Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Intel Capital to Acquire $20 Million Stake in Telligent

Funding Gives Boost to Social Computing

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 23, 2008 – Intel Capital, Intel’s global investment organization, today announced an agreement to acquire a $20 million stake in Telligent Systems, makers of social computing solutions and business intelligence tools. Based in Dallas, Telligent will utilize the funds to expand its sales teams and territories, including growth in international markets, as well as increase its marketing and advertising initiatives and product development plans.

“Intel Capital makes strategic global investments to help provide enterprises with the latest tools they need for growth, innovation, productivity improvement and cost savings,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and executive vice-president of Intel. “These social media applications offered by Telligent will help push the boundaries of online collaboration and communication allowing companies to be more efficient and productive.”

“The way people work together is changing and communication is happening in real-time at a much faster pace,” says Telligent CEO Rob Howard. “This significant investment from Intel Capital will allow us to grow our team, our capabilities and our reach during a time of market expansion.”

“Telligent's software solution brings the latest networking tools to the enterprise -- helping to advance teamwork and interaction between employers, employees and customers in a global landscape -- and will be a significant part of Intel Capital’s growing portfolio of Enterprise 2.0 investments,” said Lisa Lambert, managing director, Software & Solutions, Intel Capital.

Telligent’s flagship product, Community Server®, is an enterprise social computing platform with more than 3,000 customers and was among the first to offer a suite-based social collaboration solution. Community Server includes blogging, Web discussions, videos, Really Simple Syndication (RSS), wiki and rich user profiles.

Telligent has completed an initial closing with Intel Capital with the remainder of its stake to be acquired within twelve months subject to certain closing conditions.

About Intel Capital

Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing, and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$7.5 billion in approximately 1,000 companies in 45 countries. In that timeframe, 168 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 212 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2007, Intel Capital invested about US$639 million in 166 deals with approximately 37 percent of funds invested outside the United States. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intelcapital.com.

About Telligent

Telligent is a leader in enterprise ready, secure, scalable and fully supported solutions for online communities and social networks. Telligent’s flagship offering, Community Server, provides a fully integrated platform utilizing social media to enhance customer relationships, brand engagement, increased ROI and provide channels for valuable customer insight and feedback. With its software solutions and extensive development and customization service offerings, Telligent empowers digital marketing and Enterprise 2.0 collaboration for many of the world’s largest brands. Clients include: Associated Press, Conde Nast, Dell, Electronic Arts, GlaxoSmithKline. Honda, Intel, Mazda, Microsoft, MSNBC, MySpace.com, National Geographic, NFL, Visa. For more information, visit Telligent.com

Here's the direct link

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Just finished my internship

Jeez, time flies :) May 2008 feels like yesterday, the month I started my internship at Intel Capital in the Software and Solutions Group; and yesterday it was my last day of internship. The experience was wonderful to say the least. It wasn't less than drinking water from a firehose. The team at Intel Capital is fantastic - I am privileged to work with and learn from the people who have been investing in companies of all stages for the last 15 years. They have seen the evolution of the VC industry as it passed through ups and downs Vis-a-vis the transformation of Intel Capital (from just a strategic investor to a full-fledged VC powerhouse). Which other VC firm can make more than 150 deals in an year and a single investment of $1B!

I worked on two of the most active and dynamic sectors in the software industry - Software as a Service (SaaS) and Software for Mobile Internet Devices. It was a great sojourn - wonderful learning opportunity intracting with people with diverse perspective and background - VCs, Business Unit heads, CEOs, investment bankers, research analysts, and consultants such as Jeff Kaplan from THINK IT Services - who have been envisioning and riding the SaaS Wave as it proliferates from just a new point based, low TCO solution for SMBs in early 2000 to challenging the incumbents in the Enterprise Software space at their own turf.

On the mobile side, the market is changing at a rapid pace. The convergence of smart phones and laptops is creating a new space for Mobile Internet Devices, providing greater mobility and Internet browsing capability to the millions of people across the globe. Several new business models and technological changes are accelerating the pace of innovation - open mobile development platforms(the likes of Moblin, Android, Symbian, etc), Open Source, WiMax & 3G deployments, new processors & platforms (Centrino Atom), dedicated VC funds for mobile investments (iPhone Fund, Blackberry Partners fund, etc.), and the successful launch of iPhone 3G and AppStore, to say the least.

So, as I look back at my experiences this summer, I will share my PERSONAL learning and opinion on the Mobile and SaaS sectors. You'll also see more coverage of the happenings in the Mobile and especially the SaaS sectors in my blog from now onwards.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Valuing a web based company

Some interesting reads:

Web 2.0: Valuation of Web Sites 101

Website Value 101 - How to Appraise a Website

Friday, May 16, 2008

The Churchill Club: The Top 10 Tech Trends

Here's a list of the top 10 tech trends selected by the elite panelists which includes:
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures.
Josh Kopelman, First Round Capital.
Roger McNamee, Elevation Partners.
Joe Schoendorf, Accel Partners.
Tony Perkins, of Always On, is the moderator.

Click here to read the full discussion.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The Ozzie Memo - Microsoft's software and services strategy for the future

Read this doc on Scribd: Services Strategy Update

Monday, April 21, 2008

Channel M Receives Investment from Intel Capital

Out-of-Home Video Advertising Market Estimated to Reach $2.25B by 20111

Channel M, a leading out-of-home video advertising company, today announced it has completed Series C financing from Intel Capital. Funding will be used to expand Channel M’s digital content distribution network, as well as expand the sales and marketing infrastructure.

“Retailers and advertisers are continually searching for better ways to connect with and influence consumers while they are shopping and Channel M’s out-of-home network of branded original content satisfies this demand,” said David Teichner, CEO of Channel M. “One of our national retailing clients has seen an average of 79 percent ad recall and brand recognition, leading to a 20 percent sales increase in stores that have adopted a Channel M network. With Intel Capital’s investment in Channel M, we will be able to enhance and expand our networks through digital distribution to help us continue to develop the most effective in-store programming for our retail clients and advertisers.”

“The out-of-home video industry has developed into a unique media category with growth potential,” said Gustavo Aray, senior investment manager, Intel Capital. “Intel Capital’s investment in Channel M will drive ongoing development of its digital distribution network as well as support program content development.”

Channel M is the nation’s largest in-store media company, working with more than 20,000 locations in the United States. Channel M’s national ad supported retail networks reach more than 100 million consumers each month, serving as key vehicles for retail branding as well as third party advertising to highly targeted demographics at more than 7,500 points of purchase around the country. The Company’s clients include national retailers such as Macy’s, Ashley Furniture and Blockbuster. Channel M pioneered out-of-home narrowcasting with its unique mix of custom-developed content and advertising that educates consumers, impacts sales, enhances the store environment and drives incremental revenue for retail partners.

1According to market analysts eMarketer and PQ Media, the out-of-home video industry is expected to grow to $2.25 billion and $3.22 billion, respectively, by 2011. To capitalize on the growth potential of the market, Channel M will use the Intel Capital funding to migrate its distribution network to a digital platform. Through digital distribution of its programming, Channel M will be able to offer advertisers the ability to customize delivery of ad content to localize ads or service campaigns nationwide. Digital delivery will also enhance metrics information for Channel M networks, helping to move the industry towards universal reporting standards.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Wipro Chairman, Azim Premji, launches $1B PE fund focussed on India

Wipro chairman Azim Premji, among the richest Indians, is casting his net wider. Known as an astute investor who picked stocks in his personal capacity across an array of undervalued but promising companies, Mr Premji is now launching a private equity fund with an investible corpus of at least $1 billion. The fund, PremjiInvest, is expected to be sector-agnostic. And if insiders are to be believed, it may even shun pure-play IT services companies.

As a first step, Mr Premji named Sudip Banerjee, who till recently was president of the enterprise solutions business, as director on the advisory board of PremjiInvest. This is probably the biggest private equity play by a domestic corporate honcho.

However, there are India-origin funds that are bigger—ICICI Ventures, for instance. With about 80% stake in Wipro, Mr Premji’s wealth in terms of market capitalisation is pegged at around Rs 68,000 crore. And the 61-year-old promoter is believed to be taking home well over Rs 500 crore in dividends and salary annually.

Click here to read the complete story at economic times

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Intel Capital Announces New US$500 Million China Technology Fund II

Here's the direct link to the press release

BEIJING, April 8, 2008 -- Intel Capital, Intel Corporation's global investment organization, today announced its second China investment fund, the Intel Capital China Technology Fund II. The new US$500 million fund will be used for Intel Capital investments in wireless broadband, technology, media, telecommunications and "clean tech" that complement Intel's corporate initiatives and help expand technology market segments in China.

