GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Software Azure 318

Clouded Judgement

JUNE 9, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Subscribe now Consumption Trends We’re now through earning season. Is there any incremental signal on consumption trends reversing? They guided to 26-27% growth in Azure in Q2 (with 1% coming from AI). Overall similar to Datadog.

Trends 130

Trends Cloud Azure AWS 130

SaaStr

MAY 30, 2024

With a PLG-heavy background, first working at Microsoft Azure and again with Atlassian, the PLG pioneers, he gives insights into leveraging PLG for the growth of your organization. A freemium version can work well if you want to gain market share quickly. Atlassian, Microsoft Azure, and Zoom are good examples of that.

Scale 299

Scale AI Search Azure Sales 299

Clouded Judgement

AUGUST 11, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. While it is too early to call an end to cloud optimization and a significant level of macro uncertainty remains, these new trends, along with the tenor of our customer interactions are encouraging.” Follow along to stay up to date!

Cloud 130

Cloud Trends Azure GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

SaaStr

DECEMBER 26, 2022

In this session, she shares insights and trends from research conducted this year that can help software buyers and sellers make smarter decisions about software and the market. . and go-to-market partners, to understand what’s happening in the space. . “G2 Go-to-market Partners released a report using G2 data.

Software Review 245

Software Review Software Azure Cloud 245

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 27, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. You can see some quotes from Azure / AWS in my Q2 recap , and pasted below. AWS was the the most positive sounding when it came to trends around optimizations. On Tuesday, Azure and Google spooked the market.

Cost optimization & reporting 157

Cost optimization & reporting Cloud Azure AWS 157

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

” Fortunately, the always excellent KeyBanc Capital Markets (KBCM) 2021 SaaS Survey – which covers over 350 private SaaS companies across various stages and categories – provides a very rich data set to work from. ” Year after year of lower sales and marketing costs and better customer retention really adds up.

SaaS 317

SaaS Technical Review Benchmarks Azure 317

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

I’m watching public company earnings to identify early trends in the software market to inform startups’ plans for 2023. The surge in pipeline is notable given the uncertainty in the market but the close rates are low & sales cycles slow : another confirmatory data point for startups to plan cautiously in 2023.

Cloud 242

Cloud Azure Headcount Software Review 242

Tom Tunguz

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Consumption continued to grow in the month of October…Consumption trends have improved.” " As with many other companies reporting strength in the market, AI & unstructured data workloads are fueling growth. “Yes, we actually saw quite a bit of energy coming from the Azure platform this quarter.

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 185

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Azure Data Startup 185

Clouded Judgement

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. ” Microsoft on Azure : “And I think last quarter, we said one, we are going to continue to have these cycles where people will build new workloads. Follow along to stay up to date! Even a DCF is riddled with long term assumptions.

Cost optimization & reporting 167

Cost optimization & reporting Cloud Azure AWS 167

Clouded Judgement

MAY 3, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. We now have results from the three hypersclaers (AWS / Azure / GCP). ” Full quote below: “We're seeing a few trends right now. Follow along to stay up to date! The most notable change in tone was Andy Jassy talking about AWS.

Cost optimization & reporting 190

Cost optimization & reporting Cloud Software Azure 190

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 28, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. AWS (Amazon), Azure (Microsoft), and Google Cloud (Google) all reported this week. It’s pretty well understood that consumption trends will bottom and reverse prior to seat based purchasing. Azure came in at 31% (constant currency).

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS AI Search 130

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Hyperscaler Preview Next week Amazon, Microsoft and Google report earnings and we’ll see Q3 data for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Multiples shown below are calculated by taking the Enterprise Value (market cap + debt - cash) / NTM revenue.

