When we gather next week to talk about the future of technology, Actifio CEO Ash Ashutosh will kick things off by addressing what he calls the elephant in the room: that IT infrastructure is dead, and applications rule. A corollary to that is that the big tech companies that have dominated for decades could be … Continue reading “Will Startups or Big Companies Rule Tech? Find Out on Dec. 2”
Tag: carbonite
One Year In, Carbonite CEO Aims Higher in Data Protection Market
Carbonite is one of those stalwarts of the Boston tech scene that doesn’t get a lot of attention—unless it’s about to get bought, say, or its stock price sees a big change. But the company’s story holds lessons for where the digital world is headed—specifically, in technology areas like data protection, disaster recovery, cloud infrastructure, … Continue reading “One Year In, Carbonite CEO Aims Higher in Data Protection Market”
Datto Drums Up $75M for Data Protection and Networking
In case you had any doubt that enterprise infrastructure is a hot area of tech, especially in New England, consider Datto. The Norwalk, CT-based company, which has about 80 of its 500-plus employees in Boston, just closed a big financing round to fuel its expansion. Datto says today it raised $75 million in Series B … Continue reading “Datto Drums Up $75M for Data Protection and Networking”
Learn the Future of Enterprise Tech, and Billion-Dollar Exits, on Dec. 2
Unicorns, schmunicorns. A billion-dollar valuation ain’t what it used to be. Just ask veterans of the Boston-area tech scene. Andy Ory, Steve Papa, and Paula Long each have co-founded companies that were acquired for more than $1 billion. If you know anything about the history of New England tech, their company names are very familiar: … Continue reading “Learn the Future of Enterprise Tech, and Billion-Dollar Exits, on Dec. 2”
Boston Tech Roundup: Databox, Ascent, LogMeIn, & More
There have been so many big headlines coming out of Boston this week—OK, really just one, about Tom Brady—that it’s been easy to miss some of them. With that in mind, here’s a roundup of some technology news of import: —Databox, a Boston company that helps marketers and managers track data from services such as … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Databox, Ascent, LogMeIn, & More”
New Cash for VMTurbo, CloudHealth Highlights Big Disruption in IT
Software for cloud-computing infrastructure and data centers is evolving fast. Two financing deals announced Wednesday for Boston startups underscore an important trend: there’s still a huge opportunity to challenge enterprise IT giants in the cloud. VMTurbo has raised $50 million in a Series D round from Iconiq Capital and previous investors Bain Capital Ventures, Globespan … Continue reading “New Cash for VMTurbo, CloudHealth Highlights Big Disruption in IT”
Takeover Target Carbonite Acquiring MailStore for $19.8M
[Updated paragraph with more details, 11:10am] A new week, a new deal involving Carbonite. The Boston-based cloud backup company says it’s acquiring German e-mail archiving firm MailStore Software for 15.95 million euros, or about $19.8 million, in cash. The deal is expected to close this month and will add 20 employees to Carbonite, whose total … Continue reading “Takeover Target Carbonite Acquiring MailStore for $19.8M”
Backupify Bought by Datto Amid Consolidation in Cloud Companies
The cloud is a good place to build data-storage startups—but it’s also a sector that’s seeing a lot of companies get snapped up or fall by the wayside. Backupify, a six-year-old startup in Cambridge, MA, is getting acquired by Datto, a Connecticut-based data-protection company. The terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed, but the acquisition … Continue reading “Backupify Bought by Datto Amid Consolidation in Cloud Companies”
Pogoplug: One Service to Back Up All Your Devices
I’m a little obsessive when it comes to backups. In my Windows days, in the early 2000s, I used to make complete CD-ROM copies of my PC’s hard drive every couple of months. Until last year, I had two separate online backup services running on my Macbook Pro—Carbonite and Backblaze—along with an external hard drive … Continue reading “Pogoplug: One Service to Back Up All Your Devices”
Boston Tech Roundup: Carbonite, BlueConic, CodeShip, Accelerators
This week saw the founder of a publicly traded tech company stepping down from his job, while some startups raised Series A rounds to relocate to Boston and local accelerators made some moves: —Carbonite founder David Friend is leaving his job as president and CEO of the online computer backup company. Carbonite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CARB]]) said … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Carbonite, BlueConic, CodeShip, Accelerators”
CustomMade, SageCloud Raise Series Bs in Commerce, Storage
