SkyKick Accepts $40 Million In New Funding, Plans Expanded Product R&D

SkyKick this week received an infusion of $40 million in funding that will help the developer of cloud migration and backup solutions further expand a product portfolio relied on by thousands of Microsoft partners.

Current investors, none of whom are venture capital firms, came back for the latest round, which brought SkyKick's total funding to $65 million, Todd Schwartz, SkyKick's co-founder and co-CEO, told CRN.

Those investors, including author Tim Ferris and former German defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, remain in sync with the company's long-term strategic outlook for developing the business in the coming years, Schwartz said.

[Related: SkyKick Revamps Office 365 Migration And Backup Suites]

SkyKick, which offers cloud management tools popular with Microsoft-aligned solution providers, will primarily use the latest funding to build out a broader portfolio of capabilities, Schwartz said, though the company isn't disclosing specific products under development.

"We're getting demand for a lot of new things," he told CRN. "We want to make sure as partners think about the platform they're betting on, making platform choices, we continue to innovate."

The money will also further investments in partner management and partner success, business development and marketing.

Evan Richman, SkyKick's other founder and co-CEO, said the company's channel has swelled in recent years, and now includes some 20,000 service partners.

Those solution providers want "a strategic partner that they feel they can rely on as they're making their bets as to how to build their business in the cloud," said Richman.

While partners are bullish on the potential of the cloud, they are looking to formulate plans as to how differentiate their practices, Richman said.

SkyKick launched in 2011 with its platform for facilitating Microsoft Office 365 migrations. It later added a backup service.

Last year, it revamped both those core products based on recommendations from partners who wanted more control over, and visibility into, their projects.

Mark Allison, owner of LAN Solutions, a Calgary-based Microsoft Office 365 reseller, said SkyKick's products and partner-friendly business model have helped his business grow a customer base in the cloud in recent years.

"With the new funding, I am looking forward to even more innovation in products and programs that accelerates the success of IT partners," Allison said.