Who says that the summer months are slow? In June we tracked 9 cloud-based business applications that raised capital. If anything is an indicator of which verticals are hot, this list is. Video Conferencing, Tax Automation, Social Media Communities, Social Engagement, Social Content Management, CRM, Email, and Project Management are all represented here.
Looking at the trends, social is expanding into the enterprise like never before. Social tools that were once native to B2C are now making their way into our business applications. Video conferencing is becoming easier and more accessible.
What do you think? Will the rapid growth of enterprise social applications continue to dominate? Let us know what you think, leave us a comment below.
1. New Video Conferencing Service Raises $25 Million: Connect with team members from any device
Video conferencing provider Blue Jeans announced has raised $25 million in a Series C round led by NEA. Also included in the round are Accel Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. So far the company has raised a total of $48.5 million.
2. Avalara Sales Tax Automation Solution Receives $20M in Funding from Battery Ventures
Avalara, sales tax automation solutions provider, has received $20 million in funding from Battery Ventures, a multi-stage investment firm focused on technology and innovation. Batter Ventures sees Avalara as a leader in the Software-as-a-Service sales tax automation space due to its technology, integration capabilities and its impressive customer base. Founded in 2004, Avalara provides transactional tax compliance solutions for small to mid-sized businesses, what Chelsea Stoner, Batter Ventures Partner, calls "a practical solution to a pressing problem."
3. Microsoft Acquires Enterprise Social Media Application Yammer For $1.2 Billion
Microsoft has announced the acquisition of enterprise social media application company Yammer Inc. for $1.2 billion in cash. Yammer will join the Microsoft Office Division and possibly spice up their current offerings to be more competitive with the likes of Salesforce.com -- in regards to their Chatter product. Microsoft plans to accelerate Yammer’s adoption alongside complementary offerings from Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics and Skype.
4. Crushpath Launches With $2 Million In Funding and an All-Star Investor Team [Video]
Crushpath has raise a $2 million seed round led by Charles River Ventures to further develop and launch a platform designed help salespeople better control a deal from lead to close, with social elements added into the mix.
5. Social Engagement Provider Gigya Raises $13.5 Million [Video]
Gigya, a company that helps enterprises connect with fans socially has announced that it has raised $15.3 million in venture capital, bringing its total funding to just under $45 million. Advance Publication, a company which publishes more than 125 paper and digital publications through Conde Nast, and Adobe joined a field of previous investors as part of the new round, including Mayfield Fund, Benchmark Capital, and DAG Ventures.
6. Social Content Management Provider Thismoment Raises $22 Million [Video]
Thismoment, a provider of social content management software for brands has announced a $22 million C-Round led by Trident Capital. More than 100 Fortune 500 brands have adopted Thismoment's Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC) platform.
7. Embotics Raises $8.4M in Series B Funding
Embotics Corporation, a virtualization and private cloud management provider, announced it raised $8.4 million in Series B funding. This funding round was led by VentureLink LP and Covington Fund II Inc., both investing $2.5 million each, with private investors making up the remaining $3.4 million. Embotics' total financing-to-date is $18 million. Embotics will use the new funding to expand sales and marketing and to hire more software engineers. Last year, Embotics experienced a 300 percent sales growth and a 220 percent year-on-year growth in new customers.
8. Cloud Archiving Company Sonian Raises $13.6 Million
Sonian, a company that specializes in cloud-based archiving and search services just closed a $13.6 Million C-round, bringing the total investment to $27 Million. The company, which focuses on enterprise services now supports 9,000 businesses, covering such services as scalable storage management, regulatory compliance, and eDiscovery. Sonian will use the investment to expand their business and develop more features for its core archiving products.
9. Project Management Company Clarizen Raises An Additonal $12 Million [Video]
Clarizen, a company that powers global online project management tools announced that has raised $12 million in Series E funding. The round was led by Vintage Partners. Additional investors include Benchmark Capital, Carmel Ventures, DAG Ventures, and Opus Capital. Clarizen has now been raised a total of $49 million!
Watch DS TV
Interested in Customer Success Management and Customer Experience Management? Watch our video series on the topic to learn more about the rapidly changing industry.