A busy morning for Series B tech financings already… —Cambridge, MA-based CustomMade has pulled in $18 million led by new investor Atlas Venture and previous investor Google Ventures. That brings the company’s total raised to more than $24 million, by my count. CustomMade runs an online marketplace that connects consumers with regional makers of furniture, … Continue reading “CustomMade, SageCloud Raise Series Bs in Commerce, Storage”
How Carbonite, EMC Beat a Patent Troll Tied to Intellectual Ventures
[Updated 6/4, see below.] Intellectual Ventures, the controversial patent licensing company headed by former Microsoft technology chief Nathan Myhrvold, is under the microscope again. And a pair of Boston-area technology companies are part of the courtroom drama. This weekend, NPR and public radio program This American Life delved into the U.S. patent system again, following … Continue reading “How Carbonite, EMC Beat a Patent Troll Tied to Intellectual Ventures”
Boston Roundup: Nuance, Twitter, Carbonite, NuoDB, Adelphic
[Updated 4:20 pm] An acquisition, a product launch, some executive shuffles, and more in this collection of recent tech-news headlines from around the Boston area: —Nuance Communications, the Burlington, MA-based speech-recognition software company, is digging deeper into the automotive industry. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]) says it’s spending $80 million to buy a connected-car business from … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Nuance, Twitter, Carbonite, NuoDB, Adelphic”
Actifio Adds $50M, Goes Big in Noisy Data Management Market
Yes, the data management sector is pretty hot right now. You don’t even have to call it “big data” anymore. In one of the bigger tech financings we’ve seen in a while, Waltham, MA-based Actifio has raised $50 million in new funding led by Technology Crossover Ventures. Previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, Advanced Technology Ventures, Greylock … Continue reading “Actifio Adds $50M, Goes Big in Noisy Data Management Market”
Backupify Rolls Out Gmail Tool, Wants to Build Data Protection Layer for the Web
Three pearls of wisdom from Backupify CEO Rob May, right off the bat: 1. “Successful companies often look like bad ideas at the beginning.” 2. “The company that solves the ‘big data’ problem for businesses won’t have set out to do that.” 3. “We’re losing the ability to see patterns across history.” May (pictured above) … Continue reading “Backupify Rolls Out Gmail Tool, Wants to Build Data Protection Layer for the Web”
Cloud Competition Heating Up, Carbonite Rolls Out File-Sync Software
Carbonite has long been known for one thing: Backing up your computer files. And for the customer, that means mostly staying out of your face. If everything goes right, Carbonite’s software sits in the background, making copies of your valuable documents, photos, and other digital goodies. They’re uploaded to Carbonite’s servers, and there they sit, … Continue reading “Cloud Competition Heating Up, Carbonite Rolls Out File-Sync Software”
Buzzword Bashing & Database Narcs: The Future of Big Data in Boston
First of all, let’s get our terminology straight. Depending on whom you ask, “big data” is either: A. Bullshit (Brad Feld) B. No substitute for judgment (David Friend) C. The marriage of corporate data with external data (Chris Lynch) D. Data that’s growing faster than Moore’s law (Richard Dale) After this week, my answer would … Continue reading “Buzzword Bashing & Database Narcs: The Future of Big Data in Boston”
The Future of Big Data on Oct. 24: Here’s the Agenda
Two weeks to go. Then it’s Armageddon for Big Data. I’m talking about “The Future of Big Data,” Xconomy’s half-day conference on Oct. 24, at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology in Boston. We are tackling the tough questions. We are pulling no punches. We are going to get to the bottom of what all … Continue reading “The Future of Big Data on Oct. 24: Here’s the Agenda”
8 Things We Learned This Summer About the Boston Tech Scene
Before you head out for the long holiday weekend—well, some of you—I wanted to remind you of one thing. Boston innovation scene, I am watching you. I am watching you because you are changing before my eyes. Some of it is surprising, some of it isn’t. Some of it is of local interest, but most … Continue reading “8 Things We Learned This Summer About the Boston Tech Scene”
SpiderOak: The Online Backup and Sharing Service Where Privacy Counts
When it comes to putting your data in the cloud, the options seem to fall into two familiar groups. There are services like Carbonite and Mozy for backing up individual computers, and then there are services like Dropbox or Box for accessing or synchronizing files across many computers. But maybe that isn’t all there is. … Continue reading “SpiderOak: The Online Backup and Sharing Service Where Privacy Counts”
GrabCAD Shifts to Collaborative Software for Design Firms, Looks to Go Big
