
Most people are unaware about logistical nightmare that lies behind the service support industry. Traditionally, all people knew was the all too familiar dance of a repair technician coming to their home to fix something or other, and then he would have to go and order the necessary part which would arrive possibly weeks later. Nowadays, this has been dramatically streamlined and you will more often than not see technicians and other service support workers with an iPad or other such device. On this device will most probably be software by ServiceMax.
ServiceMax’s cloud software has become one of the pillars of support for field service businesses across the nation. They work with over 300 companies, 5 million United States based technicians, and are part of a $15 Billion industry. They essentially help manage the operational and logistical back-ends of business by connecting field technicians, companies and customers to each other. For the example above: when a technician has identified the part you need, he is then able to quickly connect to the necessary people to help you get the part as soon as possible. This is achieved by the help of a sophisticated database that ServiceMax has built on Salesforce’s Force.com platform.
Yesterday, ServiceMax received $71 million Series E Funding from a number of organizations including: Meritech Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Cross Creek Advisors and Sozo Ventures. These are in addition to their existing pool of investors such as Emergence Capital Partners, Mayfield Fund, Trinity Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Crosslink Capital, and Salesforce.com. To date, ServiceMax has raised $120 million.
David Yarnold, CEO of ServiceMax said “We’ve been under the radar, but this round might get a few people looking at our market…There is an attraction to becoming the name synonymous with field service. Who is known for field service software? There isn’t one, but we want to become that.”
This funding only moves them down the path becoming an IPO. However Yarnold is in no rush and has said “It’s a tremendous opportunity and I’d love to be the public entity here…[but] we see that as something down the road”.