Bridgescale Blog

BlueCat Networks today named three new members to its Technical Advisory Board (TAB). The highly-distinguished TAB members are William (Bill) Crowell, former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency (NSA); Bob Flores, former CTO of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and John McFarlane, the Former President of Sun Microsystems Software Division. The group joins Ron Aitchison, the renowned DNS authority and author of the DNS technology reference book, “Pro DNS and BIND.”

The group will tap its vast government IT background, agency experience, and DNS knowledge to drive BlueCat’s IPAM and DNS/DHCP product development for government agencies worldwide.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ — NeoNova Network Services, an industry leader in managed IP services that enable service providers to offer premium integrated communications, superior customer support and professional services and advanced subscriber and network management services to rural Telcos, today announced that they have become an authorized reseller of the Google Apps™ suite of communication and collaboration tools for the rural Internet Services Provider (ISP) Community.

NeoNova will integrate Google Apps – a cloud-based suite of email, calendar, IM, and collaboration tools – into their provisioning platform and comprehensive suite of managed services to new and existing ISPs in the rural Telecom market.  In addition to Google Apps, NeoNova will offer Postini, Google’s spam and virus protection service.

In early 2009, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a National Broadband Plan to ensure every American has “access to broadband capability.”  The National Broadband Plan lays out a bold roadmap to America’s future.  These initiatives will stimulate economic growth, spur job creation, and boost our capabilities in education, healthcare, homeland security and more.

The philosophy of the Broadband plan matches the mission of NeoNova—to bring Internet services to the under and un-served communities.  As an authorized reseller, NeoNova can provide best-of-breed services to affiliates; leveling the playing field for rural and tribal communities, areas often bypassed by larger carriers.

“As the market continues to grow and change, NeoNova strives to offer the best services to meet the needs of our affiliates.  We are proud that we can now offer rural and tribal Telcos the same benefits as over 25 million users currently using Google Apps,” said John Carlson, CEO of NeoNova.  ”Over 100 of NeoNova’s customers and future new ISPs can offload the infrastructure costs and the effort it takes to maintain an on-premises solution, and focus those savings on more strategic IT initiatives.”

Google Apps brings simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools to organizations of any size – all hosted by Google to streamline setup, minimize maintenance, and reduce IT costs.  With Gmail (including Google email security, powered by Postini), Google Calendar, and integrated IM, users can stay connected and work together with ease. And, using Google Docs and Google Sites, which include word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and website creation tools, they can share files and collaborate in real-time, keeping versions organized and available wherever and whenever users work. Google Apps is hosted on Google’s multi-tenant, Internet-scale infrastructure, which offers faster access to innovation, superior reliability and security, and maximum economies of scale.

“The combination NeoNova’s suite of products and services and Google Apps now makes it easy and secure for rural ISPs and tribal communities to offer their subscribers the latest versions of powerful applications, like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and other collaborative tools without having to worry about hosting, updating, or maintaining any of the services,” said Paul Slakey, Director of Enterprise Channels & Partnerships at Google.  ”NeoNova offers ISPs increased access control, customized branding and local support for the applications they offer to subscribers.”

We have been following Xactly for over 2 years and three things are now very apparent to us. First, small to large enterprise are rapidly shifting to an on-demand compensation solution to help them manage their salesforce compensation and secondly, Xactly is the clear on-demand SPM category leader with significant growth potential. In fact, every major SaaS company is using Xactly to manage their salesforce compensation.    Thirdly, Chris and his team, who came from this market, have executed very well and have a great vision for the company.

In addition, my Peoplesoft and Taleo operational background is a great fit for Chris and his management team.  We think collectively we can add a lot of value as an investor and reap the rewards.

SAN JOSE, CA – August 3, 2010 – Xactly Corporation, the leader in on-demand sales performance management (SPM), today announced it has secured $12 million in financing to further extend its customer and technology leadership in the SPM market. The round was led by Bridgescale Partners, with participation from existing investors Alloy Ventures, Bay Partners, Cheyenne Partners, Glynn Capital Management, Outlook Ventures, and Rembrandt Ventures. The round also included a strategic new investment from salesforce.com.

“Xactly continues to deliver stellar business results, while maintaining our unwavering commitment to both product and customer excellence,” said Christopher Cabrera, president and CEO, Xactly Corporation. “This continued support from our existing investors and the addition of new investment partners will enable us to extend our market leadership, fuel new customer adoption, and continue investment in our award-winning products.” In the first half of 2010, Xactly increased worldwide recognized revenues by more than 50 percent over the first half of 2009. In 2009, Xactly also increased worldwide recognized revenues by more than 50 percent over 2008 and nearly tripled its number of customers and subscribers.

