(Oslo, 02/01/2012) – During six years of organic growth, The Online Backup Company has grown to become the leading company within Online Backup and Disaster Recovery solutions in Norway. With 4000 customers, 35 employees and a turnover close to 50 MNOK, the company now sets its sight on Europe.
Northzone invests
In a private placement offering, Northzone and its partners invested 30.5 MNOK in The Online Backup Company AS. “The Online Backup Company is a very exciting company that we have followed for some time. The company has proved that focused niche thinking within IT services generates very good results in Norway, and we strongly believe that The Online Backup Company will be able to compete in the European market,” says Tellef Thorleifsson, Co-Founder and Partner in Northzone Ventures.
Increased competence to the Board
The Online Backup Company AS will expand to several countries in Europe. Sweden and Germany are the first two markets the company will enter aggressively. In the context of expansion the company’s Board is strengthened with several members and relevant experience. Tellef Thorleifsson, Partner at Northzone Ventures, Rolf Assev with 12 years of experience as Chief Strategy Officer at Opera Software AS, and Peter Larsson, former CEO of EPiServer, all join the Board.
“This is further assurance for our customers and partners that they have chosen the right solution and a secure service provider,” says CEO Alexander Hagerup. “For most businesses today, the IT systems and its associated files and databases, make up most of the value of the company and large costs are incurred with the loss of data and downtime. We make sure our customers are protected against this,” adds Hagerup, who is very much looking forward to working in Europe over the next few years.
Greater demand for secure cloud services
Cloud- or web-based services have taken market share from traditional models in recent years. The demand for file management, backup and disaster recovery delivered from the cloud is growing rapidly as some solutions are beginning to be recognized as safe amongst IT partners and decision makers.
Morgan Stanley’s research expects the market for cloud services will have an annual growth of 30% to 50% over the next 3 years, whilst IDC expects the global market size of cloud storage will reach six billion dollars in 2013 – an increase of approximately 150% from 2009. (MS May ’11, IDC September ’09)
For further information contact: Alexander Hagerup, CEO of The Online Backup Company AS, phone +47 21 55 61 20.
About The Online Backup Company AS (OBC)
The Online Backup Company AS is Norway’s largest provider of Online Backup and Disaster Recovery solutions to private and public businesses. The company was founded by two Norwegian entrepreneurs in 2005 and has since then experienced a total growth of 1,221%. The company’s customer portfolio now includes approximately 4000 corporate customers. In 2011, OBC made it onto Deloitte’s Fast50 Norway and Fast500 EMEA Technology Lists of Europe’s fastest growing technology companies as well as securing the Gaselle award for the second year in a row.
About Northzone
Northzone is a leading European venture capital fund with Nordic roots. Northzone has a total capital base of approximately NOK 3 billion under management. Northzone invests in startups and growth companies in the technology sector. Within IT, Northzone has been actively engaged with Mamut, Trolltech, Nimsoft, EPiServer and Intility. Northzone is also involved with clean energy, as well as Media/Internet, through Stepstone, Lastminute and Spotify. For more info, see www.northzone.com