ClearSky Data Raises $27 Million for Enterprise Storage Service

ClearSky Data, a start-up based in Boston, announced $27 million in a Series B funding for its a global storage network

ClearSky's global storage network manages the entire data lifecycle, combining the performance and availability of local enterprise storage with the scalability and economics of the cloud. ClearSky’s fully managed service automatically caches data across a network of geographically distributed layers, making data available to enterprise users where and when it’s needed.  The service combines primary storage, backup and disaster recovery with on-demand scaling and agility. It automatically caches data – moving cold data to the cloud, keeping warm data in metro-based PoPs within 120 miles of customers, and storing a small portion of hot data on-premises.

The funding round was led by Polaris Partners, with a strategic investment from Akamai Technologies. Previous investors General Catalyst and Highland Capital Partners also participated in the funding. This brings total investment in the company to $39 million.

“Managing primary storage is a huge and poorly served challenge in the enterprise infrastructure market. Legacy systems have failed to address customer needs and no one has figured out how to leverage the economics and agility of the cloud – until now. ClearSky has addressed this challenge head-on, creating a breakthrough software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering for primary storage,” said Dave Barrett, managing partner of Polaris Partners. “We’ve entered the next generation of the enterprise and ClearSky has a great opportunity to build the next major infrastructure company.”

Andy Champagne, vice president and chief technology officer, Akamai Labs at Akamai Technologies said, “ClearSky’s global storage network is the way for enterprises to move their data to the cloud—with the security, performance and availability they need to succeed. At Akamai, we know firsthand how to build a global network that meets the stringent requirements of enterprise customers, and we look forward to working with the ClearSky team to help customers worldwide as they adopt this new approach to enterprise storage.”

http://www.clearskydata.com/