Tech News Digest – September 4th

Zoom Shares Soaring as Corporate Accounts Climb

Zoom is zooming, and there’s no mystery around its spectacular success. Unquestionably, Zoom has provided a practical solution that is necessary for these difficult times.“Zoom’s (ZM) revenue surged more than 350% in the second quarter, and profits rocketed by nearly 10 times as much, as companies signed up for the video conferencing app to connect staff working from home during the pandemic,” writes Laura He of CNN Business. “The California-based video communication service provider reported net profit of $185.7 million for the quarter through July 31, up nearly 3,300% compared with a year earlier. Revenues in the quarter were $663.5 million, up 355%.”From my perspective, Zoom’s ability to sign up corporate accounts has been absolutely critical to its success.

“The number of customers producing $100,000 or more in annual revenue for Zoom more than doubled from a year earlier to 988. CEO Eric Yuan highlighted ExxonActivision and ServiceNow on the earnings call,” writes Ari Levy of CNBC. “Zoom is now among the 20 most valuable U.S. tech companies, with a market cap higher than IBM and more than twice as large as that of VMware.”

Sleeker Samsung Folding Phone Priced at $2K

Samsung has revealed more information about its high-end folding phone, including its comparatively high price of $2,000.

Samsung on Tuesday provided more details about its new Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G, which it first showed off at a virtual Unpacked event on Aug. 5. The biggest tidbit shared during ‘Unpacked Part 2’ was the device’s price: $2,000 in the US — $20 more than last year’s model,” writes Shara Tibken of CNET. “While $2,000 is prohibitively expensive for many people, especially in the middle of a pandemic, the pricing could have been worse. Samsung packed features into the Z Fold 2 that address most complaints with the older model, and it refined the foldable into even more of a sleek, luxury device.”

I haven’t tried the phone yet, but if the newer features genuinely deliver added value, I can see people paying a premium for the folding phone.

Amazon Ready to Deliver Packages with Aerial Drones

Amazon has taken an important step forward in its strategy to begin delivering packages using aerial drones, according to published reports.

“A fleet of drones is now poised to deliver packages for Amazon Prime now that the Federal Aviation Administration has granted the mogul company approval to deliver unmanned packages on Monday, Aug. 31,” writes Christina Coulter of the South Orange Daily Voice. “The company said that it went through a rigorous approval process, including demonstrating the safety and efficiency of its drones to FAA officials.” 

Workday Stock Rises on Earnings

Workday stock is rising, driven by earnings that beat expectations. Workday was an early leader in providing enterprise cloud-based services, and it remains a strong influence in the continually expanding cloud economy.

Workday shares rose as much as 13% in extended trading on Thursday after the cloud software company reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings,” writes Jordan Novet of CNBC. “The company also said Chano Fernandez is being promoted from co-president to co-CEO, operating alongside Aneel Bhusri, who’s been leading Workday since its founding in 2005.”