Forbes: Axcient — Finding Big Business With Small Businesses

For many companies, data is one of the most valuable assets. Just imagine if you suddenly lost all your records or product designs? Yes, it would be a disaster.

So for serial entrepreneur Justin Moore, this looked like a massive opportunity. To this end, he created Axcient, which provides comprehensive backup services – primarily for the small and mid-sized business (SMB) market.

No doubt, it's a lucrative segment. Companies like Intuit and Paychex (PAYX) have made a fortune by selling to SMBs. And online operators, such as LinkedIn, are also getting traction in the market.

Interestingly enough, Axcient is a bit of a hybrid tech company. Its solution involves an on-premise device that is hooked into the cloud. Yet the billing is based on a subscription model.

But Axcient is more than just about storing data. Instead, it also preserves your applications, such as Microsoft's Exchange Server. So in an emergency, you can restore your information technology (IT) environment in a snap. This definitely compares favorably to other storage offerings. Simply put, SMBs want a one-stop solution.

All in all, Axcient has been growing at lightning speed. For 2011, the company expects to spike recurring revenues by 4X, with the management of over 100,000 customer laptops and servers.

Axcient has also snagged a round of $15.5M in venture capital. The investors include Scale Venture Partners, Allegis Capital, Peninsula Ventures and Thomvest Ventures.

So now it's a matter of aggressively scaling the operation. But more importantly, Axcient is targeting a market that is ripe for disruption – and the company appears to have the right product to make this happen.

SOURCE: Axcient