Emerging Vendors 2014: Business Applications

These Emerging App Vendors Are All Business

CRN's annual Emerging Vendors list examines the hottest tech startups in multiple disciplines throughout the technology industry. And that includes business applications. Let's face it, you can have the fastest hardware in the industry or the biggest data storage system money can buy. But without applications, IT doesn't provide a lot of value. Here are some emerging vendors with business applications worth checking out, from ERP and marketing software, to apps for vertical industries like health care.

4Spires

Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO David Arella

This company's flagship product, CommitKeeper, is a Software-as-a-Service collaboration and work management tool designed to improve project coordination and accountability. CommitKeeper lets users create work requests and negotiate delivery agreements, while tracking projects all the way through delivery.

Bigcommerce

Austin, Texas

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Eddie Machaalani

Targeting small retailers looking to start ecommerce storefronts, Bigcommerce provides a Software-as-a-Service platform that includes hosted tools for establishing a website and domain name and creating a product catalog; secure shopping cart, payment gateway and email account software; and marketing and reporting tools.

Centrix Software

Newbury, U.K.

Top Executive: CEO Lisa Hammond

Centrix Software's WorkSpace iQ software helps businesses understand what applications employees have on which devices and how those applications are used. The vendor's WorkSpace Universal software provides a single interface to multiple legacy, physical, virtual and cloud applications.

ChannelIQ

Chicago Heights, Ill.

Top Executive: CEO Wes Shepard

Channel IQ provides online price monitoring, online retail intelligence, brand protection and channel management applications used by retailers and manufacturers to manage their ecommerce activity. In late 2013, the company received $12 million in venture funding from Drive Capital.

Circle Internet Financial

Boston

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire

Founded by noted Boston-area entrepreneur Jeremy Allaire, Circle develops financial management and transaction-processing applications for digital currencies such as BitCoin. The company closed on $17 million in Series B financing in March.

ClearSlide

San Francisco

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Al Lieb

ClearSlide develops a sales engagement platform that helps sales teams communicate with customers and close more business. The software helps sales representatives track and analyze their web, email and in-person communications with customers and prospects.

Cloudability

Portland, Ore.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Mat Ellis

Cloudability develops financial management tools for monitoring and analyzing cloud computing expenses across an organization. The apps bring transparency to spending on cloud resources, helping organizations derive the most value from those resources and reducing spending where possible.

Convercent

Denver

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Patrick Quinlan

Convercent develops cloud-based integrated ethics and compliance applications that help businesses comply with industry regulations, conduct employee training and manage human resources initiatives.

Entando

Towson, Md.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Alexander Orlando

Entando's Java-based software helps businesses quickly build enterprise portals and web applications. Enterprise portals built using the company's development tools can consolidate multiple types of data into a single interface to provide quick access to critical resources from a single launching point.

FinancialForce.com

San Francisco

Top Executive: President and CEO Jeremy Roche

FinancialForce.com delivers cloud ERP applications on the Salesforce1 platform. Its Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Professional Services Automation and Supply Chain Management applications help businesses streamline front-to-back office capabilities.

Igloo Software

Kitchener, Ont.

Top Executive: CEO Dan Latendre

Igloo Software develops social software for work collaboration and building online communities. The digital workplace provides a way to share files, locate information and expertise, and tap into the collective knowledge of employees, partners and customers.

Integrate

Scottsdale, Ariz.

Top Executive: CEO Jeremy Bloom

Integrate develops a cloud-based marketing software platform for acquiring new customers. Its applications, including campaign management, cross-channel marketing, vertical marketing, lead validation and realtime analytics applications, help businesses integrate prospect data with sales systems.

iSpecimen

Lexington, Mass.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Christopher Ianelli

iSpecimen’s software links information about health-care specimens at hospitals and laboratories with electronic medical records to create customized, annotated specimens for researchers. The company’s technology is made up of three features: Patient Cohort Selection, Medical and Lab Records Search, and Biospecimen Processing and Delivery.

KleerMail

Boston

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Chris Nolan

KleerMail allows users to manage direct mail campaigns from an automated Software-as-a-Service platform. The product lets teams review budgets and market data, as well as collaborate on projects. It also lowers direct mail costs and speeds time-to-market.

Kryuus

Boston

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Graham Gardner

Founded by a group of physicians and technologists, Kryuus develops software that hospitals and health-care organizations use to integrate massive amounts of information to help health-care providers improve patient access, referral management and care coordination.

Leapfactor

Miami

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Lionel Carrasc

Leapfactor offers an enterprise-class mobility platform that businesses use to make any application available to employees, customers and partners through their mobile devices. The cloud-based system integrates with back-end systems, extracts data and securely delivers it to mobile devices.

NextPrinciples

Milpitas, Calif.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Satya Krishnaswamy

NextPrinciples develops social marketing and engagement automation applications that help businesses identify, analyze, score and nurture sales leads. In April, the company said its first-quarter revenue grew 93 percent year-over-year.

Salsify

Boston

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Jason Purcell

Salsify develops cloud-based product content management applications that manufacturers, distributors and retailers use to create, manage and distribute product information, including product specifications and images, needed for e-commerce.

SecondLook Solutions

East Rockaway, N.Y.

Top Executive: CEO Ron Caroff

SecondLook develops document management applications for the legal profession, which deliver digital document services that help clients search, organize and retrieve information in documents from anywhere at any time.

Simplee

Palo Alto, Calif.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Tomer Shoval

Simplee develops the SimpleePAY patient billing and payment application platform used by health-care providers to reduce collection costs and improve patient satisfaction.

Strevus

San Francisco

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Ken Hoang

Strevus develops the Strevus Compliance Lifecycle Management applications that help financial services companies comply with government regulations. The software is used to gather, track and report information between financial company co-workers, clients and regulatory agencies.

TaxJar

San Diego

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Mark Faggiano

TaxJar develops cloud-based applications used by small online businesses to track sales tax collections and payments.

Vartopia

Jackson, Wyo.

Top Executive: CEO Michael Reilly

Vartopia provides applications for the IT channel designed to help maximize the value of channel incentive programs for all stakeholders. IT vendors, distributors, resellers and solution providers use the company's Vartopia Universe software, including the Vartopia Galaxy multivendor deal registration system, and Galaxy View reporting and analytics software.

Voalte

Sarasota, Fla.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Trey Lauderdale

Voalte develops mobile communications technology for the health-care industry. Its software connects caregivers inside a hospital with each other and with electronic health-care records, as well as connecting via secure texting caregivers inside and outside a hospital facility.

Workboard

Redwood City, Calif.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Deidre Paknad

Workboard is developing Web applications that team leaders use to track progress toward goals, enhance accountability and improve productivity. The company just this month debuted its flagship application that ties together goals, action items, employee feedback and status reports.