A local startup appears to be building something like the “GitHub for CAD.” Does that mean anything to you? Well, GitHub is the open-source software hosting company that raised $100 million from Andreessen Horowitz earlier this summer. CAD is computer-aided design, which the Boston area is famous for (see SolidWorks, Parametric Technology Corporation, and others). … Continue reading “GrabCAD Shifts to Collaborative Software for Design Firms, Looks to Go Big”
Brad Feld, David Friend, Peter Stern Headline “Future of Big Data” on Oct. 24
What’s everybody talking about in the tech world? That’s easy. Big data. Big data is everywhere. Amazon and Google are big data. Twitter and Facebook are big data. Database and data storage companies are big data. Analytics and networking firms are big data. And outside of the hardcore techies, everyone from retail and marketing folks … Continue reading “Brad Feld, David Friend, Peter Stern Headline “Future of Big Data” on Oct. 24”
Hopper Hauls In $12M More, Harnesses Big Data for Travel Discovery
It’s a big day for big data. One of the local flag-bearers of the field has raised a sizable venture round as it prepares to unveil its online travel product to the world. Cambridge, MA- and Montreal-based Hopper is announcing today a $12 million Series B round led by OMERS Ventures, the VC arm of … Continue reading “Hopper Hauls In $12M More, Harnesses Big Data for Travel Discovery”
Backupify Brings In $9M More from Symantec & VCs, Fends Off Acquirers
An old-school tech company in a new-school world. That’s what I’d call Backupify. The Cambridge, MA-based startup sits squarely at the intersection of cloud computing, data management, online backup, and now, security. Its big market opportunity is in the cloud—backing up data from business apps and social media— but its culture is firmly rooted in … Continue reading “Backupify Brings In $9M More from Symantec & VCs, Fends Off Acquirers”
Demandware and the Future of Retail: A Post-IPO Snapshot
In the world of e-commerce, Amazon is going one way, and everyone else is going the other. Amazon has cornered the market on commodities and price-driven shopping, it seems, but what’s still up for grabs is the luxury market. One of the more interesting tech companies in that sector is Demandware (NYSE: [[ticker:DWRE]]), the Burlington, … Continue reading “Demandware and the Future of Retail: A Post-IPO Snapshot”
What Dell’s Purchase of Bain-Backed AppAssure Means for Big Data
A big acquisition in data protection is reverberating across the tech ecosystems of storage and backup—including in Boston. Dell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DELL]]) said on Friday that it has acquired AppAssure Software, a data and application protection company based in Reston, VA, for an undisclosed sum. AppAssure opened a Boston-area office late last year and is backed … Continue reading “What Dell’s Purchase of Bain-Backed AppAssure Means for Big Data”
Akamai to Zipcar: A Snapshot of 10 Public Tech Companies in Boston
As we wind down the first month of 2012, I thought I’d take the pulse of some of the bigger technology companies around town. In addition to tracking startups and entrepreneurship, this is an important measure of the health and well-being of the Boston tech community. So here’s a list of 10 well-known public companies, … Continue reading “Akamai to Zipcar: A Snapshot of 10 Public Tech Companies in Boston”
The Boston Tech Year in Review: Endeca, RSA, and More
A lot has happened in the technology world in the past year. So let’s take a minute to reflect on the defining moments of 2011 and where we stand now, as a local tech community with increasingly global impact. This is by no means comprehensive, or even a summary of the most important stories of … Continue reading “The Boston Tech Year in Review: Endeca, RSA, and More”
TripAdvisor Post-IPO: Five Things We Learned From CEO Stephen Kaufer
Merry Christmas, Boston. You asked for it, and you got it. A big, publicly traded consumer tech company to put us on the map alongside the Silicon Valley bad boys and uppity New Yorkers. I present to you: TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRIP]]). Sure, we already have Zipcar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZIP]]), Carbonite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CARB]]), iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]), and … Continue reading “TripAdvisor Post-IPO: Five Things We Learned From CEO Stephen Kaufer”
Digital Lifeboat: Data Backup without the Data Centers
When the veteran entrepreneurs behind Digital Lifeboat settled on a location for their fledgling company, they weren’t concerned with landing one of the hot tech-startup addresses in South Lake Union or Pioneer Square. “Our offices are between the cemetery and the trailer park in Redmond,” co-founder and CEO Steve Teglovic says with a laugh. “That’s … Continue reading “Digital Lifeboat: Data Backup without the Data Centers”
Of Aspirin, Bubbles, and Clouds: A Chat with OpenView Venture’s Scott Maxwell
