Why would it be unusual to spend large on supporting platform improvements in response to current and expected customer demand?
Where does it say the spend is solely on servers and does not include staff R&D costs?
Seems to me there is a lot of R&D work happening across all facets of the platform, mainly software solution enhancements, and not limited 'solely' to servers:
Reading this it seems entirely logical that the 'huge one-off wildly out of line' Product Manufacturing/Operating Cost could be entirely due to the significant work involved in the AWS Partnership and Certification Activities - see below - and not someone f*ing up, as you hypothesize.
The AWS Partnership and Certification Activities have been ongoing for two quarters and are arguably one of the biggest if not the biggest R&D solution enhancement program the company has undertaken in recent times, as reflected in the not-so-huge one-off costs. Far from being the result of someone f*ing up, they are in fact the result of a highly focused and strategic development program following 'intensive review and guidance from AWS specialists,' with the ultimate commercial goal of Pointerra 3D Platform being Certified as an AWS ISV (Independent Software Vendor) and incorporated into AWS sales channels thus laying the foundation for lower costs and increased revenues with high gross profit margins, as stated by Brett M H.
DEC 22 Q (Reported Jan 23):
R&D efforts also continue to focus on the following strategic areas:
1. Development of a platform to underpin the delivery of point cloud analytics to Pointerra customers
2. Developing a catalogue of analytics algorithms, in particular extraction of objects of interest from large scale datasets (e.g. poles, trees, signs), automatic point cloud classification and imagery analysis
3. Broadening the platform to support storage, visualisation and analysis of complementary 3D data types, including imagery, CAD and vector layers
4. Reducing the cost of providing the service through changing the way that Pointerra’s processed data is stored and streamed to client browsers and applications using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform
5. Enhancing the core web platform to support the development of addition apps that utilise the core Pointerra API and available data; and
6. Exploring methods to apply neural network machine learning technology to 3D point cloud data.
AWS Platform Security & Cost Optimisation
During the quarter significant engineering focus was placed progressing security and cost optimisation objectives for the Company’s AWS deployed platform.
In terms of security, this has largely been driven by outcomes identified as part of the AWS Well Architected Framework review. These improvements will ultimately lead to higher confidence and greater compliance when undertaking cyber security due diligence review processes, which are now commonplace with enterprise customer SaaS procurement.
With the growing customer base and commensurate growth in AWS service usage, the ability to make intelligent use of available cost saving measures such as AWS spot pricing, and to optimise platform architecture around cost minimisation is key to maintaining high gross profit margins.
The AWS Partnership & Certification Activities commenced in 3Q 22:
FROM OCT 22 Q
Pointerra is currently completing a range of partnership/certification activities with AWS in both Australia and the US.
The primary engineering component of this has been a platform architecture review (called the AWS Well-Architected Framework). This involves intensive review and guidance from AWS specialists to ensure that the Pointerra platform conforms to recommended approaches to using and configuring AWS services to maximise security, performance and scalability.
This program also forms the basis of moving toward certification as an AWS ISV (Independent Software Vendor). One key outcome of ISV certification is that the Pointerra platform can then be incorporated into AWS sales channels.
3DP Price at posting:
8.9¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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