BlueArc Lands $29M VC Shot in the Arm

High-end network storage hardware/software maker BlueArc revealed June 6 that it has landed $29 million in equity financing, led by new investor Morgenthaler Ventures and including financial support from existing BlueArc investors and new investors Chevron Technology Ventures and Wasatch Advisors.

This funding will enable BlueArc, of San Jose, Calif., to expand its field sales and services team throughout North America and Europe "to help meet growing demand for the companys products," said Steve Daheb, BlueArc vice president, marketing and business development.

"The market is coming to us in an intense way," Daheb told eWEEK.

Resource Library:

"We dont know that there are many people deleting files to save money; storage demand is going nowhere but up, and fast. We will use this [investment] to increase the companys presence and reach to deliver [our products] to a broader customer base."

BlueArc recently concluded its most successful quarter to date, delivering year-on-year revenue growth exceeding 150 percent, accelerated by the February 2006 introduction of the companys Titan 2000 series of storage systems, Daheb said.

During the quarter, which concluded April 30, BlueArc secured a record number of new customers across a variety of industries, including Internet services, life sciences, entertainment, oil and gas, and the federal government, as well as significant traction in enterprise accounts focused on server consolidation and database.

New customers, including Chevron, eMag Solutions, Media Temple, OnSite E-Discovery and others, accounted for 66 percent of revenue during this quarter, while the companys installed base continued to invest in additional BlueArc solutions.

BlueArc has one of the most compelling, high performance and feature-rich NAS solutions in the market today, said Tony Asaro, senior analyst for the Enterprise Strategy Group.

Click here to read about BlueArcs upgraded Titan storage systems.

Asaro mentioned that the BlueArc Titan is one of the few storage systems that provides a solution for corporate customers for database, e-mail and file server consolidation and at the same time is well-suited for high performance computing environments.

"The additional funding for BlueArc will enable them to extend their reach and get in front of more customers," Asaro said. "You need to be in it to win, as they say, and this funding allows BlueArc to be in more deals, and that is what its all about."

BlueArc, founded in 1998, has not yet been profitable, but president and CEO Mike Gustafson told eWEEK that this round of funding—and the impending sales and marketing support it will bring—"will definitely drive us into the black very soon."

Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis on enterprise and small business storage hardware and software.