"The establishment of our China Technology Fund II, which is more than double the size of the original China Fund, is the ideal way to celebrate 10 years of Intel Capital activity in China's vibrant economy," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital. "Since 1998, Intel Capital has invested in more than 70 companies across China and Hong Kong. We aim to foster innovation and local entrepreneurship, while enriching the technical capabilities and global competitiveness of technology companies in the region."

Intel Capital's first US$200 million Intel Capital China Technology Fund has been fully invested in local Chinese companies. In connection with the announcement of the Intel Capital China Technology Fund II, which comes during Intel Corporation's 40th anniversary, Intel Capital announced two new Chinese investments with the fund:


Holdfast Online Technology Co. Ltd. provides a platform to host third-party operator LAN-based or console games so gamers can play against each other in a wide area network.
Newauto Video Technology Inc. manufactures and sells video equipment, network solutions and system integrations for TV stations across China. Newauto also provides digital content editing and sports program live-broadcasting services. Newauto is a service provider for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Given the success of the original China Fund -- with investments in more than 28 companies -- it is time to renew our commitment," said Cadol Cheung, managing director, Intel Capital Asia Pacific. "Intel Capital expects to further increase our investment in China by pursuing business opportunities and participating in larger deals with an eye on leading rounds. As a stage-agnostic global technology investor, Intel Capital invests consistently across all economic landscapes and has a unique advantage in providing value-added benefits."

The Intel Capital China Technology Fund, established in 2005, was intended to help Chinese businesses nurture important technologies and develop innovative products. Examples of investments include: Neusoft Group, Supcon Group, A8 Music, Chinacache International, Chipsbank Microelectronics, DAC, HiSoft Technology International, Kingsoft, Legend Silicon, Montage Technology, and Palm Commerce. Notable liquidity events involving portfolio companies from the first fund include: Actions Semiconductor, Kingsoft and Neusoft Group.

The Intel Capital China Technology Fund and Fund II are part of Intel's overall presence and investment in the Chinese market.

"2008 is of great significance for Intel in China, marking the 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening up policy, and witnessing the Beijing Olympic Games," said Ian Yang, vice president of Intel Corporation and general manager of Intel China. "Whether it is talent cultivation or industrial innovation, in cities or rural areas, Intel will continue to support and promote the development of China's IT industry."

About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$7.5 billion in approximately 1,000 companies in 45 countries. In that timeframe, 168 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 212 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2007, Intel Capital invested about US$639 million in 166 deals with approximately 37 percent of funds invested outside the United States. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intelcapital.com.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

VCs regain interest in open source - Linux.com

Here's an excerpt of the article by Bruce Byfield of Linux.com:

Venture capitalists (VC) first discovered open source during the dot-com bubble at the turn of the millennium. When the bubble burst, open source was connected closely enough with its general failure that all but a handful of VCs lost interest. In the last few years, however, investor interest has started to return, due to growing acceptance of open source software and the success of existing open source companies. What now attracts investors to open source companies, VCs say, is the higher probability of innovative ideas and quicker time to market, as well as the ability to develop niche markets that were previously too small to develop profitably. If they see that the fundamentals for any successful business are in place, investors are finding firms founded on open source well worth considering.

For Lisa Lambert, managing director for software solutions investment at Intel Capital, the renewed interest is obvious as an increasing number of VCs compete for each investment opportunity. In the last few years, she says, "We've found that on every deal." It's one reason why Intel Capital started its Open Source Incubator Program, whose goal is to find projects to fund before their work is monetized. Kevin Harvey, a partner at venture firm Benchmark Capital says that, "There was resistance earlier, but now I think there's tremendous exuberance" at the thought of investing in open source companies.

Lambert can effortlessly reel off the names of VC firms interested in open source investment, including Charles River Ventures, Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers.

Click here to read the full article

Summer@Highland 2008

Awesome opportunity for student entrepreners who would like to work over the summer on some of theie ideas!

Summer@Highland 2008

Are you a student (graduate, undergraduate or even recent grad) with a business you’d like to rapidly accelerate this summer? If so, the Summer@Highland 2008 program may be just what you need!



Following the success of last year’s inaugural Summer@Highland, we are again offering stipends, office space, and experienced advisors to a small number of students with ambitious aspirations for building their businesses.



What we’re looking for



We are especially interested in having you spend the summer with us if:

• You’ve a leadership team with vision, passion, and drive

• Your business has the potential to be highly-disruptive in its area

• Your business initiative is showing momentum. While you may, or may not, have incorporated, you’ve more than a vague concept in mind

• You have real depth of expertise in your technology/market of interest

• You can direct us to some advisors who see your business’s potential as you do



Particulars of Summer@Highland 2008



1. The program is open to current graduate and undergraduate students, as well as recent (December 2007 or later) grads. At least one member of the team must meet this criterion.

2. Teams can comprise 1 to 4 persons.

3. A single person team will receive a $7,500 stipend for the summer.

4. A multi-person team will receive a $15,000 stipend.

5. Teams will reside in office space in Highland’s Lexington, MA or Menlo Park, CA offices (or, an exception basis, in our Geneva or Shanghai offices).

6. Teams are required to work full time for 10 weeks. Start and end dates are flexible and to span the period of June through September 2008. Teams are expected to share our office space with us during this full term

7. Each team will have a Highland sponsor who will be the team’s gateway to advice and counsel from Highland’s investors and industry network.

8. In consideration of these benefits, but not to overly constrain the teams, we ask that if a team goes on to raise venture capital within 180 days from the end of the program, then Highland be provided the option to co-invest in up to 50% of the total financing round.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Intelligent computer simulation programs

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Aother one: Crayon Physics Deluxe Game


Intelligent computer simulation programs

Another Computr Vision Research product -- www.modiface.com

ModiFace’s patent-pending technologies empower consumers to redefine their images by automatically visualizing face enhancements, treatments, and modifications. A new diet, a new hairstyle, or a new dermal filler treatment: with a single click and in seconds, every day thousands of individuals are seeing the possibilities using ModiFace.

See the attached new piece below:

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Emerging Technology Trends - Anywhere computing

I would like to chronicle some of the emerging technologies as I read about them at various blogs/analyst reports etc. To begin with let's look at one of the basic theme proactively required by the users -- Anywhere Aplications.

One of the revolutions which is defining and enabling the 21st century business evolutions is the ability of the internet to chase the user, rather than the user chasing the internet. For this to happen, the applications developed must be devise-aware (it doesn't matter which device users use - laptops/PCs/Ultra Mobile Devices), network-aware (broadband/WiFi/WiMAx), and user-aware (Context-driven based on role, connectivity, process), which is how the Yankee group defines an Anywhere application.

Demand for these Anywhere applications is strong today as the Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio summarizes in the exhibit below. (click here to read the full report)




Email applications such as Microsoft Exchange server is closest to being Anywhere application as it is aware of different devices, networks, and users. The Salesforce.com comes closer to meeting the Anywhere applications definition as well -- it is devise and user aware, but the application is not network aware. With the advent of Mobile internet devices such as iPhone which uses different networks, Wifi/Wap/Edge, the applications can benefit by being network aware and making intelligent use of sessions and different connection methods.

One of the major concerns of Anywhere applications is security and lack of single apps view -- new applications and innovations (SOA) would certainly try to bridge the gaps between current client/server architecture and Anywhere computing to provide better IT experiences to customers. Moreover, new location based intelligence technologies such as RFID, GPS, MApping tools, application developers can integrate these innovations to become more netwrok and user aware, thus providing even better user experience and accelerated ROI.

Monday, March 17, 2008

New tools that analyze the lighting in images help spot tampering -- Technolgy Review

Photo-editing software gets more sophisticated all the time, allowing users to alter pictures in ways both fun and fraudulent. Last month, for example, a photo of Tibetan antelope roaming alongside a high-speed train was revealed to be a fake, according to the Wall Street Journal, after having been published by China's state-run news agency. Researchers are working on a variety of digital forensics tools, including those that analyze the lighting in an image, in hopes of making it easier to catch such manipulations.

Tools that analyze lighting are particularly useful because "lighting is hard to fake" without leaving a trace, says Micah Kimo Johnson, a researcher in the brain- and cognitive-sciences department at MIT, whose work includes designing tools for digital forensics. As a result, even frauds that look good to the naked eye are likely to contain inconsistencies that can be picked up by software.

Click here to read the full rticle at Technology Review

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Robotics start-up Willow Garage believes open source OS will soon put robots in our homes - VentureBeat



From the VentureBeat news:

If Menlo Park-based start-up Willow Garage has its way, in just a few years you’ll be able to hire a robot to come and clean your house once a week.

