Daniel Saks and Nicolas Desmarais, the two Canadian cofounders behind Silicon Valley-based startup AppDirect, have secured a series B financing round of $9 million, led by iNovia Capital. The pair has also announced the acquisition of Boulder, Colorado-based startup Standing Cloud.
AppDirect helps small and medium-sized businesses to adopt cloud-based solutions. The company’s award-winning platform has connected 12 million businesses, brands, and developers thus far through a global network of partner marketplaces.
The expanding global cloud computing market is predicted to grow to $241 billion by 2020 and the company’s Series B should help it to continue its rapid growth. iNovia Capital’s Chris Arsenault said his fund invested in AppDirect because the team has shown a record for execution. “With the Standing Cloud acquisition, AppDirect will accelerate its already amazing growth and cloud service marketplace leadership,” said Arsenault.
The acquired Standing Cloud, meanwhile, is a leading provider of cloud management services. These services include automated software packaging and orchestration that enable fast, seamless application deployment and management.
Saks, the cousin of BetaKit guest blogger Ilan Saks, said that both App Direct and Standing Cloud have worked on solutions that make the cloud easier to use. “With this acquisition, we can join forces to accelerate the speed of innovation and move faster than ever before,” he said. “We’re thrilled to work with a team that’s as excited about cloud services technology as we are.”
Together, AppDirect and Standing Cloud can now provide a cloud marketplace and management solution that “offers more features and functionalities than any other competitor, technology that can be used by almost any provider for any type of use case,” from public app marketplaces to internal enterprise application stores.
Founded in 2009, Standing Cloud has deployed services with a range of cloud partners, including Amazon, Rackspace, Savvis, IBM, and others. Its catalog of integrated software features more than 100 applications, including Drupal, Magento, SugarCRM, and WordPress. The company has received $10 million in funding, completing its Series B round in late 2010. Standing Cloud will continue to be based in Boulder.
“From day one, we’ve been impressed with AppDirect’s technology and the passion of its team,” said Standing Cloud’s Leslie Osborne. “AppDirect clearly shares our vision for making cloud technologies more accessible and easier to use, and we’re looking forward to all of the great things we can achieve together.”