“We’re not social media investors,” says Scott Maxwell. And I like him already. Maxwell is the founder of OpenView Venture Partners. The Boston-based VC firm is different from a lot of its peers in that it doesn’t typically invest in early-stage startups or late-stage growth companies. Instead it specializes in something in between, what it … Continue reading “Of Aspirin, Bubbles, and Clouds: A Chat with OpenView Venture’s Scott Maxwell”
Xconomist of the Week: Reed Sturtevant of Lotus, Idealab, and Microsoft Fame Talks Tech Trends to Watch
You know the type. He’s at every tech startup event, every investor event, and every incubator and early-stage mentorship session (at least every good one). He’s talked to every entrepreneur in the area and has had a hand in the development of many of their companies. He has been a fixture of the local software … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Reed Sturtevant of Lotus, Idealab, and Microsoft Fame Talks Tech Trends to Watch”
Carbonite Goes Public At $10 a Share, PeerTransfer Pulls In $7.5M, BuyWithMe Picks Up Scoop St., & More Boston-Area Deals News
This week’s New England deals list includes a mix of life sciences and IT companies. —Lexington, MA-based T2 Biosystems, a developer of a system for identifying biological substances such as proteins, small molecules, viruses, and DNA more cheaply and quickly than existing methods, took in $23 million in Series D financing. New T2 investor Aisling … Continue reading “Carbonite Goes Public At $10 a Share, PeerTransfer Pulls In $7.5M, BuyWithMe Picks Up Scoop St., & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Carbonite Expected to Go Through With Smaller IPO; Venture Investors See Upside
[Updated 8/10/11 5:50 pm. See below.] What’s happening with Carbonite’s IPO? The Boston-based online data backup firm is dealing with an extremely volatile stock market this week—as are a bunch of other U.S. companies trying to go public. But it’s looking like Carbonite’s initial public offering could go through tomorrow at a much reduced price, with … Continue reading “Carbonite Expected to Go Through With Smaller IPO; Venture Investors See Upside”
OfficeDrop Sees Nuance Partnership Pay Off, Looks for More Deals in Digital Filing, Sharing
A local tech startup that has been toiling away for four years saw its first partnership with a big company come to fruition last week—and it could be a sign of bigger things to come. Back in February, Cambridge, MA-based OfficeDrop, a digital filing software company, inked a deal with Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), the … Continue reading “OfficeDrop Sees Nuance Partnership Pay Off, Looks for More Deals in Digital Filing, Sharing”
GI Dynamics and Exa File for IPOs in Weight Loss Devices, Automotive Software
The IPO market seems to be heating up around the country, but will Boston get left behind? A couple of local companies are trying to do their part, joining the likes of Kayak, Carbonite, and others that have filed papers to go public. The latest ones are GI Dynamics, a medical device maker targeting obesity … Continue reading “GI Dynamics and Exa File for IPOs in Weight Loss Devices, Automotive Software”
Carbonite Eyes $122M IPO, Plexxi Nabs $20M, Ambient Hits Nasdaq, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Plenty of New England startups across IT and biotech sectors inked investments from area venture capitalists this week. —Interactions, a speech and customer service technology developer of Franklin, MA, nabbed $12 million in a deal led by Sigma Partners. Interactions said it will use the money—which also comes from North Hill Ventures, Cross Atlantic Capital … Continue reading “Carbonite Eyes $122M IPO, Plexxi Nabs $20M, Ambient Hits Nasdaq, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Carbonite Proposes IPO Terms
Boston-based Carbonite, the online data backup firm, said yesterday in a regulatory filing that it expects to offer 6.25 million shares, plus 937,500 additional shares for underwriters (as an option), at $15 to $17 per share in its planned IPO. That bumps its maximum offering price to $122.2 million, up from the $100 million first … Continue reading “Carbonite Proposes IPO Terms”
Carbonite Files for IPO, Autonomy Pays $380M for Iron Mountain Businesses, PerkinElmer Buys Labtronics, & More Boston-Area Deals News
We saw a mix of funding and acquisition news for New England’s tech and life sciences startups this week. —Carbonite, a Boston-based online data backup firm, revealed it was planning to go public. The company, which has raised more than $67 million in venture capital, didn’t yet say how many shares it will be offering … Continue reading “Carbonite Files for IPO, Autonomy Pays $380M for Iron Mountain Businesses, PerkinElmer Buys Labtronics, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
As IPO Market Thaws, Carbonite Files to Go Public with Growing Data-Backup Business
