Volantis
Systems announced funding of US $11m from Accel Partners and existing
investors Kennet Venture Partners and Softbank Europe Ventures. Kaj-Erik
Relander will join the Board of Volantis Systems as a result of the
Accel investment.
Volantis, one of the first companies to offer a multi-channel web solution and who recently announced deals with Hutchison 3G (recently re-branded as 3) and Telefónica Móviles, will use the investment to extend its market leadership through increased research and development and geographic spread to ensure the scalability is in place to match the huge demand forecasted for multi-channel solutions within the telecommunications and enterprise market places.
Responding
to the needs of companies looking to reach customers over the growing
number of connected devices and networks (mobile handsets, PDAs, iTV
etc), Volantis' Mariner software intelligently targets, personalises
and optimises the presentation and behaviour of web applications according
to the device being used to access it. The technology eliminates the
need for organisations to continuously invest in their web strategies
as new devices are introduced onto the market.
Terry Davies, CEO of Volantis, commented: "Like any fundamental
shift in technology, multi-channel web infrastructures represent both
an opportunity and a risk to business. An opportunity because it provides
businesses, such as banks, enterprises and other service providers,
with a means of extending customer reach and allowing customers to chose
how they interact with a service, and a risk because of the potential
costs required to support these new channels and devices.
"Volantis
Mariner has removed this layer of complexity by offering a capability
to support new devices as they are released, delivering tailored content
from one central web application."
"Seamless delivery of content and applications in a wireless, multi-channel
environment is becoming an increasingly important issue for wireless
carriers and enterprises alike. Volantis's breadth and depth of technology,
combined with a demonstrated delivery capability, leaves them uniquely
placed to lead the market in this area", said Kaj-Erik Relander,
General Partner, Accel Partners.
David
Carratt, managing director of Kennet Venture Partners said, "Volantis
has made exceptional progress over the past two years since Kennet's
first investment. The acceptance of its main product by industry leaders
in the wireless operator market and the compelling logic of developing
a multi-device solution continue to convince us of Volantis' value proposition.
Clearly, as businesses "extend the enterprise" to mobile devices,
Volantis Systems' multi-device enabling solutions will be in great demand."
The company's customers include Hutchison 3G (3), where Volantis' flagship
solution, Mariner, will manage the packaging of Hutchison's 3G (3) services
and their delivery over multiple device types and Telefónica
Móviles, who has integrated Volantis' technology as the delivery
platform for its multi-access customer portal. The portal hosts Telefónica
Móviles' messaging and mobile internet services such as e-mail,
chat, m-commerce, downloads and games. Volantis will be announcing further
customers from both the telco and enterprise markets over the next few
months.
"This investment represents a key stage in the development of the company. We believe we are about to enter the age of the 'multi-touchpoint' customer, where a single consumer will expect to interact with a service provider using both traditional channels and an increasing variety of internet-capable devices. Considering the current, harsh market for investment, we see the investment from our venture partners as true endorsement for our commercial proposition and look forward to supporting those customers looking to leverage this important shift in the way we do business," adds Terry Davies.
Volantis, which was formed in 2000, achieved first round funding of approximately $3 million from Kennet Capital in July 2000. Second round funding of $ 9 million was secured in March 2001 from Softbank Europe Ventures and Kennet Capital.