“The corporate enterprise is rapidly adopting on-demand or SaaS based sales performance management solutions to get better operational efficiency from its sales teams,” said Rob Chaplinsky, managing director of Bridgescale Partners. “In five years, Xactly has not only paved the way for this market evolution, but the company is now the clear market leader in this high growth category of SPM software.”
“Xactly has grown rapidly by making customers successful with sales performance and incentive compensation management delivered via the cloud,” said Kendall Collins, chief marketing officer, salesforce.com. “We expect that Xactly will continue to enhance their leadership position by delivering new innovation, such as real-time collaboration capabilities, in their cloud offerings to further ensure customer success.”
The additional funding will enable Xactly to further capitalize on new market opportunities and continue its strong track-record of company growth and global customer excellence. The capital will also be used to continue investments in the company’s flagship Xactly Incent offering, the industry’s first 100-percent SaaS-based incentive compensation solution, and extended SPM product suite, including Xactly Analytics and Xactly Express, Xactly’s SPM offering to small to medium businesses that are ready to move from excel spreadsheets to a cost-effective SaaS solution.

Proofpoint, Inc. (http://www.proofpoint.com), a leading provider of SaaS email security, email archiving and data loss prevention solutions, achieved another record quarter.  While industry analysts believe the email security market is growing 8-10% per year, Proofpoint is growing 4-5 times that rate as the company continues to gain market share and cloud archiving becomes a larger part of their business.   Proofpoint is a clear beneficiary of  the enterprise shift to cloud computing.

Bridgescale is pleased to announce that Xactly received the coveted Stevie® Award for “Best Overall Company of the Year” for the 2010 American Business Awards. Xactly beat out eight other finalists to win the category. In 2007 & 2008, they won “Best New Company—Computer Hardware, Software & Services” and they were named a finalist in the “Best Overall Company of the Year” group in 2009.  This year Xactly was also a finalist in the “New Product of the Year” category.

To access the press release click here.

Dayforce has turned the workforce management paradigm on its head, delivering a workforce management platform that is lightening-fast and extremely intuitive to use. Dayforce takes a unique, ROI-based approach to the workforce management challenge that resonates with customers.
Corporate KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are at the core of Dayforce’s innovative model. Through these KPIs, Dayforce has pioneered a seamless connection between corporate performance and operational execution.
Built into the platform are analytic metrics that provide meaningful data that managers today demand.
Throughout the workforce management process, Dayforce users instantly understand the impact their decisions will have on corporate performance targets. This focus creates the ability to change work on the fly and create more accountability throughout the organization.
Dayforce integrates seamlessly with third-party systems in days, not weeks or months, eliminating many of the headaches of traditional on-premise software deployment.
Customers love the application because their deployments are either on schedule or ahead of schedule. Large, global companies have staked their workforce management on Dayforce. When asked why, they say Dayforce is the only vendor we looked at that drives 100 percent user adoption and that alone pays for the investment.
Dayforce has an amazing pipeline, brand recognition, and a huge market opportunity. It’s also developed a disruptive application that users actually want to use.
We are thrilled to be on their team.

Dayforce’s On-Demand Solution Offers Companies an Immediate Improvement in Operational Efficiency

Menlo Park, CA – July 8, 2010 – Dayforce (www.dayforce.com), a leading provider of on-demand workforce management solutions, announced today that the company has raised $10m lead by Bridgescale Partners.  The investment will be made in two stages with the first stage of $5m closing today and the remaining $5m expected to close within the month.  This brings the total investment to date in the company to over $20m. As part of this investment, Howard Gwin and Rob Chaplinsky of Bridgescale Partners will join Dayforce’s Board of Directors.  The investment will provide the necessary resources for Dayforce to rapidly grow its user base of industry-leading organizations.

“Bridgescale Partners’ investment is further validation of Dayforce’s position as the industry leader in Workforce Management,” said David Ossip, CEO and President of Dayforce.  “Our solution gives every decision maker in an organization the insight to understand corporate goals, the confidence to measurably improve business performance, and the power to make their company more profitable.”

“Dayforce has the first solution that I have seen that delivers the potential for full enterprise user adoption – the ‘holy grail’ for getting value from a SaaS product.  With Dayforce, workforce management moves from something I have to do to something that I want to do – and this makes the offering truly disruptive,” said Howard Gwin, Partner of Bridgescale and former EVP, Worldwide Operations at PeopleSoft. “Additionally, as a three-time repeat successful entrepreneur, David Ossip’s exceptional track record of building and leading high-growth companies was a strong factor in our investment decision,” Gwin added.

Dayforce bridges the real-world gap between workforce performance and enterprise performance. The solution helps organizations plan, deploy and track their workforce to corporate goals in a single application.

