A crop of New York startups is growing by providing other companies niche software via the Internet cloud. By leveraging the lower cost of offering Web-based software, these technology companies are out to attract new business customers and please their investors.
In recent weeks, sales and marketing software firm GramercyOne closed $14.5 million in Series A funding led by Steve Case’s Revolution Ventures, with participation from Grotech Ventures, Jubilee Investments, and TDF. The new cash will go toward technology development and new hires, according to GramercyOne CEO Josh McCarter. His company, as well as other cloud-based software providers such as Profitably and Erply—bred in Estonia with its U.S. office in New York—are building their businesses by offering flexibility to their clients. This is an interesting trend worth a closer look.
For GramercyOne, which was spun off in October 2010 from SpaFinder, the demand for software over the Web marks a sea change, particularly in the sales industry. “Three years ago being a cloud-based solution was a detriment in the sales process,” says McCarter. “Now it’s almost a requirement.” His company offers such services as point-of-sale software, appointment booking with customers, and mobile payment processing. McCarter says cloud-based software providers gain more new business because of the flexibility to deliver upgrades and the lower costs compared with software installed on computers. “It has made the