The company is building open-source robots and giving them away to university research groups in an attempt to fuel quick improvements to the operating system and rapid build-out of applications to run on it.

The company plans to deliver 10 robots to US universities by the end of the year, says Willow Garage president and CEO, Steve Cousins. “We might deliver more robots later, maybe up to 50″, he says. The company will release its open source software at the same time.

“You have to have the device to start inventing applications,” Cousins says. “Usually the first step in building a robot is to create the hardware and then the software. Now we give a ready made platform for research groups to start from.”

Click to read the full article at VentureBeat

Friday, March 7, 2008

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers launches a $100M iFund

Click here to read the info directly at KPCB website

iFund

KPCB’s iFund is a $100M investment initiative that will fund market-changing ideas and products that extend the revolutionary new iPhone and iPod touch platform. The iFund is agnostic to size and stage of investment and will invest in companies building applications, services and components. Focus areas include location based services, social networking, mCommerce (including advertising and payments), communication, and entertainment. The iFund will back innovators pursuing transformative, high-impact ideas with an eye towards building independent durable companies atop the iPhone / iPod touch platform.

"A revolutionary new platform is a rare and prized opportunity for entrepreneurs, and that's exactly what Apple has created with iPhone and iPod touch," said John Doerr, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "We think several significant new companies will emerge as this new platform evolves, and the iFund will empower them to realize their full potential."

"Developers are already bursting with ideas for the iPhone and iPod touch, and now they have the chance to turn those ideas into great companies with the help of world-class venture capitalists," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We can't wait to start working with Kleiner Perkins and the companies they fund through this new initiative."

The iFund will be managed by KPCB Partner Matt Murphy in collaboration with partners Chi-Hua Chien, John Doerr, Bill Joy, Randy Komisar, Ellen Pao and Ted Schlein. Apple will provide KPCB with market insight and support.

VMWare and Hypervisor & Client Virtualization markets

Seeking Alpha has an interesting article, where they compare VMWare with Netscape, and analyze the Hypervisor and Client virualization markets. Clicke here to read the article: Is VMware the Next Netscape?

Thursday, February 28, 2008

David Rubenstein presentation at the Super Return 2008 conference in Munich

Venturewoods: Sponsor a Business

Good resource for people who have good ideas but need resources:

Venturewoods
February 28th, 2008


Sponsor a Business
Dear Friends,

This is one of the better ventures I have come across, leveraging the power of community to empower entrepreneurs.

Its a matchmaking project, connecting entrepreneurs who need loans with lenders who can offer loans.

If an entrepreneurs needs Rs. 50,000 as loan, he can receive it from multiple lenders , maybe in smaller chunks of Rs. 5000 each. Similarly a lender can spread his loan of Rs. 2 Lacs, across maybe 10 or 20 businesses.

Last week statistics revealed on the site are inspiring to know, the model seems to be clearly working.

Close to 4000 lenders have joined, 1400+ entrepreneurs have been funded collectively amounting to Rs. 2.5 crores.

This idea needs to spread fast, it is currently being positioned to help poor people with a zeal to do business, but who lack basic resources.

To ensure that the people do not misuse, the project works with local micro finance companies.

Surprisingly in India, there is only one field partner listed, it is Delhi based Somaiya Group.

Pls, Pls share and forward the details about the venture to lenders, micro finance agencies, as well as worthy entrepreneurs.

And yes, the link to the project is http://www.kiva.org

Regards,
Ajay Sanghani
Founder, ITVidya.com
Cell : 098200 20753

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Cleantech Group Comes To India; Vinod Khosla, Chair, Jaswinder Kaur, Country Director - sas VC Circle

VC Circle says:

The Cleantech Group, which is a network of investors and companies in the cleantech industry, has set up shop in India. So far it had only presence in North America, China and Europe. Leading venture capitalist Vinod Khosla will serve as Chair and Jaswinder Kaur, executive director of the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA) in Delhi, will be the Country Director of the Indian arm of the group.

Cleantech Group was earlier known as Cleantech Venture Network, which “defined and introduced cleantech as an investment category in 2002. It has some 8,000 cleantech investors, 9,500 companies and professional services organisations worldwide and a core group of 1,300 members with assets exceeding $6 trillion. They include venture capital firms, investment banks, limited partners, governments and major corporations via offices in North America, Europe, China and India. Read the full articl at VC Circle Cleantech Group Comes To India; Vinod Khosla, Chair, Jaswinder Kaur, Country Director

US PE biggies raising more money to invest in Asia!

VC Circle says:

It seems US sub-prime crisis is turning out to be a boon rather than a bane for fundamentally stronger markets in Asia. A host of private equity biggies - like Carlyle and JPMorgan - are now training their investment flows towards high growth markets in Asia - like China and India. According to a Bloomberg report, Carlyle Group, the world’s second-biggest private-equity firm, plans to raise as much as $4 billion to invest in Asian companies. Click to read the full article at VC Cicrle US Private Equity Biggies To Raise More Money For Investing In Asia

Monday, February 25, 2008

$300M India Rizing Fund for investments in Defence Sector

Here's th direct link to the article on Business Standard : Venture fund for defence firms

The $100-million fund, which has the option to raise a further $200 million, will benefit small and medium enterprises engaged in defence production

A first of its kind venture fund for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in defence production, proposed by Mumbai-based India Rizing Fund, is awaiting final clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

The Fund proposes to invest $100 million in Indian defence SME's.

The proposal has received the go-ahead of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Department of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs. However, since the Department of Defence had not given its clearance till February 8, the FIPB deferred the proposal for consideration at a later date.

The Fund, which is promoted by former India head of ANZ Investment Bank Rajesh Narayan, has an option to raise another $ 200 million. It has a 10-year duration, with an option to increase it by four more years. More such funds may be created in the future for investment into the Indian defence production sector.

Advisors to India Rizing Fund include Rana Kapoor, founder and managing director of Yes Bank, Rahul Chowdhary, CEO, Tata Strategic Electronics, Lt Gen V J Sundaram, leader flight vehicle design team of Prithvi missile and former RBI deputy governor Vepa Kamesam.

The proposed scheme will offer two categories of units of par value of Rs 10 lakh each to investors and Rs 100 each for promoters and management of the company. Funds from the scheme will be invested in niche areas of defence production which include tanks, aircraft and war gaming simulators, as well as radars, military aircraft, missile launch systems and howitzer guns.

According to industry estimates, there are 5,000-6,000 SMEs registered with a Defence Ministry arm contributing extensively to projects like the Light Combat Aircraft and Arjun Main battle tank.

Experts point out that with India planning to acquire multi role combat aircraft (MRCA), SMEs can benefit from the offset obligation of such a defence deal, under which, the selected aircraft manufacturer has to source 50 per cent of the components from India.

“We expect the offset obligation to be around $5 billion and this is the chance for Indian defence related SMEs to reach out globally,” said Surjith Haridas, director, defence division, CII.

Experts also said that Indian defence SMEs will also benefit from a government target of sourcing 70 per cent of defence requirements from indigenous sources by 2010.

A recent Assocham-Ernst and Young report had put the total size of the defence market in India for private sector at $700 million, which is expected to have a growth potential of 20 per cent by 2010. The study found that more than 5,000 companies are supplying around 20 per cent to 25 per cent of components and sub-assemblies to state-owned defence production companies.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Safend, a provider of endpoint data leakage prevention solutions for enterprise computers,raised $9M in Series C funding, Intel Capital reinvested

Safend, an international provider of endpoint Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) solutions for enterprise computers, today announced it has secured its Series C round of funding. The $9 million round is being funded by a leading multi-billion dollar European asset management firm, as well as Safend's existing investors, Elron (NASDAQ: ELRN) (TELAVIV: ELRN), Intel Capital and Walden Israel Venture Capital. The new funding enables Safend to accelerate development efforts of its core technology, new solution offerings, and fund continued growth through strategic partnerships and distribution channels worldwide.

"Safend is a very promising company that is already generating substantial revenues by having the best-of-breed detachable storage and device control solutions on the market," said Yair Cohen, Vice President at Elron. "With its established management team, industry proven and certified technology, and impressive customer base, Safend is well positioned for continued success."

"Safend's impressive technical development team is unquestionably among the best we have encountered," said Noga Kap, General Partner, Walden Israel Venture Capital. "Their continued dedication to their customers through product innovation, quality assurance, and new partnerships makes Safend a solid investment choice for Walden Israel."