Han Solo was once frozen in “carbonite.” Now Boston’s namesake tech company is emerging from a different kind of deep freeze. When we last spoke this winter, David Friend said his online data backup firm, Carbonite, was in the late stages of filing for an IPO. The man is true to his word. Boston-based Carbonite … Continue reading “As IPO Market Thaws, Carbonite Files to Go Public with Growing Data-Backup Business”
RatePoint Names New CEO from Carbonite
Needham, MA-based RatePoint, a marketing and reputation management company, said yesterday it has appointed Keith Cooper as president and CEO. Cooper was most recently president and chief operating officer at Boston-based Carbonite, the online data backup firm. RatePoint started in 2006, and its investors include Prism VentureWorks, .406 Ventures, and Castile Ventures. The company provides … Continue reading “RatePoint Names New CEO from Carbonite”
You Snooze, You Lose: 10 Boring Boston-Area Tech Companies That Are Actually Interesting
A friend recently complained that my tweets are often along the lines of, “Boring company raises X million dollars.” And this is a guy who works in the tech startup community. But, au contraire mon frère, they are only boring if you don’t know the stories behind the companies and their deals. The tales of … Continue reading “You Snooze, You Lose: 10 Boring Boston-Area Tech Companies That Are Actually Interesting”
Carbonite, With IPO On the Horizon, Puts New Focus on Consumers and Small Businesses
For years, Carbonite has been one of the compelling stories of the Boston-area tech scene. That story is about to get more compelling in 2011. The online data-backup company, which launched its consumer service in 2006, has talked openly about its plans to file for an initial public offering later this year. In an in-depth … Continue reading “Carbonite, With IPO On the Horizon, Puts New Focus on Consumers and Small Businesses”
Why I Moved Backupify To Boston
Backupify was started in November 2008 in Louisville, KY. In April of 2010, we decided to move the company to Boston, and we officially opened our Boston headquarters in September. As part of the decision, we decided to focus solely on the three primary startup hubs in the United States: Boston, New York City, and … Continue reading “Why I Moved Backupify To Boston”
Worry About Customers, Not Financing or Exits, Says Angel Investor Joe Caruso
It’s been three months since Angel Boot Camp in Cambridge, MA—a seminal event in the local ecosystem of angel investors and entrepreneurs. I’m curious to follow up on what progress has been made since that meeting, so I’ve been getting to know some of the local angel investors in technology who were there, and/or who … Continue reading “Worry About Customers, Not Financing or Exits, Says Angel Investor Joe Caruso”
Lucky 13: Xconomy Boston’s Top Stories of 2010 (So Far)
Ever feel like you can’t catch up to the endless stream of news and information bombarding you in the tech-business world? Well, today we’re going to get caught up, at least a little bit. Having just landed back in Boston this week, I’ve been getting up to speed on all of our stories and sources … Continue reading “Lucky 13: Xconomy Boston’s Top Stories of 2010 (So Far)”
Backupify Moves to Boston, Shifts Focus to Help Businesses Manage Google Apps Data
This is the story of a little tech startup that recently has relocated to Boston. The company started in late 2008 by focusing on a consumer problem: helping people back up their e-mail and social media data from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and so on. Now it has adjusted its strategy to sell the technology to … Continue reading “Backupify Moves to Boston, Shifts Focus to Help Businesses Manage Google Apps Data”
Longworth and OVP Put $4M Into Symform, Raise Stakes in Cloud Data Storage
Some interesting bicoastal news in cloud computing today. Seattle startup Symform, a maker of cloud storage and data protection technology, has raised $4 million in its second round of funding, led by Boston-area VC firm Longworth Venture Partners. Original investor OVP Venture Partners, based in Kirkland, WA, also participated in the round. As part of … Continue reading “Longworth and OVP Put $4M Into Symform, Raise Stakes in Cloud Data Storage”
Healthcare Dominates Massachusetts’ Top 10 Deals
Earlier this week, my colleague Bruce took a look at venture capital activity across the country in the first quarter of 2010, and found that investors were sinking more cash into startups than they did a year ago. We track these deals with data provided by private company intelligence platform CB Insights, Dow Jones VentureSource, … Continue reading “Healthcare Dominates Massachusetts’ Top 10 Deals”
Carbonite Eyes IPO, Aims to Be the Symantec of Online Backup
The first thing you should know about Carbonite, the Boston-based online backup company, is that it is indeed named after the ice-like substance in which Darth Vader encased Han Solo at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. David Friend, Carbonite’s co-founder and CEO, even has a replica of the frozen Solo in his office. … Continue reading “Carbonite Eyes IPO, Aims to Be the Symantec of Online Backup”