Careers at DataStax

Mission

Datastax seeks to optimise the database systems of enterprise clients across multiple business sectors through a range of cloud-based software solutions and related products.

Founding story

Datastax was founded in 2010 by former Rackspace employees Jonathan Ellis (“Ellis”) and Matt Pfeil (“Pfeil”) who sought to utilise the newly open source Apache Cassandra platform to develop effective database management solutions. The Company was initially incorporated under the name Riptano, and launched the first build of its Datastax software in 2011.

Datastax began attracting investor funding in 2010, completing its Series A round in October that year and raising $2.7 million. The Company went on to complete a further four funding rounds and to date has raised a total of $160 million, including from investors such as Comcast Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

Datastax has used its funds to develop an extensive portfolio of products and solutions, as well as an international network of offices spanning markets across the North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. In 2016 the Company was included in the Forbes list of The World’s Best 100 Cloud Companies.

The Company is reportedly planning an initial public offering in the near future, with coverage form 2014 valuing the Company at around $830 million.

Benefits at DataStax

Business model of DataStax

Customer Segments

Datastax provides a wide range of database software solutions to commercial institutions across multiple sectors. The Company primarily serves clients across the following industries:

  • Technology and Communications, including technology companies, software developers, web service companies, telecommunications companies, cable network providers, and data and analytics providers;
  • Financial Services, including retail and commercial banking institutions, insurance companies, credit institutions, and other financial services providers;
  • Energy and Utilities, including gas and electricity distributors, energy producers, and energy service providers;
  • Retail, including physical and digital retailers across multiple sectors, including consumer goods and groceries;
  • Education, including higher education institutions and education technology companies; and
  • Media and Publishing, including newspaper and magazine publishers, online streaming service providers, and media groups.

Datastax names a number of its customers on its website. This includes high-profile names such as ING, Netflix, eBay, Target, UBS, Comcast, Cisco, Macy’s, Microsoft, and Sony.

Datastax is based in the US, which is also its principal market. The Company, however, also serves clients across a number of international markets, including in Europe and Asia Pacific.

Value Propositions

Datastax provides value to its clients in the following ways:

  • Its reputation and industry standing, with the Company established as a reliable provider of database software solutions, indicated by its ability to secure business from high-profile clients such as Microsoft, Macy’s and Comcast;
  • Its extensive portfolio of products and solutions, with the Company offering a broad range of dataset solutions that cater to companies across multiple industries, including analytics, search, and development tools;
  • Its network of partners, with the Company working closely with a range of partner companies and institutions – including major technology companies – to ensure that its products are reliable and effective and are delivered efficiently; and
  • Its industry expertise and experience, with the Company employing specialist technical personnel across its enterprise to ensure that its products are reliable and of high quality, as well as a team of experienced industry executives.

Channels

Datastax operates a website at www.datastax.com, through which its provides information on its various products, solutions, partners, and clients. The Company allows clients to register for its online platform and download its software directly from its website. Customers are also able to register an interest in the Company’s various products and solutions through an online contact form.

Datastax also operates an in-house direct sales force, which is organised across the Company’s various operating locations and operates out of the Company’s various offices, including locations in Japan, the UK, Germany, Australia, and France. These sales personnel deal directly with clients and can be contacted over the phone, by email, or via an online contact form.

The Company also makes sales through various channel partners. This notably includes the Company’s original equipment manufacturer partners which integrate the Company’s products into third party solutions and service offerings.

Customer Relationships

Datastax offers certain products and services to clients on a self-service basis, with customers able to register for the Company’s online services and download software directly form the Company’s website without interacting directly with members of the Company’s sales and service personnel.

Datastax offers a more personalised service through its direct sales teams, the members of which consult closely with clients in order to, where possible, tailor and scale solutions to fit their individual circumstances. The Company seeks to establish longstanding relationships with its clients, working towards establishing its solutions as an integral part of its clients’s systems.

Datastax offers ongoing services to its clients, who are able to contact the Company’s dedicated support staff over the phone or online in order to access personalised technical assistance.

The Company also offers various online resources – including webinars, white papers, case studies, analyst reports, and datasheets – that clients can access independently through the Datastax website. It additionally publishes its calendar of scheduled events, which provides the opportunity for clients to attend and interact with the Company in person.

Datastax maintains social networking accounts with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, through which it is able to interact directly with customers and publish company updates.