Dayforce’s proprietary technology allows the solution to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes, resulting in long-term, sustainable growth in a previously underserved market.  Dayforce has significant built-in functionality, works on any PC, and requires far less implementation services than competitors’ products to get up and running. Dayforce also integrates seamlessly with third-party systems with minimal effort and eliminates many of the headaches of traditional on-premise deployment.

About Dayforce

Dayforce offers a complete workforce management solution with functionality that includes time and attendance, labor scheduling, labor forecasting, labor budgeting, labor analytics, task management, human resources and employee self-service. The company has set itself apart from competitors with its vastly superior user experience, much faster application, and by providing significantly greater business value. For more information, please visit www.dayforce.com.

About Bridgescale Partners

Bridgescale Partners is a Menlo Park, California based growth equity firm providing expansion capital to U.S. and Canada-based, later-stage technology companies.  The investment team has more than 50+ years of venture capital experience investing in early- and later-stage technology companies.  Additionally, the team has invested in more than 100 technology companies in the software, security, digital media, Internet, and communication markets.  For more information, please visit www.bridgescale.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

• Lisa Tarter
• TidalWave PR for Bridgescale Partners
• Phone: 415 203 2462
• Email: Lisa@tidalwavepr.com

• Warren Perlman
• Dayforce
• Phone: 416 987 2987 x 2212
• Email: wperlman@dayforce.com

PALO ALTO, CA — June 29, 2010 — IMVU,  an online community where members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat,  create and play with their friends, today announced that the company has been selected as a 2010 Red Herring 100  North America Tech Startup. Now in its eleventh year, the program honors the leading  private companies from North America for technological innovation in their  respective industries.

“Choosing the companies with the strongest  potential was by no means a small feat,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of  Red Herring. “After rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list  down from hundreds of candidates from across North America to the Top 100  Winners. We believe IMVU embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define  a successful entrepreneurial venture. IMVU should be proud of its  accomplishment, as the competition was very strong.”

Red  Herring’s editorial staff evaluated the companies on both quantitative and qualitative  criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management  quality, strategy, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is  complemented by a review of the track record and standing of startups relative  to their sector peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the  list a valuable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the most promising new business models in North America.

“Being named a Red Herring 100 North American award winner is a real  honor for all of us at IMVU,” said Cary Rosenzweig, CEO of IMVU, Inc.  “We’re proud to be recognized alongside a very impressive list of some of  the most successful technology companies in recent history.“

About Red Herring and the Red Herring 100 North America Award

Red Herring is a global media company uniting  the world’s best high technology innovators, venture investors and business  decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine; an  online daily technology news service; technology newsletters, and major events  for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider’s  access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the  emerging technologies driving the economy. For more information visit www.redherring.com.

About IMVU, Inc.

IMVU Inc. is an online community where members use 3D avatars to  meet new people, chat, create and play with their friends. IMVU has reached 50  million registered users, 10 million unique visitors per month and a $40+  million annualized revenue run rate. IMVU has the world’s largest virtual goods  catalog of more than 4 million items, almost all of which are created by its  own members. Founded in 2004, IMVU is backed by venture investors Menlo  Ventures, Allegis Capital, Bridgescale Partners and Best Buy Capital and is  located in Palo Alto, CA. IMVU is hiring for many positions, log onto www.imvu.com/jobs for more information.

Click here to link to the full article.

June 25, 2010 – Dayforce, the workforce management company widely recognized as an innovation and usability leader, announced today it has been selected as a winner of Red Herring’s North America 100 award, a prestigious list honoring the year’s most promising private technology ventures in North America.

The Red Herring editorial team selected the most innovative companies from a pool of hundreds from across North America. The nominees are evaluated on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their respective industries.

“Dayforce and its clients continue to enjoy tremendous success and traction,” said David Ossip, Dayforce’s CEO.  “We are honored to have received this recognition, and look forward to continuing to change the workforce management industry.”

Unique Assessment of Potential

Winners of the 2010 edition of the Red Herring 100 North America award were selected based upon their technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition, and financial health. During the several months leading up to the announcement, hundreds of companies in the telecommunications, security, Web 2.0, software, hardware, biotech, and clean tech industries sent in their submissions to qualify for the award.

This unique assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the actual track record and standing of a company, which allows Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list an invaluable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.

“This year was especially difficult,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “Despite the global economic situation, there were many great companies producing really innovative and amazing products that we had a difficult time narrowing the pool.”

The Finalists were invited to present their winning strategies at the Red Herring North America Conference in San Diego, June 22-24, 2010. The Top 100 winners were announced at a special awards ceremony on June 24 at the event.