April 2020 Summaries

Building customer trust in digital businesses is challenging due to the complex nature of online interactions, which often rely on assumptions about shared values, especially concerning data privacy and security. DigitalOcean addresses this challenge by launching the DigitalOcean Trust Platform, offering transparent, genuine information about their privacy and security practices, beyond standard third-party endorsements. This initiative includes resources like the annual Transparency Report and a comprehensive Trust FAQ, intending to clarify data handling and security postures while acknowledging the inherent imperfections in software development. DigitalOcean commits to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement, encouraging community feedback to enhance the platform. This launch marks the beginning of an ongoing effort to cultivate trust through openness about their decision-making processes, challenges, and learning experiences.

DigitalOcean introduces Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) as the next evolution of its Private Networking feature. VPC allows users to create multiple private networks for their account or team, with each network being logically isolated from others and the public Internet. The new Trust Platform provides transparency into DigitalOcean's security and privacy practices. VPC is free, and bandwidth pricing is industry-leading.

DigitalOcean Tide is an online event that brings together cloud practitioners and startups to share best practices on leveraging the cloud for growth and scalability. The event features CEOs, CTOs, and founders discussing a range of topics, offering insights into building developer cloud platforms, latest trends in cloud technologies, and opportunities for networking with other developers and entrepreneurs from the APAC region. Participants can also win cool swag through quizzes and social contests. The event is free to attend and will take place on May 5th, 2020, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. IST.

In April, DigitalOcean is launching a series of virtual presentations, panels, and live-coding sessions to support small businesses. The initiative will focus on building cloud-powered apps and businesses. Topics covered include customer-driven product development, operating an eCommerce store in 2020, the impact of no-code and low-code technology, running a Dev Shop or Agency on DigitalOcean, increasing cash flow through R&D Tax Credit, and more. Most events will be live on DigitalOcean's YouTube channel, with some being recorded for future reference.

DigitalOcean has proven popular among companies developing network-intensive applications due to its lower bandwidth costs, which are approximately 10-20% of what other clouds charge. This can lead to significant savings for such apps, potentially adding up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. A rough estimate suggests that a video chat service with 50 million monthly users may need around 2.5 million GB in bandwidth pool, which would cost $100,000 on DigitalOcean but several hundred thousand dollars on other clouds. The company's pricing calculator can help developers gauge the costs and make informed decisions about their cloud infrastructure.

DigitalOcean has launched its Hub for Good program to support relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative aims to bring together developers, innovators, contributors, educators, and partners to build and share projects and resources focused on COVID-19 relief efforts. As part of this program, DigitalOcean is committing $100,000 in infrastructure credits for not-for-profit projects related to the pandemic and a $50,000 cash donation to its COVID-19 Relief Fund. The Hub for Good will also raise awareness of these projects and provide learning resources to developers.