The Seattle Times: Brier Dudley's Blog

Microsoft reveals Xbox One, an "all in one" entertainment system

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:32:29 PDT

Microsoft hosted a raucous tent revival for the game industry in Redmond today, promising its salvation through a powerful new version of its Xbox console that will bring sci-fi controls to home entertainment and run a new generation of ultrarealistic games.

Called the Xbox One, the console will go on sale later this year bundled with a more accurate version of the company’s Kinect motion sensor, redesigned controllers that flutter on the fingertips and interactive TV features, all tied to an upgrade online network powered by 300,000 servers around the globe.

The console will compete against Sony's upcoming PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U, though the broader competition is for the attention of consumers whose dollars and leisure time are increasingly taken by tablets, phones and inexpensive apps and games.

Unlike previous versions of the Xbox that initially targeted game enthusiasts, the Xbox One is designed from the start to be both a game and entertainment system that adds Microsoft’s technology to users’ televisions, including motion-control, voice recognition and online entertainment services.

Don Mattrick, president of the company’s interactive entertainment business, said the One was designed to be “simple, instant and complete.”

“We believe we can evolve what you love to make it decidedly better and deliver breakthrough innovations,” he said.

Mattrick declined to provide a sales price or specific launch date beyond “later this year,” saying more details will be released at the E3 game conference in June.

The console leans heavily on a new version of the Kinect sensor to advance home entertainment.

Microsoft sees the Xbox One as the heart of the living room, where the TV and video services can be controlled with voice commands and gestures recognized by the Kinect sensor. The console also blends broadcast and online services, such as fantasy football games that surface during live broadcasts of games.

Microsoft showed a new TV guide that will be provided by the console but didn’t say anything about supplanting cable TV services as some had speculated it would do with the console. The console is intended to be the “one” entertainment box in the home, but owners will still need to connect it to a cable box for broadcast and cable-exclusive channels.

“It’s pretty impressive - I think it’s going to sell well,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said at the event.

Pachter guessed the console will sell for around $400. He said its new capabilities are likely to attract buyers and potentially help Microsoft hold onto its current lead in the console business.

“They address something the masses will get excited about,” he said.

Eric Hirshberg, chief executive of mega game developer Activision Publishing, said Microsoft did a “great job” integrating TV while also producing a “superb” game machine.

“I admire what we saw from Xbox today because I thought it was a very compelling, complete package,” he said.

Hirshberg noted that game hardware already has a leading position in the living room, with hundreds of millions of households using consoles that connect to online services and stream video.

“There’s a broad fight to become the connected device that owns the living room coming from a lot of vectors and a lot of different industries at once,” he said. “I think that gaming is the right tip of the sword.”

During a demo by Xbox vice president, Yusuf Mehdi, the box was used to turn on a TV set with voice controls. On startup, the TV displayed the Xbox tiled menu with services such as Skype and Netflix.

“What if that device can turn on your TV and talk to all the devices in your living room?” Mehdi said.

“Xbox, watch TV,” Mehdi then said to the box, launching a TV show, “and with that simple command, I’m watching live TV.”

Mehdi also demonstrated “instant switching,” by saying “Xbox game.” The console then switched immediately to a racing game. Switching between games, movies and TVs is as quick as switching channels on a TV, Mehdi said.

This fast switching is accomplished by the power and architecture of the console, which basically runs several virtual machines.

One partition powers games while another powers apps such as Skype, search and social networking. Since they’re running simultaneously, apps can be run alongside games or TV shows for those who want to chat during a game, for instance.

Having these virtual machines both running, and the ability to switch back and forth, provides the feel of instantly changing modes, Boyd Multerer, Xbox development director, explained during a session in the tent.

The console also uses supercomputer-like technologies with memory caches on chips to speed data flow. It’s also designed to offload computing tasks to online networks, which could improve the performance of the hardware over time as software takes advantage of this capability.

Multerer said the technical hallmark of Xbox One is its dynamic nature and ability to evolve and adapt as new services appear, while still giving game developers a consistent platform to work with.

“This generation is about embracing change and growth while still providing predictability the developer needs,” he said.

The console is designed to be left on at all times and has an ultra-low-power standby mode, in which its sensor is still listening for voice commands and can be used to control a TV.

