Investing in Rich Areas- Cloud/SaaS, Mobile and Big Data

The technology industry is going through an evolution where we can see new technologies picking up pace and transforming the traditional method of working. Business applications that leverage Cloud/SaaS, Mobile and Big Data are on the high propriety for investors currently. Since Cloud/SaaS is enabling a big disruption in marketing, Mayfield Fund has made seven investments in that space: Marketo, Gigya, AgilOne, NewsCred, MOAT, TrustRadius and ViralHeat. Another promising sector is mobile, which is enabling a new class of applications, for example-Field Service Management: There are millions of Technicians in the world- installing, servicing and fixing equipment like MRI machines, Cable equipment etc. with nothing but clipboards and notepads. ServiceMax, one of our investments is revolutionizing these service industries, with Cloud connected Mobile applications. In my opinion big data holds big opportunities as well since it can deliver Big Insights in areas such as Marketing, Sales, Human Resource Management, Healthcare, Security and Financial Services to transform those industries.

Internet of Things (IOT) or computing everywhere is a very promising area. It is at the intersection of intelligent hardware and software. IOT applications will leverage the Cloud/SaaS, Mobility, and Big Data, at a scale that is several orders of magnitude higher than today. The applications of IOT are endless from tracking goods, to personal health, home automation, to drones.

Healthcare & Education, Areas yet to be Explored

New areas of big innovations lie at the intersection of multiple trends of Cloud/SaaS, Big Data and Mobile, which is making current solutions better, faster and cheaper. I believe, healthcare is one area where modern computing technologies have not yet done enough, and presents a massive opportunity for innovation – to improve the human condition.
Another area is education, learning and human capital management – equipping people with the right knowledge, and skills and making it possible to connect them, with the right job opportunity.