GovTech startup Accela raises $40M for public land management, health, safety (and more)

Accela, a startup that provides software to bolster civic engagement, just raised $40 million in a fourth round of funding.

With government agencies moving to the cloud, the San Ramon, Calif.-based company is in a strong position to boost its revenues in the next few years.

Accela’s cloud platform makes it easier for government officials to perform critical tasks associated with land management, licensing, asset management, and public health and safety. Accela also offers mobile applications that are used by citizens to track their status on an application and report public safety problems.

In the past, governments have been slow to adopt cloud computing. However, in recent years, the cloud has been perceived as secure enough to handle sensitive data.

Moreover, as we reported, all the negative press around the government’s ill-fated health exchange HealthCare.gov, will further encourage cloud adoption. Industry execs have questioned whether the buggy site leveraged cloud technology at all.

“The government will begin to start working with firms that are specialized in the cloud and health IT,” said Chini Krishnan, the chief executive of GetInsured, in an interview earlier this week.

Accela has been around since the late 1990s and currently counts over 500 government agencies among its customers. High-profile customers include the cities of San Francisco, Palo Alto, Calif., and New York.

The company has previously raised $10 million in funding. It will use this new infusion of capital to make strategic acquisitions and build out its sales team.

The round was led by Bregal Sagemount, a New York-based growth equity fund.