The IDC has described Gospel Technology as the “first practical application of blockchain.”

Gospel Technology is an enterprise data security and collaboration platform, which aims to build a ‘fabric of trust for intercompany data sharing’, through blockchain. The solution works for both employees within the enterprise (intra-enterprise) and between enterprises in supply chains and partnerships (inter-enterprise). And will help address one of the biggest challenges in the digital economy – how to securely enable the usage and exchange of data without impacting business performance.

The start-up is already working with some of the UK’s biggest companies, successfully supporting them to manage and use their data without interrupting or negatively impacting their business.

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This investment will be used for ongoing expansion of sales, marketing and partner programs, as well as continued development of its data collaboration platform and integration across existing and new applications and infrastructure. And, it marks one of the first investments by IA Ventures and Salesforce Ventures in blockchain.

“Salesforce Ventures looks to invest in the most innovative enterprise companies globally,” said Alex Kayyal, Partner at Salesforce Ventures. “We are excited to support Gospel’s vision of advancing enterprise data sharing through blockchain, and we look forward to having them work more closely with our customers.”

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“We believe that blockchain can radically transform the way that organisations will collaborate and share data, resulting in improved productivity and innovation,” said Roger Ehrenberg IA Ventures. “We are looking forward to seeing how the Gospel value proposition matures and how the company acts on its vision for businesses across the world.”

The Series A investment follows previous seed and angel funding from LocalGlobe in February 2018.

Blockchain… solving the data conundrum?

For many businesses, the problem of data sharing has only been addressed by methods that negatively impact a business’ agility and collaboration (such as restricting access).

However, Gospel takes an entirely different approach to the problem, by using blockchain.

It has created ‘an all-in-one solution that utilises a private ledger to create a perimeterless security infrastructure’. This allows organisations to retain control of their data once it is shared externally or internally, providing access to individuals based on their credentials.

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“Google changed the way we interact with the internet. Apple changed the way we use our phones. Facebook changed the way we manage our social relationships. What’s getting people excited about Gospel is that it has the potential to change enterprises’ relationship with their data,” said Teresa Cottam Chief Analyst at Omnisperience. “It does this by bringing to market a breakthrough idea that fixes one of the biggest dilemmas of the digital economy: How to enable collaborative and flexible working without compromising on trust and security. In fact, one of the most surprising things about Gospel is why hasn’t somebody done this before?”

Gospel Technology was founded by CEO Ian Smith, the entrepreneur behind data analysis and migration company, Butterfly Software, which was successfully acquired by IBM in 2012.

Commenting on this investment, Smith said: “Having IA Ventures and Salesforce Ventures join us at this point in our journey is an honour and extremely exciting. IA Ventures are renowned for investing in positively disruptive start-ups and Salesforce is a true innovator and leader, bringing SaaS technology into the enterprise landscape. That mindset and ability to execute aligns with our strategy and ambitions, and we look forward to working together to grow our product and blockchain’s impact in the enterprise.”