Robert Roe discusses the announcement that Bright Computing has secured $14.5 million in financing to continue investing in its cluster management software.
The new investment will allow Bright to focus on the emerging Hadoop and OpenStack ecosystems, both open source frameworks for distributed computing architectures, have been succesful in recent years. With some large companies including Facebook and Amazon using Hadoop in particular adapting Bright Cluster Manager to these platforms could significantly increase Bright Computing's users base, providing new customers in emerging markets.
The company expects to extend its channel by adding partners around the world, and providing higher levels of support to direct enterprise accounts.
Alexander Ribbink, partner at Prime Ventures said: ‘Data analysis has become the lifeblood of modern business, but it can be complex and challenging for corporations to manage. Using Bright Cluster Manager to manage clouds, clusters and data infrastructure can turn this challenge into a strategic advantage.'
The investment, co-led by DFJ and DFJ Esprit with participation from Prime Ventures and existing investor ING Corporate Investments. As part of the funding round, DFJ Partner Bill Bryant, Prime Ventures Partner Alexander Ribbink, DFJ Esprit Partner Richard Marsh, and ING CISO Rob Bening will be joining Bright’s board of directors.
Bill Bryant, DFJ Partner said: ‘Bright Computing is bringing to the rest of us the sophistication of Google or Amazon in how they manage their compute clusters and data centers. They deliver the same capabilities in automating and simplifying the management of clusters for any workload. Bright manages many of the world’s most complex environments in technology, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, government labs, universities and financial services. With support now for Hadoop and OpenStack, the company has an enormous opportunity.’
‘From its European origins, Bright has established itself in the US and as the market leader in this important and rapidly growing sector,’ said Richard Marsh, DFJ Esprit.
‘This financing round marks a new milestone in the already impressive track record of Bright Computing,’ said Jan Willem Nieuwenhuize, director at ING Corporate Investments. ‘We are pleased with the exponential growth that Bright exhibited over the recent years and we expect this to continue, based on the many opportunities that Bright can develop on the basis of this financing round.’
‘We’re proud and excited to have such prestigious investors join the company,’ said Dr Matthijs van Leeuwen, CEO and founder of Bright Computing. ‘I’m looking forward to working with our new board members, drawing on their experience as we enter the next phase of growth.’
Robert Roe is technical writer for Scientific Computing World