Microsoft’s also pushing the envelope by requiring that the console be connected the Internet, except when doing things like playing a single-player game or watching movies.

“A connection to the Internet is required,” said Craig Davison, senior director of Xbox marketing, adding that “we will have workarounds and we will have contingencies, should your Internet go out – we won’t shut down your experience.”

That may limit use of the console but Davison said Microsoft expects most buyers will be people who own the current Xbox 360, and an “overwhelming majority of our 360 customers today do have Internet access so we’re not too worried.”

A persistent connection enables developers to build new types of games. It could also be used for new copyright protection techniques, such as limiting the use of used games. Davison said used games will be playable on the system but more details will be released next month, at the E3 game conference in Los Angeles.

Inside, the console has 8-core AMD processsors, a Blu-ray disc drive, 500 gigabyte hard drive, USB 3.0, WiFi Direct and 8 gigabytes of RAM.

The console itself looks like a stereo receiver or a large DVD player, with a disc slot in front of the silver and black box. A new, more accurate version of the Kinect sensor system is contained in a separate, rectangular device.

Controllers are similar to the current models but with improved precision and speed, plus new vibration motors in the triggers, providing fingertip sensations such as fluttering when flying a helicopter.

The new Kinect sensor tracks more joints and can guess your emotional state and read your heartbeat, Xbox Vice President Marc Whitten said, calling it the “binding power” between devices connected to the console. (The image above is from a Kinect demo later in the afternoon.)

Mehdi also demonstrated a group video calls using the Skype app on the console. He also showed a new interactive ESPN TV application that blends live TV and fantasy sports; if you’re watching a game and one of your players scores, a small window surfaces with the update.

The new console will arrive with a new version of Microsoft’s Xbox Live service powered by 300,000 servers – “more than the entire world’s computing power in 1999,” Whitten said.

New features of the service include a “game DVR” that saves games online, improved matchmaking and achievements, and bigger matches with more players, Whitten said.

Andrew Wilson, head of EA Sports, said his company is developing four games for the new console – Fifa, Madden NFL, NBA Live and UFC. They run on a new game engine called Ignite that’s designed to “help us blur the line between real and virtual” and provide ten times more animation detail, he said.

Exclusive new titles for the console include Microsoft’s “Forza Motorsport 5,” an even more realistic version of its photorealistic racing game.

The platform’s enabling developers to build new types of games, such as cloud-powered games that change based on the actions of the gaming community, with visuals so real you’ll see imperfections from wear and tear, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s game studios said.

Spencer showed a demo clip of a game called “Quantum Break” that started with a filmed, movie-style opening with real actors before transitioning back and forth between animated sequences of mass destruction.

Microsoft is investing heavily in studios around the world to “jump start” the new generation of gaming Spencer said.

“We have more titles in development now than at any other time in Xbox history,” Spencer said, adding that 15 exclusives will launch in the first year after Xbox One arrives, including eight entirely new franchises.

The platform will also be used to further blur the line between games and TV. Microsoft’s working with Steven Spielberg to produce a live-action TV series based on the company’s “Halo” franchise. Spielberg appeared via video to announce the project.

Inside the tent, Hirshberg provided a peek at “Call of Duty Ghosts,” a new version of Activision’s blockbuster action game. It’s coming to multiple platforms but Xbox will be the first to receive some downloadable add-ons for the game.

“Ghosts” is based on the story of an elite group of special forces soldiers. It has cinematic graphics taking advantage of powerful new consoles plus a new character – a dog, modeled on Navy SEAL service animals, that plays a greater role in the game.

“This will be the most beautiful ‘Call of Duty’ game we’ve ever made,” he said.

Microsoft’s also working with the NFL to add new interactivity features and bring exclusive content to Xbox One. While watching a game, real-time fantasy football stats can be displayed on the screen and people can chat with friends via Skype, for instance.

Mattrick said the partnership with “redefine” the NFL experience for fans using the console.

“We’ve an ambitious vision for Xbox One to become the all in one system for every living room – the one system you’re going to use and love every single day,” he said.

