As reported on TechCrunch.
by Frederic Lardinois
As businesses shift their data center solutions to the cloud, there is room for companies that don’t just help them migrate or create hybrid solutions, but also for those that help them utilize their existing solutions and scale them as needed by using private and public clouds.RackWare, which competes with companies like RightScale, offers solutions for enterprise IT to automate much of this and today announced that it has raised a $2.3 million funding round to expand its services and grow its presence outside of the U.S.
The round was led by existing investors Kickstart Seed Fund and Osage Venture Partners and brings the company’s total funding to $7 million.
As RackWare CEO Sash Sunkara tells me, the funding will be used to launch version 3.0 of the company’s flagship Management Module service soon, though he wasn’t quite ready to go into the details of what will be new in this update.
“Our unique approach to intelligent cloud automation is proven in implementations across a range of verticals,” Sunkara says. “The additional capital we are announcing today will help us extend the experienced to additional markets and further fuel the mass adoption of our cloud technology.”
Using RackWare, companies can shift their workloads more easily between private, public and hybrid clouds. The company says that by giving businesses more flexibility, its solution can help businesses realize cost savings of 40 to 50 percent compared to their previous cloud solutions. According to its own data, RackWare’s customer base has grown 75 percent between the first half of 2013 and the first half of 2014. New customers include the likes of Blue Shield, IHS, ZS Associates, Vivint and WhiteWave.
The company offers new users two different ways to get on board with its tools. There is a fully automated approach that uses a wizard to walk them through the process, and the company also offers professional services to help new clients with migrating to its solutions. Once they’re ready to go, users can then either manage their cloud deployments using RackWare’s online dashboard or — in case they have very specific needs — use the company’s API or command-line tools.