June 2022 Summaries

DigitalOcean has launched DO Impact, a global social impact program aimed at empowering changemakers through its three pillars of product, philanthropy, and planet. The company celebrated the start of DO Impact with an event at the New York Stock Exchange and received recognition for Hollie's Hub for Good (HH4G) at the 2022 DevRel Awards. Since then, the DO Impact team has grown, and they have made progress in their three pillars: 1. Product: Over 2,000 organizations are enrolled in HH4G, with new projects like Idealist.org and Development Hackers joining. DigitalOcean is investing in research to expand its efforts to support nonprofit organizations. 2. Philanthropy: DigitalOcean has donated $500,000 across 30 global HH4G projects and is developing employee giving and volunteering programs. In 2021, one-third of employees participated in the matching program or logged volunteer hours. 3. Planet: The company is working with external consulting partners to determine its carbon baseline and complete an ESG materiality assessment to prioritize relevant issues for their business model. DigitalOcean plans to continue sharing progress updates on DO Impact and invites readers to follow along on social media using the hashtag #DOImpact.

DigitalOcean has introduced new High Availability (HA) capabilities to its Kubernetes service, providing a 99.95% Service Level Agreement (SLA). The HA control plane runs three replicas of the control plane for better performance and uptime. Additionally, all users can enjoy an enhanced control plane at no cost. DigitalOcean has also made several improvements to its control plane, including faster cluster creation and recovery, increased resiliency and stability, dynamic CPU allocation, and quicker access to new features and updates. The HA feature is available for $40/month, but existing clusters are not supported.

Spam communications are prevalent in various forms of communication, including postal mail, email, phone, and SMS. Service providers continually battle against the misuse of their platforms by spammers. DigitalOcean has decided to disable Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) on new accounts as part of its spam reduction measures. This decision is based on the observation that most spam comes from new accounts. The company will continue monitoring spam activity and partnering with email delivery providers for routing mail from DigitalOcean Infrastructure.

DigitalOcean introduces Support Plans to cater to the varying needs of its customers at different stages of their journeys. The new plans include a Standard plan with a 2-hour response time and a Premium plan offering a 30-minute response time, both through email, Slack, and Google Hangouts. Additionally, Premium support participants receive dedicated Technical Account Manager and Customer Success Manager assistance. Free support remains available with a 24-hour response SLO through email and access to extensive documentation, tutorials, and community resources.

DigitalOcean has launched a new Employee Resource Group (ERG) called Afro Sharks to provide a supportive community for Black employees. The group aims to create an inclusive and welcoming environment where individuals can share their authentic voices, experiences, and cultures. Afro Sharks plans to support the larger community by partnering with organizations like Black Girls Code to expose youth to careers in tech. DigitalOcean has supported the formation of this ERG by providing resources and a platform for collaboration. The company encourages other businesses to create similar ERGs to amplify diverse voices and promote inclusivity within the tech industry.

Blockchain technology is gaining popularity and has the potential to revolutionize various industries. It provides a secure, transparent, and efficient way of storing and transferring data. While cryptocurrency is one of its most well-known applications, blockchain can be used in numerous other fields such as healthcare, real estate, supply chain management, smart contracts, and logistics tracking. DigitalOcean offers cloud solutions tailored to the needs of blockchain businesses, enabling them to grow and thrive.

In May, DigitalOcean released its new serverless product, Functions, which is fast, scalable, and cost-effective. The company also added several improvements to its existing products such as the ability to rollback apps on App Platform's Starter tier, build performance improvements for App Platform, Kubernetes 1-Click Apps, Droplet 1-Click Apps, dedicated vCPU for Managed MongoDB, and SaaS Add-Ons. DigitalOcean continues to focus on enhancing its products and services to better serve developers and businesses.

DigitalOcean has introduced several enhancements to its Managed MongoDB service, including support for the latest version of MongoDB (5.0), dedicated vCPU options, and improved security features. These updates aim to boost performance, reliability, and ease of use for developers using the platform. Additionally, users can now easily connect to their DigitalOcean Managed MongoDB databases through CLI, GUIs, or third-party clients. The pricing remains simple with no additional charges for new features.

Organic social media growth is challenging due to increasing platform monetization and decreasing organic reach. However, by creating engaging content and focusing on quality connections, businesses can overcome these challenges. Setting realistic expectations for ROI and measuring engagement metrics are crucial. Businesses should outline strategies, refine metrics, optimize based on insights, and maintain credibility with every decision. Focusing less on vanity metrics and more on engagement metrics helps understand audience preferences better. Social media shouldn't be treated as a megaphone; content should be curated for specific channels. Building authentic relationships is key to brand loyalty. Being transparent, humanizing interactions, and taking care of wellbeing are important aspects of managing social media presence.

Rainbow DOlphins is an Employee Resource Group (ERG) at DigitalOcean that aims to provide a safe space for the company's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/aromantic employees. The group focuses on four driving pillars: Culture, Learning, Growth, and Change. Throughout Pride Month, Rainbow DOlphins organizes various events to celebrate and educate the community about queer culture and issues. Outside of Pride Month, the ERG conducts structured and informal activities such as quarterly culture clubs, social activities, and advocating for changes that reflect a safe, inclusive environment where queer employees can thrive. DigitalOcean supports Rainbow DOlphins by providing essential resources and being receptive to change. The group's leaders emphasize the importance of balancing ERG work with day-to-day responsibilities while maintaining transparency and flexibility within the team. Their passion for supporting the queer community drives their commitment to creating an inclusive environment at DigitalOcean.