HasOffers has funding -- $9.4 million

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:46:29 PDT

Seattle ad venture HasOffers has cash in hand -- $9.4 million in its first round of fundraising.

HasOffers was started in 2009 by twins Lucas and Lee Brown and has grown to 79 employees building "attribution analytics" services.

The company provides software that ad networks and agencies use to manage ad programs. The company also runs a service that tracks mobile app engagement and purchases for ad partners.

Most of the funding came from Accel Partners. Also chipping in were Rob Glaser, founder of RealNetworks, and Chris DeVore of Founder's Co-op.

“We really didn’t need to raise money based on our current cash flow and ability to keep growing, but this partnership with Accel changes the game for us, allowing us to increase our engineering efforts and quickly scale our internal processes to meet a massive need in mobile advertising," Chief Executive Peter Hamilton said in a release.

Microsoft's Xbox 720 reveal: Who, what, when, where ...

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:39:13 PDT

The video-game industry’s health meter is blinking red, and its ammo belt is nearly depleted.

Industry players are crawling through the darkness, frantically looking for first-aid kits and new weapons to get back into the action.

Down one path a pulsing green light beckons, promising resuscitation, new capabilities and another round of fun.

The light is coming from Redmond, where on Tuesday Microsoft will “reveal” the third version of its Xbox in a high-voltage news conference that will broadcast around the world.

Here’s my viewer’s guide to the big event.

Who: Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, is likely to unveil the new device, which could push his group’s sales past $10 billion next year. He’ll be joined by game-industry brass and perhaps celebrities highlighting Xbox music and movie capabilities.

The first Xbox was unveiled in 2001 by Bill Gates and pro wrestler The Rock. My guess is that stars of the new “Star Trek” movie will be on hand Tuesday since the movie and Microsoft have a marketing partnership.

What: Hints of the new Xbox have been trickling out for more than a year, including an internal document that surfaced last summer revealing that the new console will have a Blu-ray disc player, a new version of the Kinect motion and voice sensor and additional TV capabilities so it can be used as a full-fledged set-top box.

The console is expected to have a PC-like architecture with AMD processors, similar to Sony’s approach with its upcoming PlayStation 4. This will make it easier for developers to create games for multiple platforms, including consoles and Windows PCs.

For a while it appeared the new Xbox would require a constant connection to the Internet. But after that caused an outcry, a “leaked” memo appeared, indicating Microsoft had backed off this plan.

Still, it’s likely the full experience of games on the new console will require players to be online. Newer games are built largely to be played with others online. Consoles may also offer lower-priced online games in which players are encouraged to buy digital items. The new consoles are also designed as gateways to a growing lineup of online services.

When: Tuesday’s event is part of an elaborate marketing program building anticipation for products expected to go on sale in the holiday season. Sony held a similar preview event in February, providing an early glimpse of PS4 games and console specifications, but it didn’t show the actual console.

Where: Microsoft is promising to “reveal” its console Tuesday in Redmond (in the tent pictured here), but it’s likely to withhold some details until June 10, when it’s holding a larger media event at the E3 game conference in Los Angeles. That’s where Sony will “reveal” the PS4.

Both consoles are likely to be on sale in November, pitted against Nintendo’s Wii U console, which went on sale last November.

Why: Something has to happen soon for the traditional video-game business, which has seen steady declines over the past two years as the current generation of consoles moved into its twilight years, and gamers spent more time and money playing cheaper online and mobile games.

Last month, U.S. console sales fell 42 percent and overall sales of game products retail fell 25 percent, according to NPD.

Microsoft’s current Xbox 360 has been outselling other consoles, but the platform’s sales have slowed, falling $864 million, or 13 percent, in the past nine months.

Last month, Electronic Arts, one of the largest game producers, laid off hundreds of employees and closed several studios, including a PopCap studio in Vancouver, B.C.

It’s not that people aren’t playing games anymore. They’re actually playing more, and more people are now considered gamers. Overall game play increased 9 percent last year, according to NPD.

Gamers aren’t just teenage boys now. The average player is 30 and nearly half of the people playing games are women. Games are played more often now by adult women than boys 17 or younger, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

Globally the game market is expected to expand 7 percent a year on average through 2016, reaching $83 billion a year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Last week, the Xbox team talked up the business, noting that each generation of consoles since 1999 has expanded the market and had more staying power. Eight years into the life of the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2 and the first Xbox, there were 173 million consoles sold. Eight years into the current generation, the “installed base” of consoles is 238 million.

