In the news: Cybersecurity, market turbulence and watching for tech success in 2023

October continued to be another month of highs and lows for the Tech Industry in 2022. 

As some tech giants proceed with business as usual, other popular tech companies have had to tighten up their operation costs, headcount growth and offerings as disappointing quarterly results reports come out. 

The indispensable cybersecurity industry also has unique opportunities for companies with Saas offerings to break through market saturation, innovate and differentiate in the market by providing quicker time to value for their customers.

Keep reading this month’s highlighted selection of tech stories in the news below:

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“Amazon Offers Customers a New Way to Pay This Holiday Season With Venmo—a Convenient, Easy-to-Use, and Secure Payment Option” - Business Wire

• A new way to pay! Amazon launches a new pay with Venmo feature ahead of the holidays available for customers on amazon.com and the Amazon mobile app.
• Aiming to meet the needs of every customer for quick easy and secure payments, venmo will be available to use via Amazon for all U.S Customers by Black Friday.
• Customers will be able to add venmo as a payment option and select it during checkout.

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“Spotify Reaches 456 Million Total Monthly Users in Q3, up 20% Year Over Year and Topping Expectations” - Variety 

• Despite global adversity and turbulence hitting tech companies, Spotify has exceeded predictions for both adding total monthly users (paid and unpaid) as well as their year over year revenue.
• Citing out-performance in Latin America as a major factor for growth and exceeded expectations
• On their earnings call, they also noted opportunity for increasing their subscription prices in the U.S. following Apple Music and YouTube

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“Alphabet misses on earnings as YouTube shrinks; company will cut headcount growth by half in Q4” - CNBC 

• Some revenues for companies such as Alphabet and YouTube are seeing lower than expected projections because of less online ad spending. Philipp Schindler, chief business officer for Google attributes ad spend going down in industries like insurance, loans, mortgage and cryptocurrency. 
• Due to weaker- than-expected revenue and third quarter earnings, Alphabet is decreasing headcount growth in 2023. YouTube also slipped slightly below expectations, coming in at 2% less revenue than this time last year.
• As we head into 2023, on the radar for tech companies like Alphabet, YouTube, Google, Meta, Snap and many others who had misses in 2022, is to more tightly align on a clear focus for offerings as well as highest growth priorities and moderation of operation expenses.‍

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‍“4 ways cybersecurity startups can boost adoption and shorten time to value” - Tech Crunch

• Due to market saturation as well as a reliance on expert opinions, cybersecurity buyers have felt cynical at purchasing new security tools. 
• Another factor leading to cynicism at purchasing new cybersecurity tools is the time companies have to wait to start seeing value after purchase (time to value) - which can be months and leads to less adoption and usage of the tool more widely.
• Cybersecurity companies to shorten TTV that will build trust and help users understand the value of a tool quickly. This approach should show them they can now accomplish something that used to take them weeks, in a matter of minutes.

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“US to launch ‘labeling’ rating program for internet-connected devices in 2023” - Tech Crunch

• Internet of things (IoT) devices are known for poor security posture and have resulted in a lot of malicious activity by hackers, which poses a threat to national security - according to President Biden.
• American consumers continue to fill their homes with more of these potentially insecure devices, from routers and smart speakers to internet-connected door locks and security cameras, the U.S. government wants to help educate them about the security risks.
• The labeling program will help consumers implement stronger cybersecurity and stances for IoT devices deemed high risk through standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal Trade Commission. 

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Amidst the global uncertainty, we’ll be watching the companies who have strategic opportunities in 2023 to focus on their highest revenue generating activities to stay afloat, continue growth and strategic hiring. 

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