Cloud 167

Cloud Azure AWS Software Review 167

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Hyperscalers Report Quarterly Earnings This week we saw AWS (Amazon), GCP (Google) and Azure (Microsoft) report earnings. At the same time, Azure came in below expectations. Follow along to stay up to date! Top 5 Median: 15.8x

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Cost optimization & reporting 130

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 11, 2024

The first few months of this year felt like a lot of churning in the market. It looks at the YoY dollar change in quarterly revenue from the hyperscalers (just looking at Azure / AWS because the data goes back further) going back a few years. What I’ve shown below is the market-adjusted stock price reaction.

Cloud 184

Cloud Software Azure AWS 184

Clouded Judgement

JANUARY 6, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. 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. Follow along to stay up to date! This quote captures the crux of their sentiment.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Underperforming Technical Team 130

Clouded Judgement

JANUARY 27, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Azure (Microsoft) Quarter The week the first of the cloud giants reported - Azure. Early Look at 2023 Guides Given the Azure weakness reported on Tuesday, all software tumbled Wednesday morning with most names down 5-10%.

Cloud 144

Cloud Azure Subscription Payment Features 144

Clouded Judgement

AUGUST 4, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. But what I would add is that we saw Q2 trends continue into July.” And most importantly, they’ve seen these positive trends continue. Follow along to stay up to date! So those balanced out in Q2. Top 5 Median: 16.1x

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Cost optimization & reporting 130

OpenView Labs

JANUARY 24, 2022

Every year Tackle surveys sellers and buyers at software companies across the spectrum—from less than $10M to over $1 billion in ARR, across multiple industries, and in roles like alliances/partnerships, sales, operations, product/development, finance, marketing, IT, and more. Don’t let competitors beat you to the punch.

Marketplace as a Service 98

Marketplace as a Service Cloud Trends Software 98

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Microsoft launched Azure in 2010, and Google launched GCP to the public in 2011 (they launched a preview of Google App Engine in 2008, but made it publicly available in 2011). Follow along to stay up to date! Overall Stats: Overall Median: 5.3x

Cloud 176

Cloud GCP(Google Cloud Platform) AWS Azure 176

Clouded Judgement

AUGUST 2, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Today, the market seems a lot more worried about business fundamentals / growth. Cloud Giants Report Q2 We also got the Q2 quarters from AWS / Azure / GCP this week! Follow along to stay up to date! Today it’s ~5x. Top 5 Median: 14.4x

Cloud 157

Cloud Azure GCP(Google Cloud Platform) AWS 157

Clouded Judgement

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Subscribe now OpenAI Updates OpenAI had their big developer day this week, and I wanted to call out two key announcements (and trends): increasing context windows and decreasing costs. Follow along to stay up to date! Top 5 Median: 14.5x

Cloud 190

Cloud Artificial Intelligence GCP(Google Cloud Platform) AI 190

Clouded Judgement

JULY 28, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. AI = Data + Compute I’ll continue beating this drum, but we got two great quotes from Azure and AWS this week. Meaning labor markets continue to be strong! This could be a trend of improving buyer dynamics? AWS reports next week.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 21, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Next week we get all 3 hyperscalers reporting (AWS from Amazon, Azure from Microsoft, and GCP from Google). If we look at the trends in their most recent quarters YoY growth rates (below) you’ll see the deceleration has been meaningful.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

Clouded Judgement

MAY 26, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Early Look at May Consumption Trends This week kicked of Q1 earnings reports for companies with April quarter ends. This means we got commentary for the first time on May trends. Follow along to stay up to date! What did we learn?

Cloud 144

Cloud Azure Trends Forecasting 144

Clouded Judgement

MAY 31, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. And people thought that trend would continue in to Q1. Macro - At the start of the year, the market expected a number of rate cuts this year (tailwind to software valuations). Follow along to stay up to date! Q4’s were generally good!

Cloud 184

Cloud Software GCP(Google Cloud Platform) AI 184

Clouded Judgement

MAY 10, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Multiples shown below are calculated by taking the Enterprise Value (market cap + debt - cash) / NTM revenue. Follow along to stay up to date! So far - you’re either tied to AI tailwinds, or it’s rough out there. Top 5 Median: 15.5x

Cloud 167

Cloud Software GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Azure 167