HPE Joins OpsRamp's $37.5 Million Funding Round

The hybrid cloud management startup is growing fast, and with the latest haul it plans to invest in a diverse channel using its AIOps technology to enable hybrid and multi-cloud environments

Rapidly emerging hybrid cloud management and AIOps startup OpsRamp said Thursday it closed a $37.5 million funding round that was joined by new investor Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Part of the funding haul will be spent on enabling the startup's diverse channel and boosting the profitability of systems integrators, resellers and MSPs, Brian Hartwell, who joined the San Jose, Calif.-based startup in November as its first vice president of worldwide sales, told CRN.

Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital led the Series C round, which added a second investment from Sapphire Ventures in addition to HPE's stake.

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"We are in the midst of an immense transformation," Hartwell said. "There's market opportunity that surrounds me, and my biggest challenge is to capture it."

With the latest funding, OpsRamp will hire more staff to engage its growing channel, assisting partners to add subject matter experts, build capability and capacity, and deepen customer relationships, Hartwell told CRN.

"From a channel partner-focused perspective, we will be investing heavily in that capacity. Partner profitability is at the core of everything we do," he said.

OpsRamp will also invest in further scaling the distribution of the company’s cloud-based platform that enterprises and MSPs use for discovery, monitoring, and automation of their hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

"You're going to see substantial, immediate impact within the Americas," Hartwell said.

OpsRamp spun out of an affiliation with NetEnrich in 2014. What started as a tool for the global MSP to simplify management of its customers’ cloud systems evolved into a commercial solution aimed at modern enterprises that have deployed hybrid cloud environments.

The SaaS model for delivering hybrid-cloud management is popular with both SMBs and enterprises managing complex environments, Hartwell said. That makes it a good fit for solution providers focused on multi-cloud and hybrid cloud.

"It’s a vast ecosystem that has the ability to couple solutions and add value with the OpsRamp platform," he said.

Last year, the startup achieved 300 percent recurring revenue growth. It also launched its first channel program to capitalize on its success with MSPs and recruit more resellers.

In the coming year, OpsRamp will be "simplifying and elevating our channel program," he said, adding the company plans to introduce a partner profit sharing model.

HPE Vice President Paul Glaser, in a prepared statement, said the enterprise tech behemoth sees OpsRamp's platform as one that "aligns well with the core strategies of HPE."

"With OpsRamp’s product vision and customer traction, we felt it was the right time to invest in the growth and scale of their business," Glaser said.