Just in time for the 2024 season, the National Football League and Amazon Web Services Inc. continue to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence and machine learning in football. Through a partnership that began in 2017, the NFL has used AWS technology to improve player performance analysis, game strategies and fan experiences. Upcoming NFL games will showcase a new AI-powered tool, Tackle Probability, that analyzes and predicts the likelihood of a defender making a tackle in real time.
VMware by Broadcom‘s recent annual user event Explore in Las Vegas was like no other I can remember in recent history. The most notable change was the crowd size. Since acquiring VMware Inc., Broadcom Inc. has clarified that the focus is on the top 5,000 customers, which created a limited audience. That had a ripple effect on the event as the lack of audience created an Expo Hall that was a virtual ghost town, particularly for the sponsors.
Unlike previous VMware Explore/VMWorld events, which are typically filled with product announcements, this year’s VMware by Broadcom’s user event, Explore 2024, was very light on the news. The most notable announcement at the event in Las Vegas was the unveiling of VMware Cloud Foundation 9 and the company’s mission to be the leader in helping companies build out private clouds.
Cisco Systems Inc. provided positive numbers in its fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday, and there’s a story behind those numbers. The networking giant posted a modest revenue beat of $13.64 billion, $100 million more than consensus estimates. Gross margin, boosted by the acquisition of Splunk Inc., came in at a whopping 67.5%, the highest number for Cisco in 20 years. Product order growth rose 14% year over year, 6% excluding Splunk.
Contact-center-as-a-service provider Five9 Inc. broke the billion-dollar revenue run rate mark today as it posted second-quarter sales of $252.1 million, up 13% from a year ago and surpassing analysts’ expectations. Even more promising as it focused on larger customers, its enterprise subscription revenue grew 21%. Its adjusted profit of 52 cents also beat estimates.