A faster and safer environment for developers, with Sweagle
We’re thrilled to lead the $3 million (€2.75 million) round in Sweagle, the platform that helps developers keep an eye on the config data of their applications. This is a big step towards faster, and safer environment for developers — and large web platforms alike.
Websites are like houses of cards
Do you know how much of your favorite website is operated by hand? Probably more than you think. Large websites are complex, interconnected platforms. They are plugged to — and interoperate with — other web applications (i.e. payment, ecommerce platforms, news widgets, any given ID module, etc.) that launch seamlessly as we navigate.
Every time an app is launched, it follows a .txt script that determines how it’s supposed to work. This includes the IP address, interconnectivity rules, passwords, etc. The scripts all written by hand. This becomes a problem for large platforms, because there’s a dedicated script for each app, in each country and each server environment. For an average-to-large ecommerce website, the figures can easily reach several hundred scripts.
Countless files, to be checked and potentially updated at every release. By hand. This is complex and time consuming for the development teams. It’s also risky, especially with the current rhythm of operations in software factories. Who still has the full picture of the configuration? How do you prevent that a change, somewhere, breaks the configuration settings?
Vision, coherence and safety
This is where Sweagle steps in. The platform turns the data into machine readable, “ready to use” data, consumed through a secure API. It helps developers map all the files, spot duplicates, incompatibilities, and simultaneously insert new rules on any file they want. This helps organizations increase release speed and predictability, at a significant lower cost. Better vision, coherence, quality and safety? Yes please!
What’s great about Sweagle is how it doesn’t interfere with the development team’s workflows. It makes it possible to visualize, at any given time, what are the direct effects your settings, thus avoiding risky missteps. This serves as a very welcome safety net, as developers seek constant improvements and hopping from a sprint to another. They can test their configurations and operate safety checks with great accuracy. It’s critical, in the unforgiving context of global ecommerce platforms.
Teamwork in progress
We love a technical deal. But before diving in such a complex IT environment, we needed to rely on skills mastered by very few professionals on the market. So, we’d like to give one shout-out :
- To the teams at Apside, who helped us in the due diligence. Apside is one of the great independent consulting and engineering firms, with over 35 years of experience with the largest French and European groups on their IT and scientific projects. It was recently acquired by Siparex (our mother company) so we were very excited when they came aboard to take a look at the technology. It also helped us get a deeper understanding of Sweagle’s value for the market. This is precious.
To the founders
With the money raised, Mark & Benny will continue to push forward on developing the platform, both on the technical & commercial side. They are getting ready for UK & the European markets. And with the way things are going, the US will quickly follow. The raw energy of our founders never ceases to impress me. What’s special about Mark & Benny, however, is how balanced and relevant they are. Only with enough experience in the software industry can you address such complex issues, on vast platforms like the ones of their clients. In a matter of months, Mark, Benny and the whole Sweagle team already started working with the development teams of many global ecommerce platforms, mobile operators, etc. They are outstanding salesmen. And we love that about them.