Founded in 2003, Safend has grown to acquire more than 650 customers worldwide and continues to expand its customer base as more organizations increasingly recognize data security as a top priority and strategic asset. According to recent surveys, 79%of all organizations handle sensitive data, 55% of the data remains unprotected and according to the Ponemon Institute, a Michigan-based independent research firm, the average data loss incident will cost an organization $6.3 million.

Safend's award-winning software solutions, Safend Auditor and Safend Protector, enable organizations to reduce the risk of data loss, theft and misuse by monitoring and controlling access to sensitive data. The Safend solution protects confidential data stored on enterprise PCs and laptops by monitoring the transfer of sensitive data and controls access to removable storage devices and wireless communication ports. Safend has often been recognized for having innovative products and has recently received numerous industry awards including the Info Security Hot Company 2007 Award and the 2008 Global Excellence Award for Best Endpoint Security Solution.

"The fact that the original investors subscribed to this round is significant," said Gil Sever, Safend's Chief Executive Officer. "It validates Safend's strategy and execution performance, and demonstrates our investors' confidence in the market opportunity and demand for our evolving solution. Our investors have a proven track record of investing in successful start-ups. We are pleased to have attracted strong venture partners and look forward to working with them as we continue to address the pervasive problem of data leakage."

Daredevil Social Network Bragster Secures Intel Capital Venture Funding

LONDON, Feb. 13, 2008 – Bragster, a leading social network for dares and social bets, today announced it closed a $3.5 million Series A round of venture capital funding led by Intel Capital, the global investment arm of Intel Corp. The funds will be used to support future product launches, scale the team, accommodate new partners' requests and market the site.

The funding comes at a key moment for the year-old site, which has built an audience of 800,000 viewers in just 12 months. As social networking has spiralled upward to millions of users and $1.2 billion in advertising revenues last year, its success has a price: The leading social networks have become too large, unwieldy and homogenized for many users. Bragster founders Wim Vernaeve and Bertrand Bodson are leveraging the audience shift to connect with more targeted communities. They believe a site with higher-value content that targets a specific audience will create more engaged users and, by extension, a more attractive value proposition for advertisers.

"How many times have you told a friend 'I bet you can't do this?' That's the inspiration behind Bragster," said Vernaeve, who worked at Morgan Stanley in London before launching the site in 2007. "Bragster was founded to record all the crazy things our friends were bragging about but never seemed to happen. There's a competitive spirit in each of us and challenges everywhere, and Bragster is available to record and enrich them."

Bodson, who co-founded Bragster after working at Amazon.com, said the site is a unique entertainment channel. "Every story has its own build up and rich media content, created by our community of users. Intel Capital's role as an investor will help us write the next exciting chapter in our young company’s history."

"The social networking market segment is experiencing tremendous growth but has yet to find an optimal business model," said Alain-Gabriel Courtines, Investment Director at Intel Capital. "Bragster's understanding of social media along with its broad entertainment appeal positions it to capitalize on this opportunity and create a richer, deeper experience for both advertisers and users."

Intel Capital led the funding round, joined by David Frankel through Puressence Limited. Frankel previously invested in companies including GetMeIn and SiteAdvisor, sold to Ticketmaster and McAfee, respectively.

About Bragster
Bragster is the place to dare your friends online and brag about it after posting evidence. It combines the power of online communities with the fun of having dares, challenges and bets among friends. The company was founded by Wim Vernaeve and Bertrand Bodson in 2006 and the site launched in January 2007, reaching over 800,000 unique visitors from over 150 countries by the end of its first year. The largest markets by far are the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. More information can be found at www.bragster.com.

About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing, and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$6 billion in approximately 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. In that timeframe, about 157 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and another 187 have been acquired by other companies. In 2007, Intel Capital invested about US$639 million in 166 deals with approximately 37 percent of funds invested outside the United States. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intelcapital.com.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Interview with BlueRun Ventues

VC Circle has posted an interview excerps of Sasha Mirchandani (senior investment director, based in Mumbai; he is also one of the founding members of Mumbai Angels) and Vineet Buch (Principal, and a co-founder of Riya, a visual search firm funded by BlueRun) from BlueRun Ventures. I had met Vineet during the Silicon Valley trip at the Plug and Play Tech center in San Jose; he is a great person. Here's the direct link to the full excerpts at VC Circle.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Intel Capital invests in FREEDOM4 to Accelerate the Deployment of WiMAX Networks in the U.K.

LONDON – Feb. 11, 2008 – Intel Capital, Intel Corporation's global investment organization, today announced that it has signed an agreement to make a substantial investment in U.K. based FREEDOM4 Limited ("FREEDOM4"), formerly known as Pipex Wireless Limited. Pipex Communications PLC will also join Intel Capital in this investment. Intel Corporation and Freedom4 will collaborate to accelerate the deployment of WiMAX networks in the U.K. in an effort to enable lower cost and truly mobile broadband technology. This latest investment from Intel Capital and Pipex Communications, a major U.K. based telecommunications provider, follows FREEDOM4's successful WiMAX trials in the U.K.

FREEDOM4 is a pioneer in WiMAX services with broad spectrum assets, which will enable the deployment of WiMAX across the U.K. WiMAX services provided by FREEDOM4 aim to make personal wireless broadband available to both businesses and consumers at affordable prices. WiMAX represents the future of mobile broadband and Intel Capital, along with tremendous support from a worldwide ecosystem, is a leading global investor in WiMAX technology.

"Intel Capital is a major investor in WiMAX technology and is committed to accelerating the deployment of open-standards mobile broadband around the world," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital. "FREEDOM4 has built a top-notch management team and this is a strategic investment opportunity through which we can help facilitate the deployment of wireless broadband in the U.K market."

Mike Read, CEO, FREEDOM4 adds, “Following the success of the commercial launch of our services in Milton Keynes, we are in the next phase of our development: making FREEDOM4 the market leader in ‘personal’ wireless broadband access. The investment from Intel Capital and Pipex Communications will facilitate the roll out of a WiMAX network in other cities around the U.K., providing a truly flexible service to businesses and consumers."

Delivering Mobile WiMAX
Intel is a leader in driving the development and deployment of WiMAX, a new wireless broadband technology that delivers "broadband on the go." Mobile WiMAX, based on the IEEE 802.16e industry specification, is a mobile broadband wireless technology that provides low-cost, multi-megabit speed and increased throughput for accessing large amounts of data such as movies and multimedia content. Intel’s integrated Wi-Fi/WiMAX module (codenamed "Echo Peak") will debut in certain next-generation Intel® Centrino® processor-based laptops (codenamed "Montevina") beginning in the middle of the year. The company's low-power mobile WiMAX silicon specifically designed for mobile Internet and consumer electronic devices (codenamed "Baxter Peak") will also be available this year.

About FREEDOM4
FREEDOM4, a joint venture between Pipex Communications and Intel Capital, is a provider of personal wireless broadband services without boundaries. With a national license to deploy WiMAX services in the 3.6 GHz band, FREEDOM4 is working closely with businesses and local authorities to build the necessary infrastructure to provide broadband wireless internet access across the UK.

FREEDOM4 has partnerships with some of the leading names in wireless technologies and telecommunications, including Intel Corporation, Airspan Networks, Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson, and National Grid Wireless to provide WiMAX services to nomadic workers, businesses and SOHOs via a scalable and resilient network. For further information, visit www.freedom4.com.

SaaS vs Typical client/server based softwares

Typical Software (Client/Server):
-- run on centralized servers
-- requires constant maintenance and monitoring
-- cost intensive
-- purchase software package
-- load software onto a server
-- back-up the data
-- personnel costs to maintain and upgrade both the hardware and the software

Software as a Service (SaaS):
-- online solution: customers set up and maintain business intelligence programs
-- accessible from anywhere
-- the provider maintins and supports the program
-- ease of use
-- platform independent
-- Pay per use
-- very attractive to small businesses who may purchase one or two licenses instead of a large expensive name brand package


The typical revenue model used revolves around user licenses. A company will pay a monthly fee for each ID that is able to access the system. This drives a stable cash stream as visibility into renewals is typically very strong. At the same time, some providers are experimenting with the idea of charging for each time a user logs into the program. This may help to land smaller customers who only need a small portion and do not want to pay the full license fee for unlimited monthly access. It will take time to see how many clients adopt this option and what the overall effect to margins and profitability are. Read rest of the analysis at Seekinglpha: Salesforce.com: A Ticking Time Bomb?

Voxify, a provider of speech recognition technologies for automating customer call centers, raised $15M in 4th-round; Intel Capital lead the deal

PRESS RELEASE

Voxify�, the company that enables contact centers to offer self-service for customer phone calls, announced that it has closed a $15 million funding round. This additional capital allows Voxify to accelerate the expansion of its integrated industry solutions and aggressively scale through its rapidly expanding partner ecosystem. The financing was led by new investor Intel Capital, with continued participation from Voxify's existing investors, El Dorado Ventures, Palomar Ventures, and Sigma Partners.

