Spiceworks Closes $57 Million Funding Round to Accelerate Growth of Professional Network for IT

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Feb 4, 2014) - Spiceworks, the professional network for IT, today announced it has closed a $57 million Series E round of funding led by Goldman Sachs with participation from existing investors. The Series E funding will help Spiceworks expand its global network of IT professionals and technology brands while transforming how IT products are marketed, sold and managed in the $3 trillion IT industry. Spiceworks has raised a total of $111 million through five rounds of funding, and the company has named David Campbell, managing director in Goldman Sachs' Merchant Banking Division, to its board of directors.

"Spiceworks has reached the tipping point all high-growth, successful social and professional networks experience as they evolve to reshape how we do business," said Scott Abel, co-founder and CEO of Spiceworks. "As the professional network for IT, we have a unique opportunity to connect IT professionals and technology companies in entirely new ways. By coupling the best professional networks have to offer with tools and resources IT professionals and marketers need to do their jobs, we're excited to reinvent a multi-trillion dollar industry."

Spiceworks Changes How Technology Brands and IT Professionals Do Business

More than 5 million IT professionals and over 3,000 of the world's leading technology brands use Spiceworks to connect with one another, learn about the latest technologies, and do their jobs more efficiently. Spiceworks is used by IT professionals in more than 200 countries to manage 170 million hardware devices and more than 10 billion traditional and cloud-based application installations. Collectively, IT professionals in Spiceworks spend more than $525 billion on technology products and services each year.

The latest funding round will help Spiceworks accelerate the growth of the professional network for IT by:

• Introducing a new technology platform and app store to give IT professionals the tools they need to manage their entire technology environment from Spiceworks. By coupling the platform with new APIs, Spiceworks will simplify how technology brands, independent developers and even Spiceworks users integrate new free and for-fee applications into a single pane of glass.
• Developing new applications, content, and the engaged community IT professionals need to be successful in their jobs. Spiceworks will also introduce new resources IT professionals can use to advance their careers or find their next opportunity.
• Reinventing the IT marketing and sales process by using Spiceworks' unique insight into how IT professionals research, buy and manage technology solutions. Spiceworks will develop new tools to help IT professionals and technology brands stay connected through the entire purchase process and as new technologies are bought, deployed and managed. As these tools are rolled out, Spiceworks will continue to help brands adapt and reach their customers and prospects in new, more engaging ways.

"The emergence of professional networks like Spiceworks represents the next wave of social innovation," said David Campbell of Goldman Sachs. "Spiceworks has a unique platform for technology brands to directly access a rapidly-growing, critical, and underserved market of IT professionals that commands over $525 billion of spend today."

About Spiceworks
Spiceworks is the professional network for IT more than 5 million IT professionals use to connect with one another and over 3,000 technology brands. The company simplifies how IT professionals discover, buy and manage more than $525 billion in technology products and services each year. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Spiceworks is backed by Adams Street Partners, Austin Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Goldman Sachs, Shasta Ventures and Tenaya Capital. For more information visit http://www.spiceworks.com

Follow Spiceworks on Twitter: http://twitter.com/spiceworks and connect with Spiceworks on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Spiceworks.

Spiceworks is a registered trademark of Spiceworks, Inc. All other names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.