Cloud migration innovator AppZero today announced a $3M round of funding to support enterprises moving to the cloud, including those faced with moving millions of applications to newer operating systems from Windows Server 2003, which reaches the end of extended support next year.

Leading technology investors and super angels are the investors and include AppZero Chairman Nigel Stokes, former CEO and co-founder of DataMirror, now part of IBM; Joseph Alsop, former CEO and co-founder of Progress Software; Covington Capital, a Canadian venture capital investment firm focused on supporting the growth and success of visionary entrepreneurs; individual investments from the partners of Gold Bench Capital, LLC; Frank A Bonsal, Jr., founder of New Enterprise Associates (NEA), one of the country's largest venture capital firms; and Matt Ocko, long-time technology entrepreneur and startup investor, co-founder and co-Managing Partner of Data Collective.

AppZero offers a fast and flexible way to move Windows server applications to and from any cloud and has been recommended by Microsoft for moving a variety of server applications from Windows Server 2003 to clouds or datacenters running newer operating systems such as Windows Server 2008 (R2) or Windows 2012 and W2012 (R2).

'AppZero is in a unique position because our technology separates applications from the operating system, moving only the application and its data, while the traditional method of moving virtual machines can't move (up-level) onto newer operating systems,' said AppZero CEO Greg O'Connor. 'We're solving an enormous problem for IT which is simultaneously serving as a catalyst for businesses ready to move to cloud-based environments.'

AppZero makes the move to and from the cloud fast and flexible, extracting and moving server applications in minutes so they can run natively on any version of the operating system, machine or cloud, including managed clouds. The end of support for Windows 2003 is viewed as one key opportunity to move to the cloud as many industries are changing out old systems. With some 10+ million servers still running Windows Server 2003 and an estimated $9 billion expected to be spent on overall modernization of legacy systems over the next two years, AppZero is at the intersection of these trends, serving a range of cloud adoption, datacenter migration/modernization, application distribution and operating system upgrade uses cases. Key customers include Pabst Brewing Company and a number of large pharmaceutical companies and investment banks.

'AppZero's ability to modernize infrastructure by migrating server applications to the cloud with the click of a button addresses a major pain point in a way that is extremely easy to use, yet very difficult to replicate,' said Nigel Stokes. 'Beyond the technology, the AppZero team has shown an ability to connect with customers across a range of industries by making the move to the cloud as flexible, painless and profitable as possible.'

AppZero, a 'Top 10 Hot Cloud Start-up to Watch,' offers the only automated tool available to migrate applications onto newer operating systems. For more on how Microsoft recommends AppZero to upgrade the OS and move to the cloud in one easy step, visit: http://www.appzero.com/content/up-level-os. See more AppZero use cases at http://www.appzero.com/content/appzero-uses.

About AppZero
AppZero is the fastest, most flexible way to move server applications to and across any cloud or datacenter, without code change or lock-in. Encapsulating Windows applications in VM/OS-free packages, AppZero's patented software moves complex server applications with ease. AppZero allows you to modernize your infrastructure, moving from an old OS to a newer one with the click of a button - modernize and move to the cloud in one step. For more information, visit http://www.appzero.com and follow us on twitter @AppZero_Inc.