"Our customers and partners have embraced the Voxify solutions because the rapid and successful deployments have led to game-changing enterprise capabilities," said John Gengarella, Voxify CEO. "2007 was an exceptional year of growth for Voxify and we plan to leverage this funding to continue to invest in the products and partnerships which enabled this growth."

Voxify provides speech self-service solutions built from industry-specific templates and offered as a managed service. Voxify's solutions range from informational responses to customer inquiries to fully transactional reservation systems to interactive outbound calls with secure transactional capabilities. Contact centers are offered flexibility in application customization, control in making changes to meet rapidly changing business needs, and options for hosted and premise-based deployments.

"We feel that self-service is a driver of growth throughout the global customer service industry," said Jon Kruse, investment manager, Intel Capital. "Voxify has earned industry-leading customers and an impressive partner ecosystem that allows a distinct advantage in this market segment."

"Voxify's success comes from its combination of high performing and evolving speech applications that meet critical business objectives," said Daniel Hong, lead analyst for Customer Interaction Technology at Datamonitor. "The company has shown forward thinking innovation with its new interactive outbound calling application and its embrace of new deployment paradigms for 'managed services' in the enterprise, which is a highly accepted service model and represents the fastest growing area of the enterprise network speech industry today."

About Voxify
Voxify enables contact centers to offer self-service for customer phone calls. Voxify Automated Agents� are speech applications that offer the lowest risk to deployment and a rapid return on investment. Built from industry-specific templates and patented conversational models, Voxify Automated Agents allow callers to speak naturally -- resulting in the best customer service. Voxify offers managed services for both hosted and premise-based deployments. Millions of callers around the globe speak daily to Voxify Automated Agents when calling such companies as Continental Airlines, Hammacher Schlemmer, and Wyndham International. For more information, call 510-545-5000 or visit www.voxify.com

Monday, February 11, 2008

Software companies must include integration as part of their development budgets -- Ashok Santhanam, Bristlecone

Here's an article from SandHill.com..Click here to read the article on SansHill.com..the opinion section is really a great place to read opinions of business leaders.


The New Integration Mandate

Software companies must include integration as part of their development budgets or risk losing sales opportunities – and interest from potential acquirers -- Ashok Santhanam, Bristlecone

Consolidation is rampant in the software industry. The product “stacks” at the major enterprise software vendors grow taller and wider by the week, even as emerging vendors with new models work to steal share from an increasingly demanding and impatient set of corporate CIOs.

The need for enterprise software applications and infrastructure products to work together seamlessly is greater than ever before. Yet software companies continue to place integration capabilities on the back burner during a new product release, preferring instead to work on adding new speeds and feeds.

Customers and investors will not stand for this “development in a bubble” much longer. The new integration mandate dictates that vendors must incorporate integration and certification as a strategic part of their development process or risk becoming sidelined in the new, interoperable enterprise software ecosystem.

The Back Story on Integration
It was only a few years ago that software companies would assign a certain percentage of their R&D budgets to ensuring that their product would work seamlessly on all major hardware and database platforms. In fact, Oracle beat Sybase and Informix in the database race not by introducing brilliant new features but by ensuring their product ran well on all major operating systems on the market.

Today, integrating with the large enterprise software suites holds the same potential for strategic advantage. Yet too many ISVs are performing integration work on a case-by-case basis. Resource constraints have relegated integration to a nice-to-have feature – something that is tackled when trying to close a deal with a big customer.

Very few software companies take a strategic approach to determining which products they should integrate with, what impact that integration would have on overall sales and what portion of their budget should be devoted to integration – even if it means “back-burnering” some of the nice-to-have new features planned for the next release.

The Integration Challenge
Customers no longer accept that an enterprise software product will not integrate out of the box with their other major installed enterprise application platforms – specifically, SAP and Oracle. CIOs are more demanding than ever and speeding time-to-value is critical for this group to prove their project successes internally.

The traditional model of enterprise software which involved paying a seven-figure sum for the application, then seven-figures to a systems integrator to put it together, then a healthy six-figures back to the vendor for annual maintenance is a thing of the past, unless you’re one of the big guys. Many vendors today will provide an upgrade for free but require customers to pay integrators and maintenance fees to keep things working together.

CIOs are wise to these ways and are actively working to shake off these chains where they don’t add value. Many are turning to new vendors with new models, such as software as a service (SaaS) and open source. But the need for these new vendors to deliver products that seamlessly integrate with major installed software platforms is just as critical.

This is no easy job. Optimizing integration requires a deep knowledge of the functional and technical configuration of these ERP systems. And as the SAP and Oracle stacks have grown over the years, developers have had a difficult time keeping up.

Many ISV’s like to flaunt their “certifications.” Unfortunately, we all know that these are only as valuable as the paper they are written on if the software does not truly integrate out of the box. The companies that I see pursuing the certification route tend to be more tentative about their integration commitment, and are happy to leave the integration headaches to their professional services organizations or their partners. But software vendors who have a clear integration strategy and have done the hard work to ensure out-of-the-box operability are the ones who truly deserve that certificate.

The New Integration Mandate
I would urge software companies to consider the following framework for ensuring interoperability. This “New Integration Mandate” will help ensure vendors’ success with customers and investors in the new enterprise software ecosystem.

A Strategic Imperative. Integration must be part of the initial product development planning process and the overall software strategy. Having a product that integrates widely at launch is more important than having the final 10 or 20 percent of functionality.

No Bubble Mentality. If you are starting an enterprise application company today, you must be interoperable with Oracle and SAP. Even an emerging vendor with a large market share like Salesforce.com must interoperate with the products of other major vendors. For SaaS vendors, in particular, integration is mandated. Customers choose SaaS products specifically to avoid major upfront investments and integration work. SaaS products – and products from open source, Enterprise 2.0 and other emerging vendors – are expected to interoperate out of the box, no excuses.

A Focused Approach. As the major ERP stacks continue to grow, application vendors are smart to carefully choose the areas in which their products can add value. Integration with these key areas should be the focus rather than attempting to integrate with the entire stack.

No Time-to-Market Delays. Incorporating integration into the R&D process should not extend the timeline for release. It should be included in the same way that testing is included: regardless of the time it takes, it must be done.

A Line for Help. If development teams are severely constrained, it is also possible to outsource the integration development and testing. Many software companies are opting to go to specialists for integration work because of the high degree of knowledge required. The key is to include integration specialists as part of the strategic planning process – not as an afterthought.

A Modular Approach. If you go back to the days when people had porting groups in their development organizations, we worked on connecting our APIs to the target platform’s APIs, for example. Best practices dictated a modular approach. Today we can use services to achieve the same integration goal. This modular approach saves money and speeds integration efforts.

An Owner. When integration is incorporated into product planning, there must be a single person responsible for the effort. There must be a project manager to determine what kind of effort must be directed at the integration challenge and to manage and measure progress throughout the development process.

A Meaningful Certification Process. Rather than just integration and testing, software vendors should seek recertification from ERP vendors for the functionality of their products. This would be a truly valuable form of certification that would have meaning to customers.

The Acquisition Opportunity. Software IPOs remain a rare event. Venture capitalists are investing in startups with an eye to acquisition as an exit strategy. Building products with extensive interoperability improves the chances that major vendors will be interested in acquiring the startup. If you want acquisition to be part of your company’s available strategic options, then a strategic approach to integration is critical. What better way to ensure your company’s survival as part of the new software ecosystem?

Google unveiled products for email security and message discovery

Google last week unveiled a series of products powered by Postini, which Gogle acquired July last year, that deliver message filtering, encryption and archiving for any business environment. Google's new security services work with any mail system, including Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, and Novell Groupwise, and with pricing starting at $3 per user per year can accommodate the budget of any business.

I think this will prove to be great opportunity for other other Managed Services Provier as it will validate this business model and expand the business; at the same time the MSPs will now have to target differentiated products in order to compete against Google's market power and deep pockets. The market is huge as enterprises increasingly face stricter compliance requirements. Even if I look at the email services provided by universities, I frequesntly see spams and other marketing mails creeping inside -- google's offering may help filter such mails.

Here's the Google's press release:
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (February 5, 2008) – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced a series of security products Powered by Postini™ that deliver message filtering, encryption and archiving for any business environment. Google's new security services work with any mail system, including Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, and Novell Groupwise, and with pricing starting at $3 per user per year can accommodate the budget of any business. Customers can sign up online and immediately begin to improve the security of their email.

