Parature

About Parature

Parature was a provider of cloud-based customer engagement solutions, primarily serving mid-size and enterprise organizations across various sectors, including education, government, gaming, and technology. The company was founded in 2000 by five Cornell University students, including Duke Chung, initially under the name Cyracle Technologies. Its first product focused on the live chat market. The company rebranded to Parature in 2003.

The firm's business model was centered on providing its software as a service (SaaS), generating revenue from subscriptions to its suite of customer service tools. Parature's platform was designed to equip clients with a multi-channel customer service strategy. Its core offering was a robust, extendable knowledge base, considered a key asset of the company. This was complemented by functionalities for support ticketing, self-service portals on the web and Facebook, mobile customer care, social media support, and live chat for both service and proactive sales engagement. By the time of its acquisition, the company had amassed 70 million users globally.

Parature secured a total of $34.1 million in venture capital funding from investors including Accel Partners, Sierra Ventures, and Valhalla Partners. On January 7, 2014, Microsoft announced its acquisition of Parature for a reported $100 million. The acquisition was a strategic move for Microsoft to fill functional gaps in its Dynamics CRM product, particularly in areas like knowledge management, self-service capabilities, and chat. Parature's technology was integrated into the Microsoft Dynamics portfolio, and its team of approximately 100 employees joined Microsoft. The Parature service was eventually terminated on May 15, 2018, as its functionalities were fully absorbed into Dynamics 365 for Customer Service.