L-SPARK Incubator Firm InvataCloud Announced as First Canadian Company to Join Microsoft Bizspark Plus (120k)

OTTAWA, ON – September 15, 2015 – InvataCloud, an Adobe Connect managed hosting service, today announced their position as the first Canadian company to join Microsoft’s elite BizSpark Plus (120k) program. As the first member of the newly launched Microsoft BizSpark Plus (120k) program, InvataCloud has had exclusive access to Microsoft cloud services, software and support, providing them the ability to scale and tap into $120,000 of Azure credits.

“When DX met InvataCloud, we were inspired by their vision to increase collaboration and facilitate distance learning. But InvataCloud needed to overcome the challenge of building and managing an infrastructure with the capacity to handle their larger education customers who wanted to reach as many students as possible. As a cohort member of L-SPARK, who is a Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator partner, InvataCloud were able to leverage Azure credits within our BizSpark Plus offer to scale the cloud to help meet their customer’s needs. It’s incredible to see such talented Canadian startups like InvataCloud solving real world problems by leveraging Microsoft Azure to scale globally.” – Mary-Ellen Anderson, VP Developer Experience (DX), Microsoft Canada.

InvataCloud specializes in Adobe Connect managed hosting along with support for Learning Management Systems (LMS), including Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, or Desire2Learn, making it easier for Universities and Corporations to manage distance learning programs. The enterprise software company offers hosting in the US and Canada and facilitates a high availability and high reliability of distance learning services as well as the added benefit of a carbon neutral footprint for socially responsible companies.

“Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies has contracted with InvataCloud to host our online classroom in Adobe Connect for the last two years.  We have found that the InvataCloud hosting solution is robust and has good performance, which has allowed us to deploy our real-time, online classrooms to students worldwide.” – Arun K Aggarwal, CTO of Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies.

One of the first firms to enter Canadian SaaS Incubator L-SPARK, InvataCloud is exploiting the benefits that result from L-SPARK’s relationship with Microsoft. With this much Azure cloud demand, InvataCloud has taken advantage of powerful platform services such as machine learning, media services and hub notification, a benefit that has lowered their operating costs and is connecting them with more customers.

“Veritext chose InvataCloud based on their ability to reliably support a high quantity of hosted meetings for our users simultaneously. Our organization will typically host many 8-12 hour sessions, uninterrupted, per day and with InvataCloud’s integration on Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform we are assured of reliable service for our remote clients. Since onboarding, we have expanded our user base quickly and scaled dramatically, all as a result of the support from Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform.” – Dave DaSilva, Vice President of Video Operations at Veritext

The L-SPARK mission is to provide innovative entrepreneurs and start-ups with access to industry leading partners, mentors and advisors, arming them with the tools and support to accelerate revenue, scale their businesses and become investment ready. The recently updated BizSpark Plus program supports that mission with exclusive benefits such as;

  • $10,000/month free Microsoft Azure cloud services
  • A full suite of development and test software and tools such as Visual Studio and Windows
  • Up to 5 licenses for Office 365
  • Access to hundreds of free training classes, technical content, plus 4 break-fix phone support incidents.

“As an inaugural member of the L-SPARK Incubator program, InvataCloud has excelled in leveraging the tools and support available within our network. The team has succeeded in furthering the sophistication of their product offering, taking their startup to new heights in partnerships and customer opportunities,” says Leo Lax, Managing Director of L-SPARK.

About InvataCloud

InvataCloud specializes in Adobe Connect managed hosting along with support for your Learning Management System (LMS), whether it’s Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, or Desire2Learn we have you covered. We offer hosting in the US and Canada to comply with any government regulations.

http://www.invatacloud.com/

About Microsoft BizSpark Plus

Microsoft BizSpark Plus is a premier program offered exclusively through select partners that helps start-ups succeed by giving free access to Microsoft Azure cloud services, software and support. BizSpark Plus members are able to scale their business with up to $10,000 per month of free Microsoft Azure cloud services. Azure works with OSS/Linux and familiar technologies such as Linux, Ruby, Python, Java and PHP. BizSpark Plus is available to BizSpark members who are nominated by a Microsoft Accelerator or Partner.

About L-SPARK

L-SPARK is the only Canadian Incubator and Accelerator that focuses exclusively on Enterprise SaaS and cloud start-ups. With established relationships with key venture capital firms, angel investors, and the investment community at large, the goal is to support a deal flow of fundable Enterprise SaaS start-up companies in Canada. Visit us at www.l-spark.com, connect with us on linkedin.com/l-spark or follow us on Twitter @LSPARKGlobal.