Strikeiron

StrikeIron

Company type	Private
Industry	Data quality, Cloud computing, Software
Founded	2003 (2003)
Founder	Bob Brauer, Richard Holcomb, Robert Dale
Defunct	2014 (2014)
Fate	Acquired by Informatica
Headquarters	Research Triangle Park , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Sean O'Leary (former CEO)
Products	Data Quality Suite (email verification, address validation, phone number authentication, phone data append, sales tax computation tools), Web Services Analyzer, Web Services Marketplace
Parent	Informatica (from 2014)

StrikeIron delivered a cloud-hosted Data Quality Suite that encompassed services such as email verification, address validation, phone number authentication, phone data append, and sales tax computation tools. Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, the firm was established in 2003 by Bob Brauer (also the founder of DataFlux and Interzoid), Richard Holcomb (co-founder of HAHT Software and Q+E Software), and Robert Dale. StrikeIron was recognized as a pioneer in Data-as-a-Service through its IronCloud platform for service delivery.

The organization secured more than $16 million in venture capital from investors including Ascent Ventures, The Aurora Funds, and NC IDEA.

In June 2014, Informatica acquired StrikeIron. Before this transition, Sean O'Leary held the position of CEO.

History

StrikeIron was created by Bob Brauer in Research Triangle Park with an initial focus on assisting developers and analysts in discovering Web services (now commonly referred to as Cloud APIs). Its debut product, the Web Services Analyzer, offered rapid evaluation and visual depiction of web service data specifications and operational capabilities.

In 2005, StrikeIron introduced the Web Services Marketplace, which became the largest online platform for commercial Web services subscriptions. Alongside this, the company launched a premium desktop edition of the Analyzer that facilitated navigation through both internal and external directories while providing direct access to the Marketplace.

Later that year, the company broadened its service range by adding web services for sales tax calculation and SMS functionality. By 2006, their portfolio further expanded to include services such as email verification, zip code lookup, and financial data offerings.

StrikeIron received recognition in 2012 by earning the "Cloud Computing Company of the Year" award along with accolades for best cloud infrastructure during the first-ever Cloud Awards ceremony.

The acquisition by Informatica took place in 2014.

References

Notes

• Top 10 Venture Capital Deals in Q1 by Phil Goldstein, Fierce Wireless June 23, 2009