Monday, April 21, 2008

Lattice Engines weaves customer data for big-name clients

By Christopher Calnan

Unless your company has at least 500 salespeople, Tom Ebling doesn't want to talk to you.

Ebling, the former CEO of ProfitLogic Inc. and Torrent Systems Inc., is now leading Boston software company Lattice Engines Inc., which has developed software for businesses -- such as Microsoft Corp. -- with sales forces of 500 or more.

In March, the company closed on a $1.7 million Series A financing that Ebling said will be used as a cushion while it invests in more sophisticated software "to make it more reportable."

Lattice Engines' product is designed to predict what clients' customers want by aggregating customer profiles, buying histories, and industry trends from sources such as regulatory filings and private business data providers.

The technology, which effectively replaces what consultants normally do for clients, was developed by two former McKinsey & Co. consultants: Shashi Upadhyay, now Lattice Engines' president, and Kent McCormick, its CTO.

Lattice Engines, which launched in 2006, was initially funded with "several hundred thousands of dollars" from angel investors, Upadhyay said. The software typically gathers its data from five to 10 sources, but sometimes it taps into 60 to 80 sources, he said.

Last year, the company signed its first fully deployed product customer after beta testing it, and enlisted Ebling, Upadhyay said. Now, after just a single year of operations, Lattice Engines clients include Microsoft, BEA Systems Inc. and Compuware Corp.

Initially focusing on tech clients, Ebling expects to expand to financial services customers during the next 18 months before deciding if Lattice will raise a Series B round of funding.

The company's sole institutional investor is Battery Ventures in Waltham. Senior associate Brian Lieber said Lattice Engines' software is designed to provide "actionable data" that clients use to make marketing decisions.

Ebling expects Lattice Engines to eventually expand to six markets, including pharmaceuticals, insurance and medical devices. "Getting people's attention and demonstrating success to prospects in the market," is the company's biggest challenge, he said.

Ebling's former company, Cambridge-based ProfitLogic, was acquired in 2005 by Oracle Corp. for a reported $160 million. Before ProfitLogic, he was the CEO of Torrent Systems, a Cambridge company that was acquired in 2001 by Westborough-based Ascential Software Corp. for $46 million, which itself was acquired by IBM Corp. in 2005.