[HTML3]Fresh off an appearance at Portland’s Open Source Bridge configuration management panel, the folks at Reductive Labs—makers of Puppet, an open source declarative language for configuring IT Systems—have announced that the company has secured $2 million in Series A funding from True Ventures.
And while garnering funding is always good news, there’s some even better news in my opinion: Reductive Labs is moving to Portland.
Reductive Labs works to help IT shops run better. Giving them more predictable performance while lowering the cost of running their equipments. And they do all of it through an open source framework called Puppet.
What exactly does Puppet do? To put it bluntly, it helps you scale.
To put it more eloquently, Dana Oshiro at ReadWriteWeb provides a great overview of Puppet and its potential:
Puppet is an open source framework best known for helping businesses scale with scripts rather than staff. It ensures that multiple systems can automatically perform routine maintenance functions including adding users, installing packages and configuring servers. Puppet allows system administrators to monitor multiple machines across multiple operating systems and ensure that the lifeblood of major companies continues to pump. It is a declarative language that aids against preventable downtime, the need for redundant scripts and the cost of additional employees. Essentially companies get to work on the product, rather than the network.
How did they garner $2 million in funding? VentureBeat has one theory:
Can we just say it? Puppet lets companies cut the sizes of their IT staffs. In a shrinking economy, that’s a hot ticket
Why relocate to Portland? Well, the founders are former Reed College classmates. And the draw of our current tech and startup environment has a certain appeal, as Greg Huang at Xconomy reports when describing the Reductive Labs move to Portland:
Reductive Labs is in the process of relocating to Portland. Its founders are currently spread out across the country—Shafer in Salt Lake City, chief executive Luke Kanies in Nashville, and Teyo Tyree in Portland by way of Nashville….[HTML2]
The reason for the move goes back to 1994, when Shafer and Kanies were roommates at Reed College in Portland. “We just love that city,” Shafer says. “It has a burgeoning technical undercurrent, a strong open source community. We feel we’re well positioned to take advantage of the ecosystem.”
And we—and by that I mean the royal “we”—are looking forward to having you here, Reductive.
[UPDATE] For even more insight, I just noticed a great Q&A with Reductive Labs founder Luke Kaines from Matt Asay on the Open Road.
For more information on the funding, see the press release. For more information on the company and its solutions, see Reductive Labs or Puppet. Or—already true to Portland’s startup tech scene—you can always follow Reductive Labs on Twitter.
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