U.K. data center startup Zeus Technology, which made its name selling Web server software in the 90s, today clinched $6 million in funding as it attempts to break into the U.S. traffic management market.
The financing, which follows a million-dollar round last February, was secured through Scottish Equity Partners and Cazenove Private Equity.
Steve Palmer, the companys vice president of marketing, told NDCF that the money will be used to drive sales of the Zeus Extensible Traffic Manager (ZXTM) software. Shipping since last April, ZXTM includes traffic management, application acceleration, XML processing, security, and SSL offload features. The company also took the wraps off an entry-level version of the software last week (see Zeus Expands ZXTM Family).
To support these products, the company will be expanding its 30-strong workforce. Were deep into the process of adding bodies, says Palmer. We expect to be 40 [strong] by the end of this year and maybe 50 or 60 by the end of next year. New hires will be split between software development and sales and marketing, he adds.
But, like many a startup, the company needs to boost its presence among OEMs and resellers. The Cambridge, U.K.-based firm has already racked up a number of reseller agreements, namely with Indus Corp. in the U.S. and, over in the U.K., with Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW). Zeus is now in OEM and reseller discussions with a number of vendors in California, says Palmer, and the company is looking to open up an office there.
