Spiceworks

Spiceworks
Private
Industry Computer software
Founded 2006
Headquarters Austin, Texas, United States
Products Spiceworks IT Desktop
Website www.spiceworks.com

Spiceworks is a professional network for the information technology (IT) industry that is headquartered in Austin, Texas.[1][2][3] The company was founded in January 2006 by Scott Abel, Jay Hallberg, Greg Kattawar, and Francis Sullivan to build IT management software.[2][4]

Spiceworks is an online community where users can collaborate and seek advice from one another and also engage in a marketplace to purchase IT-related services and products.[5] The network is estimated to be used by more than six million IT professionals and 3,000 technology vendors.[6]

The company's free proprietary software is written in Ruby on Rails,[7] and runs exclusively on Microsoft Windows.[8] The software discovers IP-addressable devices and includes help desk functionality and an integrated knowledge base.[9]

History

In 2005, Scott Abel, Jay Hallberg, Greg Kattawar and Francis Sullivan began discussing ways to build a social network for IT professionals where users could help one another solve common tech problems.[3] The four men were former executives at Motive, an Austin-based broadband and data management company that was acquired by Alcatel-Lucent in 2008.[10] They formed Spiceworks in January 2006.[4][11]

The company received $5 million in venture funding from Austin Ventures in June 2006.[12] The following month, Spiceworks publicly released a beta version of its platform.[12] The beta release followed a closed alpha test of the platform, which included 200 users.[4] The 1.0 version of Spiceworks was released in November 2006.[13] The focus of Spiceworks 1.0 was simplifying the process of taking inventory, monitoring networks, and generating reports for IT professionals at small and medium sized businesses.[4][12] By the end of its first year, Spiceworks had 120,000 users.[14]

Spiceworks received its second round of venture funding in August 2007.[15] The funding round was led by Shasta Ventures and included Austin Ventures.[15] The company released the 2.0 version of its software in December of that year.[16]

Spiceworks 3.0 was released in April 2008.[17] The company hosted its first conference for Spiceworks users in October 2008.[11] The conference, named SpiceWorld, was held at the Alamo Drafthouse.[18] The company released Spiceworks 4.0 in June 2009.[19]

The company completed its third funding round in January 2010. The round was led by Institutional Venture Partners and also included Shasta Ventures and Austin Ventures.[20] Later that year, Spiceworks 5.0 was released.[21] In April 2011, Spiceworks raised $25 million in a venture funding.[22] This funding round, the company's fourth, included investments from Adams Street Partners and Tenaya Capital.[22]

The first international SpiceWorld conference was held in London, England in May 2012.[23] Spiceworks 6.0 was released in July.[24] The company also opened its European headquarters in London, England in 2012.[25]

Spiceworks released version 7.0 of its software in September 2013.[26] In February 2014, the company announced a series E financing round worth $57 million led by Goldman Sachs.[5][25]

Spiceworks released version 1.0 of its free Network Monitor product in December 2014.[27]

Funding and business model

The company received $5 million in series A funding from Austin Ventures in June 2006.[12] Spiceworks' series B funding round was completed in August 2007 and included $8 million from Shasta Ventures and Austin Ventures.[15] The company's $18 million series C funding round was secured in January 2010 and was headed by Institutional Venture Partners.[20] In April 2011, Spiceworks closed $25 million in series D funding from Adams Street Partners and Tenaya Capital.[22] The company followed up with a 2014 series E financing round worth $57 million and led by Goldman Sachs.[5]

Spiceworks offers its professional network and software free to users.[1][11][28] The company generates most of its revenue through the sale of ads displayed on its network.[1] A small percentage of its revenue is generated through purchases of IT products and services that Spiceworks users make through the Spiceworks platform.[5] The Spiceworks platform also includes premium features, which are available for purchase.[5]

SpiceWorld

Spiceworks has hosted SpiceWorld, a conference for its users, every year since 2008.[11][18] The conference was originally held at the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater.[18] The conference later moved to the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center at the University of Texas. SpiceWorld 2013 and 2014 were held at the Austin Convention Center.[18][29] The first SpiceWorld London took place in May 2012 in Vinopolis in London's Bankside.[23]

