DataCore Lands $30M

DataCore Software, a provider of storage virtualization software, announced today that it's raised over $30 million in a third round of funding, bringing its total funding to $75 million (see DataCore Raises $30 Million).

Vista Equity Partners was the lead investor in the round. New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and OneLiberty Ventures, the initial institutional investors, also made significant follow-up contributions.

"Completing this major financing transaction during these uncertain times underscores the investment community's confidence in our business," said George Teixeira, president and CEO of DataCore.Fear, uncertainty, and doubt are often major weapons against startups, and people want to know that the companies they are dealing with are well funded,” said Ken Horner, VP of marketing at DataCore. “Well, we are.”

DataCore will use the funds to increase its customer base and develop OEM and reseller relationships. The list of the latter is still on the short side, but it includes some key players: Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HWP), Fujitsu Ltd. (KLS: FUJI.KL), and Fujitsu Softek (see DataCore Claims Speed Record).

DataCore has suffered somewhat in the marketplace for its decision to run its software on Microsoft Corp’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows NT platform. Analysts agree that this operating system is not the most stable of environments from which to manage mission-critical storage operations.DataCore intends to use its partners to help it overcome the perception that NT isn't the best choice. “HP and Fujitsu bring us credibility,” said Horner.

On the customer side, the company's list is varied, and likely to get more so as it accelerates efforts to expand its roster: ABN AMRO Asset Management, Alcatel SA (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA), 7Global (a U.K. ASP), Dannon Corp, Plumbers and PipeFitters pension fund, and Southwestern Bell, among others, are all paying customers.

The new funding also will help expand DataCore’s facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia. More specifically, the company plans to increase sales and marketing across all regions by 10 to 15 percent over the next year. That will entail considerable growth in hiring. DataCore has 185 employees today.

— Jo Maitland, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch http://www.byteandswitch.com