The implication is the next generation could approach 300 million units, assuming people don’t decide to play games just on iPads and smartphones instead.

How: Whether you’re interested in the new Xbox or not, it will be hard to avoid hearing about it after Microsoft’s eight-core marketing machine fires up later this year. Some reports have speculated that the new Xbox is called “Infinity,” but I’ll bet that refers to Mattrick’s marketing budget, as he sets out to get the business rolling in green again.

Seattle's Tableau goes from bedroom startup to Wall Street darling

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:01:04 PDT

Tableau Software isn’t a rags to riches story, but it’s close.

The data-visualization company burst onto the public markets Friday with a steller public offering, jumping 64 percent to close at $50.75, up from its initial $31 price.

Nearly 100 employees were in New York to celebrate while parties were held at its offices, including its headquarters in Fremont.

Ten years earlier the future wasn’t so clear, though Chief Executive Christian Chabot always believed he was building what would become a large, public and independent software company.

“We’ve really been marching against that goal, never getting too obsessed with short-term results,” he said.

The company was spun out of Stanford in 2003 and moved to Seattle in its first year, operating from a bedroom in Chabot’s Capitol Hill home before expanding into his basement.

Chabot, a 41-year-old former venture capitalist, said the move to Seattle was key to Tableau’s success.

“That has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made,” he said. “We did it for personal reasons not financial reasons but it’s turned out fantastically.”

Chabot believes that the area’s “exceptional” talent pool will support the company’s continued growth in the area. The company now employs just under 900 and could be in the “high thousands” five years from now, Chabot said.

“Success builds on success,” he said. “More people start to move to the city, the universities adjust …. People spin out of companies.”

That success won’t be immediately obvious to Chabot’s neighbors. He doesn’t plan to buy a new house and he still drives a mini-van.

After ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange (he's in the light suit above) to begin trading of Tableau - with the ticker “DATA” - and spending the day talking to reporters, he was heading Friday night to a relatively low key cocktail party with employees.

“Nothing too fancy - toasts and wine,” he said.

Yet his jubilance was apparent via cellphone and across the country.

“We feel fantastic about the outcome,” he said.

It’s about more than raising capital.

“Our primary motivation for bringing Tableau public on the New York Stock Exchange today is to increase the awareness and the credibility of the company,” he said, adding that the warm reception and IPO publicity will “really help us take our business to the next level.”

Chabot’s breakout will no doubt inspire other entrepreneurs, particularly those building business software companies. His message to them to “stick with it,” even if they feel overlooked.

“For better or worse people, publications tend to write about the big goliath of technology. I don’t blame them for that. They cover Facebook and Google and Microsoft and Oracle or whatnot,” Chabot said. “The rest of us are working on an opportunity that is equally important but is going to take a longer period of time to be successful.”

How did Chabot and Tableau’s co-founders know they could take their idea all the way? Chabot said that wasn’t the focus - they saw the bigger opportunity for the tools they were building, versus a startup they could take pulic and cash in.

“We weren’t looking for one that fit that profile,” he said. “The three of us, the three founders, we believed in the mission - to help people see and understand data. I was one that we viewed as a big problem.”

Tableau’s helping customers small and large with that problem by offering software that makes it easier to visualize and analyze the information contained in databases.

It’s a hot market, with the business world awash in information and constantly searching for better ways to understand, monitor and explain what’s happening.

Tableau’s ongoing success won’t be easy. Other companies offer similar tools and business software giants such as Microsoft and Google are adding better visualization and analysis tools to their products, which could reduce demand for standalone products like Tableau.

Chabot said customers like Tableau’s autonomy.

“Customers really like the fact that we’re able to connect to the data sources regardless of the vendor - we’re kind of a Swiss army knife for data,” he said, adding that “we bring a lot of value to customers by connecting to all the world’s data.”

Yet there’s still a chance that Tableau will be acquired by one of those Goliaths, especially as competition grows between the business computing platforms of Microsoft, Google, Amazon.com and others.

