SAP makes more open-source strides at TechEd: Add SAP to the list of companies who have joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. It has also joined the Open API Initiative. Both projects fall under the auspices of the Linux Foundation. The CNCF hosts a number of prominent open-source projects, chief among them the Kubernetes container orchestration system. SAP's membership will be more than a rubber stamp, according to technology chief Bjorn Goerke:
Besides our interest in incorporating Kubernetes into SAP Cloud Platform, we also have concrete plans to actively contribute projects and best practices from existing and new business scenarios for enterprises.
POV: SAP's move to join the CNCF was a long time in coming. Its members include dozens of prominent names, including IBM, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google, Cisco, Intel, Red Hat and VMWare, and has more than 100 members overall.
The CNCF defines cloud native computing as an open source software stack that leverages containers, dynamic orchestration of containers and an emphasis on microservices-driven applications. The group says that projects under the CNCF's purview support cloud portability without the specter of vendor lock-in. Overall, the CNCF's goals are well-aligned with the needs of enterprises undergoing digital transformation and building next-generation applications, and SAP is wise to join and actively participate.
Google Cloud expands per-second billing: This didn't take long. About a week after Amazon Web Services announced the availability of per-second billing, Google Cloud has made its own announcement, while pointing out that it has had per-second billing for persistent disk storage since 2013. Here are the details from Google's blog post:
We are pleased to announce that we’re extending per-second billing, with a one minute minimum, to Compute Engine, Container Engine, Cloud Dataproc, and App Engine flexible environment VMs. These changes are effective today and are applicable to all VMs, including Preemptible VMs and VMs running our premium operating system images including Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and SUSE Enterprise Linux Server.
Google's post argues that the difference between per-minute and per-second billing for most scenarios is minuscule, compared the jump in savings when one goes from per-hour to per-minute pricing. It also says only a few customers have been asking for per-second billing.
POV: Even if you buy Google's argument over the difference between per-minute and per-second pricing, the fact it so quickly moved to ensure customers the option was available across its IaaS portfolio is telling of the competitive stakes in play. A per-second billing option also supports innovative thinking about how to architect and code next-generation applications for maximum performance and efficiency.
Salesforce launches Data Studio: Today, marketers purchase a lot of audience data through brokers. Salesforce is looking to cut out those middlemen and in the process appeal to both marketers and publishers, which collect large amounts of high-quality data about their audiences.
Salesforce Data Studio is a data-sharing platform based on a product it gained through last year's $700 million acquisition of Krux. Publishers, or "data owners" as Salesforce terms them, maintain control over their data and dictate how its priced and how it can be used through a set of governance tools. Marketers looking for useful data sets get rich search and discovery capabliities. Here's how Salesforce describes the value proposition:
While legacy data exchanges and marketplaces have provided a way to acquire new audiences, they lack trust and transparency while adding too much cost and complexity to data provisioning and activation. They were designed by and favor the middlemen, the data brokers and resellers. For marketers, this means they rarely gain assurances regarding the fair price and origin of the data they acquire. Meanwhile, publishers are less willing to share their best data and can’t realize the full value of any data without the right tools to provision it to marketers. Both sides worry about losing too much value to the brokers and resellers who manage the majority of data exchange transactions today.
Salesforce's announcement lists a large number of high-profile Data Studio customers, many of which were likely carried over from the Krux deal. They include Conagra, Anheuser-Busch, Heineken and Super Digital. Publishers on the platform include Gatehouse Media, Digital Trends, Fanserv, Publishers Clearing House, Univision and Penske Media Corporation.
Data Studio is generally available in stand-alone form as well as editions for existing customers of Salesforce's digital marketing platform.
POV: Under the Krux name, Data Studio was called Link. It doesn't appear Salesforce has many any significant changes to the product's approach and intent, but has injected some Einstein-flavored AI capabilities into the mix for improved audience discovery and indexing.
"There is a tremendous amount of value in verified and validated second-party data that has been challenging for marketers to gain access to," says Constellation VP and principal analyst Cindy Zhou. Data Studio provides a trusted and neutral platform for publishers and marketers to share this valuable data, Zhou adds.
Macy's overhauls its loyalty program: Struggling department store chain Macy's has hit the reset button on its customer loyalty program, Star Rewards, in a bid to drive up revenue. While profitable, Macy's has seen persistent revenue declines and has been closing underperforming stores. Here's how the new program will be structured:
Macy’s new Star Rewards makes it simple for customers to receive benefits with every Macy’s purchase. Based on annual spend, customers with a Macy’s credit card will be automatically enrolled into one of three levels: Silver, Gold or Platinum. Rewards are tiered by level, with Macy’s best customers receiving benefits that include free shipping, additional savings and earned points on every purchase. Additionally, cardholders are automatically upgraded to the next tier when annual spend reaches the new level. The program was developed with the customer in mind, based on a careful analysis of evolving shopping behaviors and consumer preferences.
POV: The Platinum tier will give customers who spend at least $1,200 per year 5 percent back as well as free shipping. That's the group Macy's is aiming to please, as well as to grow. The chain derives 50 percent of its annual revenue from the 10 percent of shoppers who spend at least that much money per year.
While this certainly reflects those customers' loyalty to the Macy's brand, the numbers are top-heavy enough to make any CxO queasy. But by catering to those bigger spenders more effectively, Macy's can fight back against poaching by competitors.
The new program is the brainchild of recently minted CEO Jeff Gennette, and time will tell if it pans out. Macy's has lagged other chains, such as Kohl's, in adapting to omnichannel commerce realities; more digital initiatives have been in the pipeline too long and it will be Gennette's job to get them rolled out.
Assessing Microsoft Ignite: Microsoft held its Ignite and Envision co-conference for enterprise IT and business executives this week, and made a series of significant announcements along the way. Several Constellation Research analysts were in attendance and have filed reports on what they saw and heard.
Constellation VP and principal analyst Holger Mueller walks through a number of topics in a deep-dive blog post, including Azure Stack, Cosmos DB, Visual Studio and Microsoft's quantum computing strategy.