INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--High Alpha, a leading venture studio, announced today the launch of its newest portfolio company Zylo, whose software transforms how companies manage and optimize the growing number of cloud-based applications employees purchase for work.
Led by software veteran Eric Christopher, Zylo provides companies visibility into the often decentralized, employee-driven purchases of cloud-based software, identifies idle or underused software licenses and provides critical insights and analytics to inform purchasing decisions and contract renewals.
“The rise of the subscription economy has literally revolutionized the way software is purchased and deployed, but its proliferation has also introduced a new breed of challenges for the enterprise,” said Eric Christopher, Zylo’s chief executive and former leader with ExactTarget, Shoutlet and Sprout Social. “Zylo brings an entirely new approach to managing subscription software that creates enormous value for companies, their employees and the software providers serving them.”
Currently in private beta with Appirio, Interactive Intelligence and Return Path, Zylo provides an online command center for all subscription-based software, or software as a service (SaaS), used across a company. Powered by integrations with leading SaaS providers and machine learning, Zylo captures critical information such as purchase details, contract information and renewal periods.
“As a global cloud consultancy, we make major investments in cloud software providers and partners, including Salesforce, Google and Amazon,” said Christopher Bruzzi, Appirio’s vice president of technology. “With Zylo, we will have a clear view into what software we use across the organization, how much we spend and where we can better utilize our cloud software investments.”
The challenges companies face with managing an “ever-increasing” number of subscription-based software licenses is significant — in terms of dollars, distraction and duplication, Christopher said. Forrester Research’s Andras Cser estimated 30 to 40 percent of cloud-based applications are used on an unsanctioned basis in a January 2016 Wall Street Journal report.
“We are thrilled to bring Zylo to market with Eric and his all-star leadership team, Ben Pippenger, Cory Wheeler and Ryan Carroll,” said Scott Dorsey, managing partner at High Alpha. “Zylo and High Alpha’s SaaS expertise coupled with the big vision for the product positions Zylo to change the future of how SaaS applications are purchased and utilized.”
Zylo is expected to be generally available in Fall 2016. More information is available online at www.zylo.com.
Zylo is the third company to launch from High Alpha since its founding in June 2015. The venture studio launched student engagement platform ClearScholar in June 2016 and marketing technology platform Sigstr in Aug. 2015. High Alpha has also invested in a number of software as a service companies since its founding, including When I Work, CrowdRiff, G2 Crowd, Lesson.ly, Narvar, TinderBox and TINYpulse.
About Zylo
Zylo is the leading SaaS optimization platform that transforms how companies manage and optimize the vast and accelerating number of cloud-based applications organizations rely on today. The platform provides an online command center for all cloud-based software used across a company, giving an organization visibility into what software is used, how much is spent and how to optimize their cloud software investments. Visit zylo.com or follow @getzylo for more information.
About High Alpha
High Alpha, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a leading venture studio focused on conceiving, launching and scaling next generation enterprise cloud companies. For more information: highalpha.com or on Twitter at @highalpha.