Key Activities

Datastax is a provider of enterprise software solutions. It offers a range of database software products for cloud applications to commercial and institutional clients across multiple industries in the US and across Europe and Asia Pacific.

It offers a range of solutions, including Datastax Enterprise, a database for cloud applications that is used for online applications that require fast performance with no downtime, as well as Datastax OpsCenter, a Web-based visual management and monitoring solution.

The Company additionally provides a range of ancillary services. Datastax is based in the US, but maintains a network of international offices, including in the UK, Japan, France, Germany, and Australia.

Key Partners

Datastax works closely with various partner companies and organisations, primarily within the technology and technical services fields. The Company organises its partners into the following categories:

  • Cloud Partners, including specialist cloud service providers and other cloud technology companies that assist the Company in developing and delivering effective cloud-based solutions and maintaining its cloud network infrastructure;
  • Consulting Partners, including large professional services firms and specialist technology consulting firms that assist the Company in developing effective data solutions and maintain effective technical architecture;
  • Original Equipment Manufacturer Partners, including software and application developers and other product developers that collaborate with the Company on various integrated solutions and products; and
  • Technology Partners, comprising various technology companies and IT service providers, with which the Company collaborates on various development and maintenance projects.

Datastax names a number of its key partners on its website. This includes consulting partners Accenture, CapTech, and Data Fact; original equipment manufacturers CA Technologies, NetApp, and ThingWorx; cloud partners Microsoft, CenturyLink, and Google Cloud Platform; and Technology Partners Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cambridge Intelligence, and Cisco.

Key Resources

Datastax’s key resources are its proprietary technologies and intellectual properties, its software products and platform, its IT and communications infrastructure, its sales and distribution channels, its network of partners, and its personnel.

Datastax utilises various proprietary technologies in the development and delivery of its solutions. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified one patent application filed in the name of Datastax entitled ‘Embedding application services in a distributed datastore’.

Datastax additionally owns and or leases various physical properties across the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific that comprise its network of sales and administrative offices.

Cost Structure

Datastax incurs costs in relation to the development of its technologies and products, the development and maintenance of its online platform, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the procurement of services, the management of its partnerships, the implementation of marketing and advertising campaigns, and the retention of its personnel.

Revenue Streams

Datastax generates revenue through the development and sale of database software solutions to commercial entities across multiple business sectors. The Company derives revenue under a subscription model for its flagship platform, as well as under sales and service contracts that are agreed on a case-by-case basis.

Datastax remains a privately owned company, and as such it is not obliged to publish its financial results on its website. Research did not identify any media coverage or estimates of the Company’s recent revenue figures.

Our team

Billy Bosworth,
Chief Executive Officer

info: Billy Bosworth (“Bosworth”) has served as Chief Executive Officer at Datastax since joining the Company in 2011. He is responsible for leading the Company’s overall strategic direction. He also sits on the Board of Directors at Tableau Software. Bosworth began his career in 1992 as a network support engineer at Blue Cross Blue Shield. He moved to Alliant Health Systems in 1995 as an application developer, following which he launched Advanced Computer Designs. From 2000 to 2005 Bosworth served as Director of Product Management at Embarcadero Technologies, an prior to joining Datastax was Vice President and General Manager of the Enterprise Database unit at Quest Software.

Robert O’Donovan,
Chief Financial Officer

info: Robert has served as Chief Financial Officer at Datastax since joining the Company in 2017. He leads the Company various financial functions, overseeing the operation of its financial units, such as the accounting and internal audit departments. O’Donovan began his career in 1982 as an audit associate at McDonnell and Company. In 1996 he joined Dell EMC, where he held various finance roles of increasing responsibility over the course of 17 years, including spells as Credit Controller, Chief Financial Officer for Asia Pacific, and Vice President of Sales Productivity and Enablement for Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Datastax, O’Donovan served for three years as Chief Financial Officer at Pivotal.

Jonathan Ellis,
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer

info: Ellis has served as Chief Technology Officer at Datastax since co-founding the Company in 2010. He oversees the Company’s technical operations, including the development of its flagship cloud platform. Ellis is a software engineer by training, beginning his career in 2001 as a software engineer at Digital Technology International. He moved to Neumont University in 2003 as a senior instructor, a role he held for close to 18 months before joining SilentWhistle as Lead Developer. In 2005 Ellis was named Principal Engineer at Berkeley Data Systems, following which he served as Partner and senior engineer at FeatureFifty. Prior to joining Datastax, he was a systems architect at Rackspace Hosting.