Kalaari backs e-commerce analytics firm Unilog

Unilog Content Solutions Pvt Ltd, a technology services company that specialises in Big Data analytics and data management for e-commerce players, has secured an undisclosed amount in funding from Kalaari Capital.

The money raised will be used by the Philadelphia (the US) and Bangalore-based company to enhance product development and fuel geographical expansion, as per a press statement.

Unilog was launched 16 years ago as a provider of online product content management software. It presently claims to work with over 100 customers. The company's flagship product is CIMM2, an e-commerce software platform for companies that sell to other businesses.

"B2B e-commerce is a vastly underserved market, with all the major software companies heavily focused on B2C/retail," said Suchit Bachalli, Unilog's president for North America. "CIMM2 is helping customers grow their businesses and defend their positions against the giant online marketplaces, like AmazonBusiness. We are taking apart the older framework model of big software and replacing it with a cleaner and simpler, yet extremely robust e-commerce platform," he said.

CIMM2's customers are typically mid-size enterprises with annual revenue in the $300 million to $800 million range.

"Customer satisfaction is high (with Unilog's products), and for a product as complex and complete as CIMM2, it speaks volumes of its future potential. We believe that the funding will enable it to grow rapidly to the next level both in India and abroad," said Kumar Shiralagi, MD at Kalaari Capital.

There has been considerable interest in companies that allow businesses to source from other businesses through the online marketplace model. In India too several such players have sprung up in the last few years.

Kalaari itself participated in a $9 million Series B funding round at Industrybuying.com, an online marketplace for industrial goods.

Another venture in this space is Tolexo.com. Run by Tolexo Online Pvt Ltd, Tolexo is part of IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd, which runs an online B2B platform for small and medium businesses connecting global buyers with suppliers under the brand IndiaMART.

Globally, Amazon launched its wholesale e-com property AmazonSupply three years ago. This came two years after Alibaba launched a new site for B2B e-com under 1688.com.

Last month, Kalaari participated in a funding round at YourStory, whose content and events compete with some offerings from Techcircle.in and VCC Events, which are both part of the 10-year-old VCCircle Network. The parent of VCCircle Network—whose business lines include subscription data products, events, training programmes and a subscription-led news website and app focused on the startup ecosystem as well as business at large in India—was acquired by News Corp in March.