The cloud for your startup or personal life can probably be easily managed use a number of consumer friendly services that are readily available. Think Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, etc. However, what happens when you are in a regulated industry or security is of utmost concern. This is where NYC-based CTERA Networks shines. CTERA comes in when infrastructure management, data governance, privacy and security are a priority and they have built a modern and futuristic approach to cloud management to manage your needs. With clients such as T-Mobile, WPP, and 21st Century Media, CTERA is redefining the cloud for true enterprise level applications.
AlleyWatch spoke with Jeff Denworth about the company and the strides it is taking to differentiate itself in the crowded cloud management spectrum
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
This $25M funding round is an extension of a Series C round and was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with additional participation from Cisco and with Vintage Investment Partners joining as a new investor.
Tell us about your product or service.
CTERA enables enterprises to securely sync, share, protect and govern files from any device or remote office, all from the private or virtual private cloud of their choice. In essence, we solve 2 problems:
We enable organizations to modernize file services w/out the security compromises that public SaaS providers introduce
We uniquely bring a 2-tier cloud and gateway architecture to the table that enables CTERA to extend file services and data protection to the edge in cases where customers don’t have adequate access to the cloud.
What inspired you to start the company?
CTERA was founded by IT security veterans Liran Eshel & Zohar Kaufman, who in 2008 identified the transformation that cloud computing would bring to enterprise IT, and the challenges this transformation presented for infrastructure management, data governance, privacy and security. In 2008, the level of enterprise adoption of cloud was very low as we continued to build out and mature our platform. By 2016, 75% of enterprise organizations will have implemented a hybrid cloud strategy. As enterprises move to adopt cloud, they need the right balance of data services and a level of security and control that is superior to traditional ways of operating.
How is it different?
CTERA’s platform is the only solution to combine NAS, backup and enterprise file sync and share services, including secure collaboration with external and internal users as well as mobile access, into one integrated, cloud-enabled storage device for the enterprise.
CTERA uniquely accelerates cloud-based file sharing and data protection to edge of the network to enable office users to access files at LAN speeds and stay online and productive even when the WAN is not available. We are continually seeing more and more projects that combine CTERA cloud storage gateways with CTERA’s file sharing tools to build a natural and evolutionary bridge to workplace and infrastructure modernization (vs. a brute force approach).
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
Global enterprise and government organizations. These are massive markets, and our list of major customer deployments continues to grow: the U.S. Department of Defense, Santander, Live Nation, AXA, the State of Texas, the Carlyle Group… just to name a few.
Why isn’t every company already on the cloud?
Public cloud/SaaS solutions present challenges for highly secure enterprise and government organizations that cannot accept the risk of a third-party SaaS provider having access to their data.
Cloud-based file sharing solutions are reliant on reliable network connectivity; if the customer’s network goes down, so does their access to the service.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
While the market for content collaboration and business enablement is being dominated and commoditized by many of the world’s biggest productivity players (Microsoft, Google, Dropbox), data infrastructure modernization is just now emerging as a market segment that is challenging legacy IT players – CTERA is ready to take data infrastructure modernization mainstream, and that will be our focus for the near term.
What’s your business model?
We sell a Platform comprised of a series of file services and data protection products. Our cloud storage gateways are offered in both CapEx and OpEx pricing models, while our software, including our file sync and share licenses, endpoint and server backup licenses, and cloud management platform are offered via OpEx.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Today, CTERA’s platform powers well in excess of 30,000 businesses. Our core enterprise business is in a state of hyper-growth after increasing over 200% year over year. With this additional $25M, CTERA has in essence “powered up” its global organization at a time when evolving enterprise requirements are converging with CTERA’s product capabilities.
Where is your favorite fall destination in the city?
Central Park