Tableau’s tools - which make it easy for everyone from the receptionist to the chief executive to analyze data - seem like a natural addition to stack of enterprise software that needs better and more attractive tools on users’ desktops.

Chabot acknowledged that Tableau could still get scooped up.

“There’s always a chance,” he said. “We would do it if it’s the right thing for people and customers.”

But now the big players would have to pay $5 billion instead of $500 million to acquire Tableau.

Then we’ll have a rags to unfathomable riches story.

SquareHub debuts private Facebook for families

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:16:05 PDT

Whether or not Dave Cotter's new venture takes off, he has a future in fund raising.

Cotter lined up a remarkable team of investors behind SquareHub, a new private networking service for families called SquareHub. The service provides messaging, status updates, a shared calendar and photo sharing through a free iPhone app that became available this week.

Cotter, a former Amazon.com manager and co-founder of Seattle's AdXpose, had personal motivations. He needed a better tool to stay in touch and coordinate schedules with his children and ex-wife.

"Especially with our teens and ‘tweens, we noticed that the more gadgets family members had and the more networks we used, the harder it was to stay coordinated and emotionally connected,” he said in a release. "Facebook is too noisy and public. Our kids rarely use email, and filtering out the important stuff from hundreds of text messages was too cumbersome."

Co-founders -- who together have nine kids -- include Gilles Anquetil, an Apple veteran and former chief executive of MotionBridge; Barry Chu, former vice president at BlueKai and Medio; and Bruno Botnivik, former MotionBridge chief technology officer and Bing mobile lead developer.

SquareHub works primarily on iPhones but can also send messages to other devices via email or SMS. It also works with an iPod Touch or iPad, and the company plans to release an Android version of its app this summer.

The Seattle-based company raised $650,000 from investors, who can presumably throw more into the pot if necessary.

Backers include former T-Mobile marketing chief Cole Brodman, Isilon founder Sujal Patel, investor Geoff Entress and aQuantive co-founder Mike Galgon. Plus some of the top executives at Amazon.com, including senior vice presidents Jeff Wilke and Brian Valentine; Kindle Vice President Ian Freed; App Store VP Mike George; and development manager Prakash Bulusu.

"Today’s families are bombarded by demands that push them apart,” Brodman said in a release. "While mobile technology makes it easy to connect with a lot of people during the day, it has never really tackled the problem of bringing the most important people closer together — your family."

Here's Cotter providing a demonstration:

Video game sales freeze ahead of console reboot

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:01:07 PDT

Gamers are apparently saving up for the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles coming out later this year.

Sales of current game hardware and game discs plunged again last month, dropping 25 percent in the U.S., according to NPD's monthly report.

Yearly comparisons are difficult because the Easter holiday was in a different month this year, NPD said, but game sales have stunk either way. The current generation of game consoles has nearly ended, and players are increasingly spending their time and money playing cheaper games on mobile devices.

In this period of limbo, hardware sales fell 42 percent to $109.5 million in April, down from $187.8 million the year before. Players spent more on accessories than new game consoles last month.

Xbox was the top-selling hardware platform for the 21st month in a row, NPD said, selling 130,000 consoles.

Sales of game software fell 17 percent to $254.3 million and accessory sales were down 19 percent, to $131.4 million.

Nintendo is doing particularly well selling games for its 3DS handheld, with sales of Nintendo-produced games up 52 percent to 2.1 million units last month, the company said in a release.

Here are the top selling games last month:

Injustice: Gods Among Us (360, PS3, NWU)

Dead Island: Riptide (360, PS3, PC)

Bioshock Infinite (360, PS3, PC)

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, PC, NWU)

Defiance (360, PS3, PC)

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)

NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, WII, NWU, PSP, PC)

Skylanders Giants (WII, 360, PS3, 3DS, NWU)

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (3DS)

MLB 13: The Show (PS3, Vita)

Step aside, Slim: Bill Gates once again world's richest

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:35:48 PDT

Watch for fireworks along the shore in Medina tonight, or at least the fizz from a celebratory soda.

Bill Gates today reclaimed his crown as the world's richest man after six years in second place behind Mexican phone tycoon Carlos Slim.

