Kazeon Comes Out

Another startup focused on helping organizations with unstructured data storage has emerged from stealth. Kazeon Inc. says its out-of-band solution for identifying and organizing email, MP3 music files, image files, Excel charts, Office documents, and the like, is in beta testing with an unspecified number of companies and will be generally available by mid-2005.

Kazeon is one of a tiny number of companies focused on helping IT get a better handle on burgeoning data that can no longer be easily thrown away. Like StoredIQ, which announced its own plans in this area in January (see Deepfile Becomes StoredIQ), Kazeon will peer into the content of unstructured files and create searchable metadata that enables IT managers to locate what they need to save. The software will also feature automation capabilities, the company claims.

Details are sketchy. But according to VP of marketing Troy Toman (ex-Veritas), Kazeon will look to differentiate itself from StoredIQ and others by ease of implementation, scaleability, and document management applications. He also says Kazeon's solution will have no agents, implying that it will be an appliance-based solution like StoredIQ's.

The problem of managing unstructured data is being addressed by a range of larger companies, often as part of their information lifecycle management (ILM) wares. But firms like Kazeon and StoredIQ aim to get a jump on big players with products that offer detail, automation, and a range of management options that aren't tied to a specific platform. The newbies are also looking at expanding the range of applications beyond the basics. StoredIQ, for example, plans to start offering applications designed to search files for specific words linked to vertical industries such as healthcare.

The market should allow plenty of room for at least a handful of startups. According to Toman, analyst estimates for the percentage of unstructured data in most organizations ranges from 65 percent to 80 percent, and most see a market potential in excess of $1 billion.Kazeon was founded in 2003 by Sudhakar Muddu, formerly CEO of Sanera, which was acquired by McData Corp. (Nasdaq: MCDTA) for $102 million in 2003 (see McData Completes Sanera Acquisition). The company has $17 million in funding from Clearstone Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs & Co., and Redpoint Ventures. Toman says there are no current plans for more funding.

Though Kazeon developed its product mostly domestically at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, Toman says plans are underway to expand the team with an office in Bangalore, India.

Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch