And business seems to be good. Zantaz spokespeople say the company's customer base grew 300 percent in 2003 and the firm has increased its employee census from 90 to about 130 since 2002. "We have two billion messages under management and 120 terabytes captured," boasts CEO Steve King.
So what's not to love? One possible downside is the sheer weight a deal like this gives to key investors. While details of the ownership terms between Zantaz and General Atlantic Partners LLC, the lead investor in the funding, are undisclosed, it would be surprising if the company hadn't ceded a hefty chunk of ownership, not to mention corporate governance. Two of General Atlantic's partners are joining the Zantaz board.
Then there are the usual market worries. King acknowledges the biggest challenge facing Zantaz may be one of perception. Zantaz claims it can save companies up to 50 percent on the cost and hassle of a homegrown solution; but some firms won't put corporate data outside the firewall -- and that's a deal-breaker, since Zantaz uses offsite facilities in its services.
There's also a growing roster of competitors getting into the act, with products that purport to make in-house archiving more do-able than ever before -- including the likes of EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) and Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP). That's not likely to make life easier for service providers.
[Ed. note: And then there's the name that sounds like an antidepressant... which may, of course, work in its favor.]
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