Symform: The World's Largest Virtual Data Center? update from January 2013

There's more investment in the cloud backup space, and Symform wants to use some of that funding to create the world's largest virtual data center. And parts of it may live in the office of your local real estate professionals.

Cloud backup service provider Symform said today that it has added Second Century Ventures (SCV) to the ranks of its strategic investors. SCV is the venture capital fund of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Symform has a decentralized take on cloud storage, providing a global cloud storage network consisting of excess space from all of its users. The company says its Global Cloud Storage Network now reaches active users in 160 countries, with Symform storing over 7 billion data fragments.

The SCV financing will power product development and accelerate adoption. "This investment is an important validation of our model, and is additional momentum as we build the world’s largest virtual datacenter,” said Matthew Schiltz, CEO of Symform.

World’s Largest Virtual Data Center?

Symform targets the mid-market and IT resellers. It’s a distributed and crowd-sourced free online storage service, where users pay with bytes instead of bucks. A business on the network contributes excess local drive space to the grid in exchange for backup. Data leaving source devices is encrypted and shredded, redundancy is added, then it is geo-distributed across the global network - hence a virtual data center.

SCV joined Symform’s $11 million Series B round of funding from 2012, which included financing from Longworth Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners, and WestRiver Capital. The strategic partnership with SCV puts Symform unlimited cloud storage offerings into the hands of the NAR member base, the largest trade association in the United States.

“Second Century Ventures is committed to identifying and helping develop technology solutions that help our Realtor members maintain a competitive edge while growing their businesses,” said Dale A. Stinton, president of SCV and NAR chief executive officer. “As the volume of electronic information continues to grow, proper data backup and protection is becoming mission-critical for all businesses everywhere. Symform is a great fit in our investment portfolio and is also tailor-made for Realtors, who have a strong need for a cost-effective cloud data backup solution.”

As part of the investment, Constance Freedman, managing director of Second Century Ventures, will join the Symform Board of Directors. As managing director at SCV, Freedman manages all aspects of the fund, from cultivating investment opportunities to helping portfolio companies achieve their strategic goals.