Aria Raises $4 Million

Aria Systems Inc., a Media, Penn.-based provider of on-demand billing and customer management services, has raised $4 million in Series A funding led by Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Get more info.

PRESS RELEASE
Aria Systems, Inc., provider of on- demand billing and customer management services, today announced it secured $4.0 million in Series A financing led by Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Aria – which has emerged as the top monetization platform for the gaming and software-as-a-service (SaaS) markets – will use the proceeds to expand sales and account management operations, build-out its on-demand delivery infrastructure, and finance product and architecture enhancements.

Aria enables businesses with diverse markets and services to manage and control all of their recurring revenue processes, including registration, provisioning, metering, billing, invoicing, and ongoing customer management. Since its start in 2003, Aria has added more than 30 clients to its customer rolls and signed 21 significant agreements with integration and distribution partners. RBC Capital Markets predicts that the SaaS market will grow at a 43% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to be $28 billion by 2010.

“We're honored to have a firm with the reputation of Hummer Winblad recognize the business we've built and the opportunity that lies ahead,” said Ed Sullivan, Aria's CEO and founder. “Software as a service is making companies reevaluate their relationships with legacy vendors. Salesforce.com proved the model for CRM and we are seeing similar demand from customers for SaaS-based billing and customer management.”

Hummer Winblad managing director Mark Gorenberg will join Aria's Board of Directors. Aria is Hummer Winblad's fourteenth SaaS investment.

“Aria has proven that it can win major clients and build strong partnerships in the gaming and SaaS markets,” said Gorenberg. “We also see longer-term opportunity for Aria across other industries with recurring billing requirements, industries such as telecommunications, insurance and utilities. Our investment will help Aria win in these markets like they've done with SaaS and gaming.”

About Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Hummer Winblad Venture Partners was created in 1989 as the first venture capital firm focused exclusively on software. As the software industry grew from PC software to enterprise computing to Internet applications, Hummer Winblad has been at the forefront — funding the entrepreneurs and ideas that helped define these markets. The firm's goal is to provide the capital, experience, and vision that will enable its companies to become leaders in this new software economy. For more information on Hummer Winblad, visit www.humwin.com .

About Aria Systems

Aria Systems, based in Media, Pennsylvania (metropolitan Philadelphia) is the premier provider of on-demand billing and customer management solutions for software-as-a-service, gaming & entertainment companies. The Aria solution integrates a sophisticated billing engine with customer support and marketing tools in a single, highly configurable application. Advantages include quicker time-to-market, accelerated revenue capture, business process automation, and significantly reduced operating costs. Founded in 2003, Aria currently supports 30+ clients and significant partnerships with IBM, OpSource, Chase Paymentech, TransFirst, and GNi. For more information, visit http://www.ariasystems.com .