Socrata
Socrata was a software company that has been acquired by Tyler Technologies in 2018.
Private | |
Industry | Data as a Service |
Founded | 2007 |
Founder | Kevin Merritt |
Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, United States |
Key people | Kevin Merritt, Safouen Rabah, Matt Miszewski |
Products | Open data, government performance management, government financial insights, data-driven government |
Website | www |
History
Socrata was founded in 2007 in Seattle, Washington, USA and subsequently opened offices in Washington, D.C. and London, U.K.
Originally known as Blist, Socrata launched as "the world's easiest database" at the DEMO 2008 conference. Blist was an easy-to-use, web-based, online software as a service database provider.[1]
On June 2, 2009 the company changed its name from Blist to Socrata, coincident with its business decision to focus exclusively on meeting the needs of the public sector.[2]
In March, 2016 Socrata and Motorola Solutions formed a strategic partnership in which Socrata would develop and operate CrimeReports on behalf of Motorola Solutions, Inc., bringing a more modern, mobile-friendly crime mapping solution to more than 1,200 law enforcement agencies in the U.S.[3]
On April 18, 2018, the company announced that it has been acquired by Tyler Technologies.[4] Substantially all the employees will join Tyler and the Socrata offices in Seattle and Washington D.C. will remain open as well.[5]
Open Data Network
In July, 2014 Socrata introduced the Open Data Network, an initiative powered by machine learning designed to foster data-centered collaboration between governments and the private sector. Governments at each level have the same kinds of data - crime data, transit data, 311 service incident data, expenditure data.[6]
FedRAMP
In June, 2017 Socrata achieved and was granted an authority to operate at FedRAMP Moderate status by the US Government's General Services Administration FedRAMP Program Management Office.[7]
Socrata has raised more than $54M in venture capital funding to date.[8] Socrata received an initial series A round of venture capital funding of USD $6.5 million from Morgenthaler Ventures and Frazier Technology Ventures in January, 2008.[9] The company received an $18 million series B funding round from OpenView Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Frazier Technology Partners, and In-Q-Tel in June, 2013. Socrata closed a $30M C round of funding in November, 2014, led by Sapphire Ventures with participation from Morgenthaler Ventures, Frazier Technology Ventures and OpenView Venture Partners.[10][11]
References
- "Blist Prepares Easy Web-based Database Application". TechCrunch. 2007-11-10.
- "Start-Up Taps Obama E-Gov Energy". National Journal. 2009-06-02. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14.
- "Motorola and Socrata Partner to Improve Neighborhood Crime Maps for Citizens". Geekwire. 2016-03-15.
- "Seattle tech company Socrata bought by Tyler Technologies". The Seattle Times. 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- "Seattle open data startup to be acquired by Tyler Technologies". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- "Socrata's Open Data Network a Hub to Connect the Public and Private Sectors". Govtech. 2014-07-25.
- "Socrata Clears FedRAMP, Embraces Non-Open Data". Govtech. 2016-06-07.
- "Crunchbase". 2017-10-25.
- Cook, John (2008-02-20). "Database startup Blist scores $6.5 million stake". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- Cook, John (2013-06-26). "Socrata lands $18 million, continuing mission to unlock troves of government data". GeekWire.
- Peters, Katherine (2013-09-03). "In-Q-Tel Investment Signals Intel Community Focus on Data Sharing". NextGov.