Log monitoring platform company Loggly today announced that it has acquired more than $10 million in venture capital funding, and that one of its new investors is none other than Cisco.
Loggly also rolled out a new version of its core log monitoring product, which features a new user interface, additional analytics features and persistent workspaces for on-the-go accessibility.
[MORE CISCO:Could this be Cisco's Internet of Everything core switch/router?]
Such an investment is a departure for the networking titan, according to Forrester principal analyst Dave Bartoletti, particularly insofar as the company doesn't tend to get involved with "Internet-first" startups.
"It shows that Cisco really wants to be a significant player in the public cloud space and they want to start going after these new built-in-the-cloud' companies," he says. "It's a shift for them, and it's really not where they've played before."
Loggly, which lists Samsung, Salesforce, and Electronic Arts among its users, says that it does not require the use of proprietary software agents to collect log data. The service is free for up to 200MB a day of log data, with prices ranging up to $7,400 a month for 150GB per day volumes.
Data Collective Venture Capital was one of the groups to join Cisco as a new backer of Loggly. DCVC co-managing partner Matt Ocko said in a statement that Loggly is well-placed to take advantage of changes in enterprise IT.
"We're at the beginning stages of a massive shift taking place in the way companies both view data as key to their success and are comfortable with this critical data residing in the cloud," he said.
Loggly's announcement coincides with good news for publicly traded rival Splunk, which saw a sharp stock price increase last week in spite of general weakness in the tech sector, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Splunk's continued strength could be one reason that Cisco is making a more cautious investment in Loggly, according to Bartoletti.
"I think it's smart for Cisco to take a minority investment and see if Loggly can prove themselves out," he says.
Email Jon Gold at jgold@nww.com and follow him on Twitter at @NWWJonGold.
Read more about lan and wan in Network World's LAN & WAN section.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.