Last we heard from SkyGiraffe, a platform to extend enterprise systems with mobile devices, it had raised a seed round from Angels (including Parker Thompson, a partner at 500 Startups) back in May. Today it announces it has taken a strategic investment from Microsoft Ventures. Terms were not disclosed but we understand from sources that the investment is more about strategy than injecting large amounts of cash. Because SkyGiraffe has key integrations with Microsoft technologies, this will give it significant distribution, and presumably, way more traction than if it was out there on its own.
The company was started by and Itay Braun, VP R&D, and Boaz Hecht, CEO. The latter says they make it “easy for businesses to perform” on mobile. How it works is this: An IT manager downloads the client, installs SkyGiraffe Studio and then selects the back-end and data source to connect. IT can then define security access and other IT policies. Inside 30 minutes they say an enterprise can provide employees with secure access to on-premise data from several backend systems. Thus, any Oracle or MS SQL DBA can build a mobile app that reads and writes from tables/views and stored procedures within a few minutes.
In practical terms that means the ability to read and write-back live data to the company’s systems, both ERP and CRM. Normally this would require either a big system integration project or hiring dedicated developers – but with their platform they say it’s a very simple integration. The native apps are built for both iOS and Android devices so implementation and compatibility issues don’t really figure. Technically speaking, it’s biggest competitors are Capriza and IBM Worklight.
SkyGiraffe’s platform provides secure access to live data, such as sales, finance, inventory, and operational information through a customizable mobile platform that can be implemented across an organisation.
Rahul Sood, General Manager of Microsoft Ventures says the investment means SkyGiraffe is a “great example of talented founders that have utilized Microsoft’s programs for startups to increase their opportunity to succeed.”
SkyGiraffe started their relationship with Microsoft through the BizSpark program and later were accepted into the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Israel.
Enterprise companies can request an invite via their site, which is in private beta.