SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 7, 2016) - Today, Zinc, a communications technology company for industries that depend on workforces outside of offices, announced a $5 million funding round co-led by Emergence Capital Partners and Charles River Ventures (CRV). Zinc also released its new mobile messaging platform to provide instant communication for companies in industries like retail, hospitality, medicine, and field service. Up-to-date information is essential for workers in these industries, but front-line employees often use unsecure consumer apps or a patchwork of different enterprise tools to stay connected. Zinc bridges the gap between the home office and the field with a single, secure platform for both mobile and desktop, empowering mobile workers by instantly getting them the information they need to do the best job possible, no matter where they are.

Zinc, formerly known as Cotap, reorganized and launched its new product under the leadership of new CEO Stacey Epstein. Epstein has more than two decades of SaaS experience leading teams and improving how people work, both as head of marketing at SuccessFactors and as CMO at ServiceMax. Most recently, she was chief marketing officer at Banjo, where she helped launch the company's enterprise products.

Zinc's platform has features purpose-built for companies with workers in the field, including:

• Text, voice and video messaging. Easy person-to-person and group text messaging, along with one-click VOIP calling and video conferencing.
• Instant alerts and communication. Give workers the information they need, right away with push alerts to groups or individuals, read receipts and person-to-person "walkie-talkie" voice calling.
• Security and compliance. Simple administration tools give IT departments control over usage without having to worry about unsecured data and information. Zinc is also HIPAA, TRUSTe, FIPS 140-2, and SOC 2 compliant, among other certifications.
• File sharing, location sharing, integrations, and bots. Quickly send important files and connect Zinc to the services workers rely on to get their jobs done.

"Texting and consumer messaging apps have quickly become the way most of us communicate -- they're easy, short, fast and accessible for nearly everyone. Yet most communication tools for business are the exact opposite -- noisy, and decidedly not built for mobile," Epstein said. "Zinc gives businesses a tool that combines the best of both worlds. It's a fast, easy and feature-rich user experience that deskless and mobile workers demand, combined with the security and enterprise administration that enterprises require."

Vivint, a leading smart home technology provider, uses Zinc to give the company a single platform for communication between management and technicians in the field.

"Having worked in field service for the past 15 years, I've seen firsthand how valuable free-flowing communication can be for a company," said Jim Dellinger, VP of Field Service at Vivint. "From quick exchanges to safety & alerts to customer feedback, Zinc's ability to streamline how information travels through our company has completely changed how we communicate from the field to the office."

"There's a tremendous gap in communication technology that's purpose-built for mobile and deskless workers. Zinc perfectly fills that gap," said Jason Green, General Partner at Emergence Capital.

"Zinc has an enormous opportunity to solve some big problems for a lot of companies and their employees," added George Zachary, General Partner at CRV. "It will be fun to watch them get to work."

Get your teams in Zinc now with a free trial. www.zinc.it.

Zinc is a San Francisco-based company connecting deskless and mobile workers with their colleagues both inside and outside the office. Zinc combines a full-featured mobile messaging platform that employees love to use with the security and administrative features that businesses need. Backed by Charles River Ventures and Emergence Capital Partners, Zinc has raised $5 million as part of its mission to inform and empower workers in industries underserved by technology. For more information, visit the website and follow @Zinc on Twitter.