“As threats rise in volume and complexity, and compliance requirements pile up, IT is struggling to find the resources to keep up,” said Scott Petry, director of product management, Google. “Now, Google can take care of this for you. Organizations of all shapes and sizes can get access to Google's industry leading security and compliance technologies.”

Companies of all sizes are seeking solutions to the challenge of security and compliance. For instance, outbound message filtering helps prevent sensitive data from going outside the company firewall, which could result in identity theft or compromise a client's personal information. Also, increasing industry regulations are creating demand for better message storage, with quick and easy retrieval.

Businesses can choose the Google security and compliance services that best suit their needs:

Google Message Filtering™
-- Postini’s industry-leading service for filtering incoming spam and malware
-- for companies looking to handle the growth of spam, virus and other email threats, and want to shift the burden off of on-premises resources
-- $3 per user per year

Google Message Security™
-- includes Google Message Filtering, plus enhanced virus detection, outbound processing, and content policy management
-- for companies worried about growing external security threats and internal risks, such as email data leaks or content compliance violations
-- $12 per user per year

Google Message Discovery™
-- includes Google Message Security, plus one year of message data archiving, retention, and discovery
-- for companies seeking to reduce security exposure, and improve legal discovery readiness and message compliance
-- $25 per user per year for one year of archived data (additional years of data retention available separately)

The new packages are part of the Google Apps platform and are available immediately at www.google.com/a/security, direct from Google, and through channel partners, and can be deployed within hours. The Google Apps suite also includes Gmail™ email services, Google Docs™ for documents, spreadsheets and presentations, Google Calendar™ shared calendaring, Google Talk™ instant messaging, and the Start Page feature for creating a customizable home page. Policy management and 90-day message discovery services are also available at no additional charge to Google Apps Premier Edition users.

Google Apps is used by more than 500,000 businesses and thousands of universities. Go to www.google.com/a for more information. These new services are Powered by Postini, and based on the same technology that protects email for nearly 40,000 customers and 14 million users a day. Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPizh9EBW3o to hear what some of our customers have to say about using Google Message Security.

Here'a an analysis by Jeff Kaplan from SeekingAlpha

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Best way to start a career in VC -- from Linked in answers

What is the best way to start a career in venture capital?

Answer:

Considering that the average income for the some 1,800 VCs in the USA is about $1.5 million, I am probably asked this at every one of my workshops, seminars, speaking engagements etc.

1. Graduate from Harvard Business school or Stanford Business School at the highest of the class--top five, #6 and below will get you nothing. Then get a fellowship through Kauffman to work at a leading VC firm as an "associate" for two years. (making $65,000 per year)

2. Win the lottery. Then just start a VC firm! OK, Marry someone very, very rich. Then just start a VC firm.

3. Invent something that tops: ICQ (Instant messenger) and sell it to AOL for $400 million. Start something that tops Skype and sell it for $2 billion. Start something that tops PayPal and sell it for $500 million. (Wow, I don't think ebay will be buying anything new for a while) Then, every major VC firm in the world will want you to be on their "Entrepreneur in Residence" program.

4. Finally, become the Vice President of the United States. Then hang out with Bono (or some other rock star). Then win the Nobel prize for telling everyone the sky is falling. Or shoot, just tell everyone you are a venture capitalist!!!

Here's the direct link

LogLogic, a San Jose, California based developer of log lifecycle management appliance, raised $13.5M in Series D funding

LogLogic(R) (www.loglogic.com), the log management leader, today announced it has closed a series D round of funding, securing an additional $13.5 million in equity financing to expand global sales and marketing initiatives and accelerate innovation. This round, which brings the total equity investment in LogLogic to $47.7million, was led by Focus Ventures and included Sequoia Capital, Telesoft Partners, Worldview Technology Partners and Invesco Private Capital.

As the largest independent vendor in the log management market, LogLogic attributes the industry's hyper-growth to compliance mandates such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) as well as pressures to reduce costs by investing in automated platforms for tracking user activity and business performance. Since its founding in 2002, LogLogic has seen more than 100 percent growth year-over-year in sales of its market-leading log management appliance.

In 2007 alone, LogLogic signed over 160 new customers in the enterprise, mid-market and MSSP channels, bringing its total to more than 400 customers. Last year, LogLogic's channel initiatives brought in key partners including BMC Software, Novell, Arsenal and SecureWorks, further establishing the company's extensive global reach and best-in-class reputation as the log management leader.

"Industry regulations are creating a multi-billion dollar market opportunity for log management solutions," said Kevin McQuillan, general partner at Focus Ventures. "A lot of people want a piece of the pie. The investment opportunity with LogLogic is great -- the company brings a market-leading log management appliance through tier one business partners to customers that require reliable solutions. With 100% year-to-year growth, new customer acquisitions, and a strong channel to leverage, we see LogLogic as a key player in the log management space."

According to recent SANS Technology Institute and Enterprise Strategy Group research, traditional Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) vendors address security, risk and compliance issues that comprise only 30% of log management use cases. By contrast, LogLogic takes a broader market approach by addressing 100% of use cases, including the 70% of non-security-related use cases in business performance management and problem isolation.

In addition, LogLogic's open log management platform allows customers and partners to develop their own use case applications through an open web services API. This wide-spectrum ecosystem development model is a big differentiator from competitors including RSA enVision and ArcSight.

"Failure to meet compliance standards carries serious consequences for a company and its C-level executives," said Pat Sueltz, chief executive officer at LogLogic. "Organizations are making log management a priority and they are quickly reaping the benefits, from the sys-admin up the chain of command to the CEO."

LogLogic also announced today the appointment of three new executive vice presidents: Kevin Carroll, executive vice president operations, On Lee, executive vice president engineering and chief technology officer, and Diane Deutsch, executive vice president global human resources. Caroll joins LogLogic with over 25 years of experience leading world-class operations organizations at EMC Corporation, Sun Microsystems and Tyco International.

Lee joins LogLogic from Symantec Corporation where he built the Advanced Concepts Group within Symantec Research Labs to focus on developing new products in emerging areas. Prior to Symantec, Lee held various management and technical positions at Microsoft.

Deutsch joins LogLogic with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of human resources management. She previously served as senior vice president human resources at SurfControl, Inc., vice president of human resources at Chameleon Systems and director of human resources at Nuance, Avaya, Lucent and Octel.

"LogLogic has world class investors and a great team and we continue to add top talent to take LogLogic to the next level. We are expanding our global reach and accelerating our innovation roadmap to continue on our high-growth trajectory," said Sueltz.

About LogLogic
LogLogic(R) provides the world's leading enterprise-class platform

for collecting, storing, reporting and alerting on 100 percent of IT log data from virtually any device, operating system or application. LogLogic 4 LX and ST systems address the compliance, operations and risk mitigation needs of the most demanding global enterprises. LogLogic's innovations include creating the world's first search engine for fast-moving IT log data, and Compliance Suites that automate using that data to enforce critical controls and regulations. Designated a Gartner Magic Quadrant 'leader' in 2007.

LogLogic has also won various awards including SC Magazine 'Approved for SC Labs Rating' in 2006 and 2007, IT Week's 'Editor's Choice Award' and 'Five-Star Review,' InfoSecurity Product's Guide 'Hot Companies 2007,' CRN Emerging 'Tech Dynamos 2007,' Deloitte Silicon Valley 2007 'Technology Fast 50,' AlwaysOn Top 100 Private Companies 2006, Best of Interop 2005, SC Magazine's 'Best Computer Forensics,' Info Security's 'Hot Company 2006,' and designation to the Red Herring 100 in 2006. For more information, visit www.loglogic.com and blog.loglogic.com.

SugarCRM, a provider of open-source CRM software, raised $20 million in Series D funding

SugarCRM, the world's leading provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software, today announced the completion of a USD 20 million round of financing led by New Enterprise Associates, bringing total funding to USD 46 million. Existing investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Walden International also joined the round.

SugarCRM will use the proceeds to fund continued growth in the CRM market, including research and development and global expansion, particularly in Europe and Asia.

"SugarCRM's commercial open source model is transforming the CRM market," said Scott Sandell, general partner, New Enterprise Associates. "SugarCRM's strong set of products, customer momentum and world-class management team positions the company for continued rapid growth."

"This additional funding will allow SugarCRM to accelerate its goal of moving the CRM market from a proprietary lock-in model to an open, value-based model by delivering the most modern, open, flexible CRM platform in the industry," said John Roberts, CEO and co-founder, SugarCRM.

Since its founding in 2004, SugarCRM has seen global adoption of its commercial open source CRM products, with over four million downloads, 470 product extensions, 75 language translations, more than 60,000 community members, over 12,000 registered developers and a customer base of nearly 3,000 commercial accounts.