Microsoft stock today closed over $34, pushing the estimated wealth of Gates to $72.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

That pulled Gates ahead of Slim, who is now worth only $72.1 billion, according to Bloomberg's tally. Gates hasn't held the top spot since 2007, it reported.

The news comes on the final day of the Microsoft CEO Summit, which annually draws many of the world's richest executives to the area. It should give them something besides technology to discuss over their asparagus, salmon and Champagne.

Tableau ups offering price to $31, trading begins Friday

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:01:07 PDT

It looks like Fremont-based Tableau Software's stock will begin trading on Friday, with the excellent ticker symbol DATA.

Tableau and its bankers are visualizing lots of investor interest. Today they upped the estimated initial selling price of the company's stock to $28 to $30, up from the $23 to $26 estimate that Tableau released on May 6.

UPDATE: They upped it again today, fixing the opening price at $31.

At $30, the offering would raise $248.4 million, according to the updated S1 report the company filed with the SEC. Tableau expects to net $132.3 million, if the stock is priced at $29. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters.

Tableau sells software tools and services that companies use to visualize and analyze data. It began with technology developed at Stanford University with research funded by the military and spun into a company in 2003.

The company has been on a tear lately, with sales of $127.7 million last year, up from $34 million in 2010. It's been investing heavily, increasing research and development spending to $2.1 million last year, up from $628,000 the year before. Profit was $1.4 million last year, down from $3.4 million the year before.

Several financial news sites are reporting that the stock will begin trading Friday, after its offering price is finalized Thursday.

After analyzing this data, I'm visualizing lots of tech types Friday afternoon at Fremont Brewing. Or maybe across the canal at Canlis, depending on how things turn out.

Apptio raises $45 million, primed for IPO

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:31:07 PDT

Today's forecast for Bellevue: Cloudy with showers of cash, raining down on business software startup Apptio.

Apptio today is announcing that it has raised a whopping $45 million, ending a relatively quiet period in the funding of Seattle-area startups.

The funding will be used mostly to expand distribution of its products and increase professional services that it provides to customers. It's also planning to expand overseas, increasing its presence in Europe and establishing itself in Asia.

Founders of the company have said they intend to build Apptio into a major, independent company in the region, rather than cash in quickly by selling to a larger company as they did previously with iConclude. That venture sold to Opsware in 2007 for $60 million, two years after it started.

"We are really intent on building a long-lasting company that changes the way IT is managed," Apptio co-founder and Chief Financial Officer Kurt Shintaffer said.

The company now has plenty of money to run until it goes public. Shintaffer acknowledged that's a likely outcome, saying the company would go public if that presents "an opportunity to drive more growth." But he wouldn't say when an initial public offering may happen.

Pressure to go public could come from investors, including big investment groups leading the latest round of funding. They include Janus Capital, Fidelity and The Hillman Company, along with previous investors such as Madrona Venture Group, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Shasta Ventures and T. Rowe Price Associates.

That lineup probably won't have the patience to slowly and steadily build a private software company without the pop of an IPO or merger.

"Clearly the set of investors we're working with here are investors who invest primarily in public companies so clearly that dynamic suggests something about what the investors think our potential outcome could be," Shintaffer said.

Altogether Apptio has raised $136 million since it was started in 2007 by veterans of the enterprise software space with a knack for building companies that ride trends in corporate computing. Apptio builds tools that managers at big companies use to manage and analyze their technology investments.

Apptio calls itself the leading provider of "technology business management" products, which companies are using to keep track of their software, hardware and services as they evolve and blend on-site technology with online technologies.

"In the midst of this services transformation, TBM is a must-have set of business management applications and analytics for Global 2000 enterprises," Apptio founder and Chief Executive Sunny Gupta said in a release.

So far Apptio only has about 125 customers but they are big ones -- 29 of the Fortune 100, including Boeing, Target, Xerox, Safeway and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Apptio isn't disclosing sales other than to say they nearly doubled last year. Employment has soared, from 115 at the end of 2010 to about 350, including 220 at its headquarters in downtown Bellevue.

With the funding in hand, employment should grow to 450 or 500 people over the next year, according to Shintaffer.

Here's a screenshot of an Apptio console window: