Helping to build social collaboration and mobile connectivity through the cloud has helped Kitchener, ON-based IGLOO Software raise $5 million in funding and financing.
The investment will be used to accelerate product development and expand IGLOO's cloud collaboration services, as it continues to build its offerings in group collaboration, content moderation, security and gamification.
The Series B financing comes from RBC Venture Partners, which led the second round investment, with the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund (OETF) also participating.
It comes at the end of a successful 2011 for the company, during which it was named one of the fastest-growing software companies in Canada.
"It's been a breakout year for IGLOO, fuelled by the tremendous growth from three converging forces in the marketplace - social, mobile and cloud computing," said Dan Latendre, CEO of IGLOO Software. "Businesses are seeking to accelerate their investment across each of these areas, and IGLOO has become an on-ramp of sorts, as one of the first steps in adopting this new modern IT infrastructure."
During the year, IGLOO Software reported an 80 per cent increase in license revenue, with over 4,000 global collaboration sites and a 60 per cent growth in new enterprise customers, including companies like Cisco, Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, Deloitte and the ATP World Tour.
IGLOO also achieved success in developing and delivering Social Software in the Workplace (SSW) and Externally Facing Social Software (EFSS).
"Social networking for business has reached a watershed moment, with most companies either actively using or evaluating social technologies," said David Unsworth, board member and partner with RBC Venture Partners. "As a pure cloud solution that supports both internal and external collaboration, IGLOO is uniquely positioned to not only enable companies to get up and running quickly, but also scale their efforts as their social strategy matures."
RBC Venture Partners is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada.
The Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund (OETF) is a direct investment fund established by the Province of Ontario in 2009. The OETF assists in raising capital by innovative, private, Ontario-based companies in the clean technology, life sciences and advanced health technologies, and digital media and information and communications technology sectors. The Fund is managed by the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (OCGC), an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. OCGC has retained the services of Covington Capital Corporation and Northwater Capital Management Inc. to evaluate applications in relation to OETF.
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