The Center for Innovative Technology announced today that its CIT GAP Funds has closed an investment in VividCortex, a Charlottesville-based system performance management company that builds software as a service (SaaS) tools to helps clients run IT systems easier, faster, safer, cheaper and more reliably.

CIT President and CEO Pete Jobse said, "Managing big data is both a challenge and an opportunity in today's marketplace. We are confident that our investment in VividCortex will help organizations address their big data challenges and create new economic opportunities for innovative companies and for the Commonwealth."

VividCortex provides a web-based platform with a rich level of insight and ability to manage systems through features such as zero-configuration, zero-maintenance agents, dashboards, automated fault detection, root cause analysis and one-second graphing services. Initial functionality will focus on MySQL monitoring, an open source database management system comprising 80% of the open source database market, and with other databases and servers in the future. In 2011, total revenue generated by open-source database support vendors was $193 million and is expected to grow to $934 million in 2015. VividCortex's broader market is the system performance management software market, growing at 10% annually, and valued at nearly $18 billion.

Baron Schwartz, CEO/CTO of VividCortex, who previously led sales, marketing and engineering at Percona, a leading global database consulting company, said, "VividCortex's proprietary solutions offer clients a better suite of database analytical tools compared to competing products. In an economic environment where raising capital for companies such as ours continues to be challenging, we appreciate the CIT GAP Funds investment, which we will use to enhance sales and market validation."

Kyle Redinger, CMO of VividCortex, added "VividCortex's vision is to bring 'technical intelligence' to the world. We live in a world that is increasingly driven by human-to-machine interaction and our products serve the people behind the technology."

CIT GAP Funds is a family of seed- and early-stage investment funds placing near-equity and equity investments in Virginia-based high-growth technology, life science and clean technology companies.

Tom Weithman, VP, CIT Entrepreneur and Managing Director of the CIT GAP Funds, said, "We are helping to create Virginia's innovation economy by promoting the importance of and investing in the work and dreams of entrepreneurs like Baron Schwartz and his team at VividCortex."

In FY2012, CIT GAP Funds invested in 28 new companies. Since its 2005 launch, CIT GAP Funds has invested in over 70 companies across the Commonwealth of Virginia, deploying more than $9 million of public funds and attracting over $90 million more in private funding.

About the Center for Innovative Technology, http://www.cit.org
Since 1985, CIT, a nonprofit corporation, has been the Commonwealth's primary driver in developing innovation-based economic development strategies and opportunities. CIT accelerates the next generation of technology and technology companies through commercialization, capital formation, market development and revenue generation services. To facilitate national innovation leadership and accelerate the rate of technology adoption, CIT creates partnerships between innovative technology startup companies and advanced technology consumers.

About the CIT GAP Funds, http://www.citgapfunds.org
CIT GAP Funds makes seed-stage equity investments in Virginia-based technology, clean tech and life science companies with a high potential for achieving rapid growth and generating significant economic return for entrepreneurs, co-investors and the Commonwealth of Virginia. CIT GAP Funds investments are overseen by the CIT GAP Funds Investment Advisory Board (IAB). This independent, third-party panel consists of leading regional entrepreneurs, angel and strategic investors, and venture capital firms such as: New Enterprise Associates, Grotech Ventures, Valhalla Partners, Harbert Venture Partners HIG Ventures, Edison Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Intersouth Partners, SJF Ventures, Carilion Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric and Alpha Natural Resources.