CloudLock, in Cloud Security, Raises $16.5 Million Series C Round

CloudLock, Inc., a cloud data security company, announced raised $16.5 million in a Series C funding round from new investor Bessemer Venture Partners, and participation of existing investors Cedar Fund, and Ascent Venture Partners.

In 2013, CloudLock experienced another consecutive year of growth in helping enterprises of all size and in all verticals overcome their security obstacles to cloud adoption, across multiple cloud platforms like Google Apps and Salesforce. Its people-centric security automation approach, with a SaaS content-aware and policy-based solution, allows customers to enforce their own security, governance, and compliance requirements, on their data and users in the cloud, without diminishing the functionality of the platforms they protect or disrupting the end-user experience.

“As corporate data begins to live on the cloud, the question of managing and securing data has become one of paramount concern. IT departments now struggle to gain the visibility and control they had when data and applications lived on-premise. That’s where CloudLock comes in,” said Bob Goodman, partner, Bessemer Venture Partners. “We think they have the right product at the right time and the right people to make Cloudlock a success.”

“Very few investors understand the cloud and security as well as Bessemer does and we could not be more thrilled to add Bob and the rest of the Bessemer team to the CloudLock family. Bessemer’s vision of the cloud as the backbone of a business, and track record of funding the companies that enable this innovation, is a perfect match for CloudLock and our goal of providing the cloud security fabric enterprises need,” said Gil Zimmermann, CEO and co-founder, CloudLock. “From our initial roots as a Cedar Fund Pre-Seed company, through our expansion with Ascent Venture partners, and now with Bessemer, we have always sought out partners and investors that share our passion and belief that the cloud is transformative for businesses on all levels. The cloud transformation has only just begun. We have big plans to execute from here that will see investments in building out our world class sales, marketing, and engineering organizations to bring even more value, across more platforms, to a fast growing market.“

Since its launch in 2011, CloudLock has grown to more than 600 paying customers, protecting millions of end-users in those enterprises. Additionally, it has built out a reseller and partner network, allowing cloud services pioneers to enable organizations to embrace the cloud and transform their security and business in the process.

“The cloud is a critical piece in our enterprise collaboration strategy. As the Chief Information Security Officer of Whirlpool Corporation, it is my responsibility to ensure that our organization’s users and data are protected in the cloud while optimizing their mobility, collaboration, and productivity. We’ve found that CloudLock’s solution delivers enterprise capabilities, and the ability to scale to serve our 27,000 employees. CloudLock provides us with more advanced security capabilities at a lower cost than we could achieve on-premise,” said John Bingham, chief information security officer, Whirlpool Corp.

CloudLock will leverage this Series C funding to expand in new markets, invest in existing and expanded product lines, and substantially grow its operations in the US, Europe, and Israel.

“We invested in the founding team of CloudLock at the inception of the company. I am happy to see the team develop and execute, positioning CloudLock as the leader in cloud security. We are excited to continue to back this team as both the company and market expand,” said Amnon Shoham, general partner, Cedar Fund.

“The transition to cloud-based apps and collaboration forced a reset in the model for enterprise security and governance,” said Luke Burns, partner, Ascent Venture Partners. “Gil and the team at CloudLock were pioneers in this field, offering enterprise grade protection without compromising the flexibility and functionality of the cloud. With growing market awareness and an accelerating rate of enterprise adoption, CloudLock is on an exciting growth trajectory and we are thrilled to continue to support the company with this financing.“