Managed service provider mindSHIFT Technologies is closing a $21 million round in capital financing. The company, which was founded in April, will use the capital investment to continue the development and deployment of its service offering throughout the Washington, D.C., market and into surrounding markets in the first quarter of next year.
The Reston, Va.-based mindSHIFT also plans to use the funding to support sales and marketing initiatives, business development and ongoing operations of the company.
Investors include JP Morgan Capital, Columbia Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Hewlett-Packard through its Garage Program.
Offering state-of-the-art technology infrastructure, the mindSHIFT service is a package that includes desktops, laptops, printers, software, a wireless local area network, remote access, security, full back-ups, and 24/7 proactive network monitoring and customer care, for a predictable, monthly fee.
“We are honored to have some of the world’s leading technology investment companies backing us,” said Michael Wheeler, mindSHIFT president and chief executive officer. “These companies have a very clear picture of the future of technology and their investment in mindSHIFT firmly demonstrates their confidence that the service we provide is what businesses need to stay competitive.”
The mindSHIFT solution includes HP desktops and laptops, the latest in wireless Local Area Network (LAN) technology and high-speed Internet DSL connectivity. Also provided are enterprise-level firewalls, daily encrypted storage back-ups and a team of professional network engineers providing round-the-clock support.
“According to IDC, the network and desktop outsourcing services market is expected to grow to a $31 billion industry by 2003,” said Phil Herget, a partner with Columbia Capital. “mindSHIFT is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this trend and to meet the specific needs of small and medium businesses.”
Added Philip B. Weymouth, vice president of JP Morgan Capital, “With their solution fully operational and already deployed to customers in the D.C. area, mindSHIFT has leapt from the gates and is poised to quickly continue the roll-out to additional customers and other markets.”
Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Microsoft and UUNet are among mindSHIFT’s customers.