SugarCRM's innovation in the CRM market has been recognized by industry experts, with the company being named a "Rising Star" by CRM Magazine, an Always On Top 100 Private Company, and a Leader in the InfoTech Decision Diamond for CRM Solutions.

In December 2007, the company announced the release of Sugar 5.0, a landmark release that includes an Ajax email client, multiple homepages for users, a state-of-the-art multi-instance On-Demand architecture and Module Builder, which gives non-technical users the ability to develop and deploy custom modules within the application.

About SugarCRM

SugarCRM is the world's leading provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software for companies of all sizes. Sugar easily adapts to any business environment by offering a more flexible, cost-effective alternative than proprietary applications. SugarCRM's open source architecture allows companies to more easily customize and integrate customer-facing business processes in order to build and maintain more profitable relationships. SugarCRM offers several deployment options, including on-demand, on-premise and appliance-based solutions to suit customers' security, integration and configuration needs. For more information, visit http://www.sugarcrm.com.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Death of ISVs?

Good article on Seeking alpha where Rick Sherman shares his view on how inspite of titans acquiring several companies, ISVs will continue to inoovate and be a great force. Click the texts below read the full article at SeekingAlpga.

The death of the independent software firm is greatly exaggerated.MicroStrategy (MSTR), SAS, Informatica (INFA), Actuate (ACTU) and Teradata (TDC) are just some of the independent firms that are probably getting tired of hearing that they are no longer viable. And their long-time and happy customers are probably wondering what the industry analysts and pundits are smoking when they proclaim that the software titans have taken over the world of BI and DW.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

VKernal Corp., a provider of virtual appliances for managing virtual server environments raised $4.6 million in first-round

PRESS RELEASE

VKernel Corporation, a provider of easy-to-use and quick-to-deploy virtual appliances for managing virtual server environments, announced today the company has raised $4.6 million in its initial institutional round of funding. The round was co-led by Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners.

VKernel will use the funds to advance product development, increase sales, and expand market awareness. Additionally, Mitchell Kertzman of Hummer Winblad and Dave Barrett of Polaris will join VKernel's Board of Directors.

"The server virtualization market is growing explosively," said Mitchell Kertzman, managing director at Hummer Winblad. "This has us very excited about VKernel's vision as it is providing the essential tools for IT staffs to virtualize their environments faster, more cost-effectively, and with greater confidence."

"We believe organizations will see VKernel technology as a vital component of successful virtualization projects," stated Dave Barrett, general partner at Polaris Venture Partners. "The company's executive team has a solid track record of growing businesses from the ground up, and we fully anticipate VKernel will rapidly become a player in this market."

VKernel, first launched in January 2007, is building a suite of "plug-and-play" virtual appliances designed to quickly solve real world systems management challenges as organizations migrate to virtual server environments. VKernel's patent-pending Chargeback appliance is certified by VMware, and enables IT groups to immediately solve today's critical pain points by providing cost visibility into the resource consumption of each virtual machine, resource pool, host, or cluster.

"Organizations of all sizes are virtualizing their server farms, which is creating a new set of systems management challenges," said Alex Bakman, founder and CEO of VKernel. "To be successful, IT groups need tools that address their most pressing issues. Unlike traditional systems management products that are difficult to install, learn, and use, VKernel is delivering tiny virtual appliances designed to solve specific issues."

VKernel's Chargeback Virtual Appliance is available for download on the company's website. For additional information, pricing, and how to purchase, visit www.vkernel.com.

About VKernel Corporation

Based in Portsmouth, NH, VKernel is dedicated to developing best-of-breed virtual appliances that enhance performance, lower costs, and simplify management of virtual environments of all sizes. As a certified VMware partner, VKernel offers the industry's only VMware certified virtual appliances for analyzing capacity, chargeback, and cost visibility. For more information, visit www.vkernel.com.

About Polaris Venture Partners

A national venture capital firm with over $3 billion under management, Polaris invests in seed, early stage and growth equity businesses in the technology, life science, digital media, enertech and consumer sectors. Through a philosophy of lead investing and active, long-term partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams, Polaris has helped many companies achieve outstanding success. For more information, visit www.polarisventures.com

About Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Hummer Winblad Venture Partners is a leading venture capital firm focused on software investing and manages over $1 billion in cumulative capital. Since Hummer Winblad Venture Partners' inception in 1989 the firm has launched over 100 new software companies. For more information, visit www.humwin.com.

a la mobile raised $6.5M series B fund

PE Hub Reported:

San Ramon, CA based a la mobile has taken $6.75 million Series B in a round led by original investor Venrock. Under the deal, Venrock managing partners Ray Rothrock and Tony Sun join the a la mobile board.

a la mobile had recently demonstrated the Android platform on HTC Qtek 9090 Smartphone. Founded in 2005, a la Mobile has already established itself as the leader in developing and delivering one-stop, commercial-grade complete Linux system stacks for mobile devices: integrated, customized, certified, supported and maintained. The Company's first Linux system offering - Convergent Linux Platform (CLP) version 1.0 - based on the Qt application framework by Trolltech, was first introduced in 2006 and adopted by several handset vendors.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Centrifuge Systems Inc., a McLean, Va.-based provider of business intelligence software, raised $4.5 million in first-round funding from NBVP

Here's the press release:

Centrifuge Systems, Inc., a leading provider of next generation business intelligence software, today announced that it has received its first round of institutional funding from premier venture capital firm Novak Biddle Venture Partners (NBVP). NBVP invested $4.5 million in Centrifuge, whose advanced visualization software helps organizations discover insights, patterns and relationships hidden in their data. The financing will support implementation of the company's growth strategy and product innovation initiatives. Novak Biddle general partners Andrea Kaufman and Roger Novak have joined the company's board of directors.

"With an increased demand for its products and several federal agencies among its customers, Centrifuge's software has been validated by the government as best-of-breed technology. There is clearly a need for business intelligence software that enables users to ask open ended questions of their data by interacting with visual representations of the data directly," said Roger Novak, general partner, Novak Biddle Venture Partners and new board member, Centrifuge Systems, Inc. "The company is well-positioned to seize existing market opportunities and to create new opportunities by eventually penetrating several vertical industries," Novak added.

"Our interest in Centrifuge is driven by several factors - its consistently cutting edge approach to visualization, the strength of its management team, and the software's potential for widespread commercial application," said Andrea Kaufman, general partner, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, and new Centrifuge Systems, Inc. board member. "This deal ties into our investment strategy of backing leading early stage companies that have developed dual use technology, that which can transcend the government-agency customer and filter into the broader marketplace," Kaufman added.

"Having the resources, expertise, and insights of the Novak Biddle team at our disposal during this phase of our life cycle is an invaluable asset. As we grow the organization to respond to market demand, it is critical to have the support of a reputable, well-connected partner and we are delighted to have Novak Biddle on board at this exciting time for the company," said Guljit Khurana, CEO of Centrifuge Systems.

Centrifuge recently expanded its management team with the additions of CFO Brian Daum and Mitch Shue, vice president of engineering.

About Centrifuge

Centrifuge Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of next generation business intelligence software that helps organizations discover insights, patterns and relationships hidden in their data. Centrifuge is used in some of the most demanding applications in the world, including counter-terrorism and homeland defense, to help analysts move from data to discovery.

Traditional business intelligence solutions require users to define what they want to see in advance and present the results in static dashboards. With Centrifuge, users determine what is of interest "on the fly", then manipulate the displays directly in a highly interactive fashion. The experience is refreshingly easy-to-use and the resulting insights can be extraordinary.

Real time 1-to-1marketing solutions provider Genius.com Secures $19 Million C Round Investment Led by Accel Partners

Here's the press release:

Genius.com Secures $19 Million C Round Investment Led by Accel Partners
Facebook Investor Joins Genius.com Backers Mohr Davidow Ventures, Emergence Capital and Walden International

San Mateo, Calif., February 4, 2008 - Genius.com Incorporated®, the leading on demand provider of real-time 1-to-1 marketing solutions for sales and marketing professionals, announced today that it has received $19 million in third-round funding led by Accel Partners. Additional participation came from existing investors Mohr Davidow Ventures, Emergence Capital and Walden International. Genius.com will use the funds to accelerate their product development, marketing and sales initiatives to meet increasing global demand for Genius solutions. The C round investment brings the total amount of Genius venture financing to $34 million.

"What made Genius so attractive from our perspective was the rapid "bottoms-up" adoption of the service by end users who then recommend the product to their bosses and peers. Genius feels almost like a consumer phenomenon," said Kevin Efrusy, General Partner, Accel Partners. "The days of managers cramming useless products down the throats of subordinates are long gone. The Genius model appears to define the future of the industry."

