This article was published on April 9, 2013

Nexgate scores $3.5m to help companies avoid social media embarrassment


Nexgate scores $3.5m to help companies avoid social media embarrassment

Nexgate, a firm that helps other businesses manage their presence across multiple social networks, has announced the closure of a $3.5 million Series A funding round today.

The investment was led by Sierra Ventures, although it’s unclear at the moment if any other parties were involved. Nexgate says it will use the funding to accelerate the company’s “technology innovation” and overall go-to-market strategy.

The company launched its software as a service (SaaS) enterprise suite under the guise of Social iQ Networks last year. Founded in 2011, the company attracted $800,000 in venture funding from a number of investment firms, including Windforce Ventures and Northwest Media Partners.

Nexgate’s solution is designed to help businesses to discover, protect and ensure compliance for all of the social accounts associated with any number of different brands. It enables social media managers to find, categorize and track company accounts in real-time, as well as receive automated alerts when new or fraudulent branded accounts are created.

A number of high-profile Twitter account hijacks, including HMV and Reuters, have also highlighted the need for increased security and protection surrounding social media accounts.

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Nexgate’s products are designed to detect and notify an appropriate member of staff whenever an account is hijacked or tampered with. SocialPatrol, one of its most successful solutions, offers the ability to set and lock accounts to specific owners, as well as related images, credentials and third-party applications.

It also has a ‘three-click’ process for setting up enterprise grade content security, compliance and acceptable use categories.

Mark Fernandes, Managing Director of Sierra Ventures, will be joining the board of directors at Nexgate as a result of the Series A funding round.

“There is no question that compliance and security is absolutely a requirement as organizations continue to adopt and implement external social networks as part of their key communication channels,” he said.

“We have seen the massive investment in public social media by enterprises first hand and we know that protecting that investment is a priority. After doing the research with customers and the market, we know that the Nexgate’s world-class team and technology is the right way to tackle this growing segment of the multi-billion dollar social media market.”

Image Credit: ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/GettyImages

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