Awards and recognition

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hawkins, Lori (4 February 2014). "Austin firm gets big boost: Tech firm gets new backers". Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX).
  2. 1 2 Ben Pimentel (10 February 2014). "Introducing Spiceworks: A social network for techies, IT professionals". MarketWatch. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 AMY MCCULLOUGH (3 February 2014). "Spiceworks Pioneers the Social Way to Do IT and Gets $57 Million Funding". Silicon Hills. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Denise Dubie (21 July 2006). "Start-up offers free management tool - with a Google twist". Network World. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Eric Blattberg (3 February 2014). "Spiceworks scores $57M to reach the next 5 million IT pros". VentureBeat. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Ken Hess (September 29, 2014). "It's unanimous: The Spiceworks App Center is a hit". ZDNet. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ Justin James (4 December 2006). "Spiceworks: Rapid Ruby, Customer Focus, and Starting a Company". Tech Republic.
  8. ↑ "Welcome to the Spiceworks Community: Spiceworks Requirements". Spiceworks.
  9. ↑ How the scan works "Welcome to the Spiceworks Community: Help and Documentation" Check |url= value (help). Spiceworks.
  10. ↑ Klint Finley (5 November 2012). "Spiceworks Woos IT Admins With Free Everything". Wired. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Susanna Hamner (5 March 2009). "Reaching Tech Folks on Their Turf". New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Thomas Claburn (25 July 2006). "Spiceworks Introduces Free, Ad-Supported IT Management Software". UBM Tech, InformationWeek. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Spiceworks Launches Version 1.0 of Free IT Management Software for Small and Medium Businesses". Business Wire. 6 November 2006.
  14. ↑ Ladendorf, Kirk (28 August 2007). "Austin firm Spiceworks raises $8 million in venture funds". Austin American-Statesman.
  15. 1 2 3 Nick Gonzalez (27 August 2007). "SpiceWorks Raises $8 Million; Google Adsense Even Supports IT Software". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Spiceworks 2.0". Unofficial Spiceworks. December 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  17. ↑ Dave Bailey (29 Apr 2008). "Spiceworks 3.0 gets SaaS-y". Incisive Media Investments, computing. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Christopher Calnan (30 October 2013). "Spiceworks' global influence on display at SpiceWorld in Austin". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  19. ↑ Fredric Paul (16 June 2009). "Spiceworks 4.0 Adds Visual Mapping, Twitter, And More". UBM Tech, InformationWeek. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  20. 1 2 Leena Rao (11 January 2010). "Spiceworks Is Becoming The Facebook For IT Managers; Raises $16 Million Series C". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Bryan Menell (18 October 2010). "Spiceworks Launches 5.0". Austin Startup. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  22. 1 2 3 Christopher Calnan (28 April 2011). "Spiceworks snags $25M to expand network". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  23. 1 2 Sophie Curtis (1 December 2011). "Spiceworks to open European headquarters in London". Tech World. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  24. ↑ Nathan Eddy (24 July 2012). "Spiceworks 6 Adds IT Knowledge Base for SMBs". The Var Guy. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  25. 1 2 Rushton, Katherine (4 February 2014). "Facebook for IT staff' raises $57m ahead of possible IPO; Spiceworks to invest in increasing its audience from 5m users every month, before embarking on the likely flotation". Telegraph.
  26. ↑ "Spiceworks 7.0 Release Notes". Spiceworks. 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  27. ↑ Adrian Bridgwater (December 17, 2014). "Spiceworks free Network Monitor system health check". Computer Weekly. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  28. ↑ VAUHINI VARA (27 March 2007). "Companies Tolerate Ads to Get Free Software". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  29. ↑ Susan Lahey (September 25, 2014). "SpiceWorld App Center Announced at Austin Conference". Silicon Hills. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  30. ↑ Spiceworks 1.5 on PCmag.com
  31. ↑ Spiceworks named IT Solution of the Year - AllBusiness.com
  32. ↑ Spiceworks wins AlwaysOn OnMedia Top 100 Award - TMCNet
  33. ↑ Spiceworks Selected by AlwaysOn as AO Global 250 Winner - BusinessWire
  34. ↑ Spiceworks Named InformationWeek Startup 50 Company - CloudComputing.sys-con.com
  35. ↑ Spiceworks Named “Top 10 B-to-B Web Site” by BtoB Magazine - Social Media Portal
  36. ↑ Spiceworks Named Best Vertical Market Business Content Solution - BusinessWire
  37. ↑ Spiceworks wins prestigious social media award for energizing IT professionals worldwide - Fresh News
  38. ↑ Lead411 launches "Hottest Texas Companies" awards - Lead411.com
  39. ↑ Spiceworks 5.0 Named Top Networking & Communications Software of the Year - BusinessWire
  40. ↑ Spiceworks Wins Six Windows IT Pro Editors’ Best and Community Choice Awards - CompareHelpDesk
  41. ↑ Spiceworks Wins WOMMY Award for energizing users - Fresh News
  42. ↑ Winners of the 2010 Forrester Groundswell Awards (B2B) - Forrester Empowered blog
  43. ↑ Techworld 2011 Winners
  44. ↑ Spiceworks ranked No. 1 small employer by Austin American-Statesman
  45. ↑ "Top Workplaces 2013". Cox Media Group, Statesman.com. 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2014.

External links

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