In a separate release Genius.com also announced telcom giant, BT's adoption of SalesGenius to provide priority servicing of their most profitable customers. In addition to the BT selection, Genius.com achieved several major milestones:

Experienced 63% growth in month over month recurring revenue
Extended quarterly booking by 61% quarter over quarter
Enjoyed a 96% increase in product upsells
Grew to over 30,000 named users
Added over 400 corporate customers
Processed over 45 million transactions per month
Expanded global customer relationships with the addition of BT, EasyLink, Hoover's, LinkedIn, Nexient, Polycom and Vitria Technology
Announced key partnerships with Cisco/WebEx, salesforce.com, and many others including Tele-Smart Communications, Sales Optimization Group, EchoSign, SalesRamp and Demandbase
"Adding Accel Partners as our lead for this round speaks volumes about the tremendous success we've achieved to date and the continued market potential for Genius solutions. Companies of all sizes have embraced our products because we enable sales and marketing teams to instantly connect and serve their most interested prospects to close more deals more quickly," said Thompson. "2007 has been amazing for Genius.com and we plan to leverage this latest round of financing as we take to the global stage in 2008."

About Genius.com
Genius.com, creator of SalesGenius, is the leading on demand provider of real-time, 1-to-1 marketing solutions for sales and marketing professionals, empowering them to connect with prospects and close deals through their corporate Websites.

Genius® solutions give sales organizations unprecedented control over e-mail and website marketing, delivering real-time e-mail campaign reports to managers and instant e-mail response and website visit alerts to sales reps, all without requiring programming skills or IT involvement. The result is faster sales cycles, satisfied customers and more closed deals. Genius.com Incorporated is a privately held company, funded by Accel Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Emergence Capital and Walden International, with headquarters in San Mateo, CA.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Resoures for creating powerful business plans

1. Simplymap

SimplyMap is a web-based mapping application that lets users quickly create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using powerful demographic, business, and marketing data. SimplyMap turns complex data into valuable information that is easily accessed through an innovative and user-friendly interface.

With SimplyMap, users can:
Access thousands of demographic, business, and marketing data variables.
Develop interactive thematic maps and export high-resolution images to word processing or presentation software.
Select, sort, and compare data across multiple locations and build custom reports that can be exported to a spreadsheet for additional functionality.
Explore historical census data to understand how regions change over time and use estimates and projections to analyze current and future trends.
Make informed personal and business-related decisions. Questions like “what are the social and demographic characteristics of my neighborhood?” and “where should I locate my retail store?” are quickly answered with SimplyMap.
Combine locations and search for areas based on specific criteria


2. US Census Bureau
Provide extenive data on US census

People & Households:
Estimates · Projections · Housing · Income | State Median Income · Poverty · Health Insurance · International · Genealogy · More

Business & Industry:
Economic Census · Get Help with Your Form · Economic Indicators · NAICS · Survey of Business Owners · Government · E-Stats · Foreign Trade | Export Codes · Local Employment Dynamics · More

Geography:
Maps · TIGER · Gazetteer · More

3. Forrester Research

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent technology and market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. For more than 24 years, Forrester has been making leaders successful every day through its proprietary research, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs.

They have extensive data on social networking trends and usage.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Microsoft letter to Yahoo! Board of Directors

January 31, 2008

Board of Directors
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA
Attention: Roy Bostock,
Attention: Jerry Yang, Chief Executive Officer

Dear Members of the Board:

I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of Microsoft to make a proposal for a business combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!. Under our proposal, Microsoft would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 based on Microsoft’s closing share price on January 31, 2008, payable in the form of $31 in cash or 0.9509 of a share of Microsoft common stock. Microsoft would provide each Yahoo! shareholder with the ability to choose whether to receive the consideration in cash or Microsoft common stock, subject to pro-ration so that in the aggregate one-half of the Yahoo! common shares will be exchanged for shares of Microsoft common stock and one-half of the Yahoo! common shares will be converted into the right to receive cash. Our proposal is not subject to any financing condition.

Our proposal represents a 62% premium above the closing price of Yahoo! common stock of $19.18 on January 31, 2008. The implied premium for the operating assets of the company clearly is considerably greater when adjusted for the minority, non-controlled assets and cash. By whatever financial measure you use - EBITDA, free cash flow, operating cash flow, net income, or analyst target prices - this proposal represents a compelling value realization event for your shareholders.

We believe that Microsoft common stock represents a very attractive investment opportunity for Yahoo!’s shareholders. Microsoft has generated revenue growth of 15%, earnings growth of 26%, and a return on equity of 35% on average for the last three years. Microsoft’s share price has generated shareholder returns of 8% during the last one year period and 28% during the last three year period, significantly outperforming the S&P 500. It is our view that Microsoft has significant potential upside given the continued solid growth in our core businesses, the recent launch of Windows Vista, and other strategic initiatives.

Microsoft’s consistent belief has been that the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! clearly represents the best way to deliver maximum value to our respective shareholders, as well as create a more efficient and competitive company that would provide greater value and service to our customers. In late 2006 and early 2007, we jointly explored a broad range of ways in which our two companies might work together. These discussions were based on a vision that the online businesses of Microsoft and Yahoo! should be aligned in some way to create a more effective competitor in the online marketplace. We discussed a number of alternatives ranging from commercial partnerships to a merger proposal, which you rejected. While a commercial partnership may have made sense at one time, Microsoft believes that the only alternative now is the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! that we are proposing.

In February 2007, I received a letter from your Chairman indicating the view of the Yahoo! Board that “now is not the right time from the perspective of our shareholders to enter into discussions regarding an acquisition transaction.” According to that letter, the principal reason for this view was the Yahoo! Board’s confidence in the “potential upside” if management successfully executed on a reformulated strategy based on certain operational initiatives, such as Project Panama, and a significant organizational realignment. A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved.

While online advertising growth continues, there are significant benefits of scale in advertising platform economics, in capital costs for search index build-out, and in research and development, making this a time of industry consolidation and convergence. Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers. Synergies of this combination fall into four areas:

—Scale economics: This combination enables synergies related to scale
economics of the advertising platform where today there is only one
competitor at scale. This includes synergies across both search and
non-search related advertising that will strengthen the value
proposition to both advertisers and publishers. Additionally, the
combination allows us to consolidate capital spending.
—Expanded R&D capacity: The combined talent of our engineering
resources can be focused on R&D priorities such as a single search
index and single advertising platform. Together we can unleash new
levels of innovation, delivering enhanced user experiences,
breakthroughs in search, and new advertising platform capabilities.
Many of these breakthroughs are a function of an engineering scale that
today neither of our companies has on its own.
—Operational efficiencies: Eliminating redundant infrastructure and
duplicative operating costs will improve the financial performance of
the combined entity.
—Emerging user experiences: Our combined ability to focus engineering
resources that drive innovation in emerging scenarios such as video,
mobile services, online commerce, social media, and social platforms is
greatly enhanced.

We would value the opportunity to further discuss with you how to optimize the integration of our respective businesses to create a leading global technology company with exceptional display and search advertising capabilities. You should also be aware that we intend to offer significant retention packages to your engineers, key leaders and employees across all disciplines.

We have dedicated considerable time and resources to an analysis of a potential transaction and are confident that the combination will receive all necessary regulatory approvals. We look forward to discussing this with you, and both our internal legal team and outside counsel are available to meet with your counsel at their earliest convenience.

Our proposal is subject to the negotiation of a definitive merger agreement and our having the opportunity to conduct certain limited and confirmatory due diligence. In addition, because a portion of the aggregate merger consideration would consist of Microsoft common stock, we would provide Yahoo! the opportunity to conduct appropriate limited due diligence with respect to Microsoft. We are prepared to deliver a draft merger agreement to you and begin discussions immediately.

In light of the significance of this proposal to your shareholders and ours, as well as the potential for selective disclosures, our intention is to publicly release the text of this letter tomorrow morning.

Due to the importance of these discussions and the value represented by our proposal, we expect the Yahoo! Board to engage in a full review of our proposal. My leadership team and I would be happy to make ourselves available to meet with you and your Board at your earliest convenience. Depending on the nature of your response, Microsoft reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo!’s shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal.

We believe this proposal represents a unique opportunity to create significant value for Yahoo!’s shareholders and employees, and the combined company will be better positioned to provide an enhanced value proposition to users and advertisers. We hope that you and your Board share our enthusiasm, and we look forward to a prompt and favorable reply.

Sincerely yours,

/s/ Steven A. Ballmer
Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation