Cloud-based analytics company Tidemark took the wraps off its business after two years in stealth mode, and announced a new funding round.

The company is another in a list of start-ups aimed at helping businesses deal with sorting through growing amounts of data. It works using the cloud -- meaning data gets stored on a network of computers and is accessible from anywhere.

But in a sign of the tough fund-raising environment that has emerged over the last couple of months, the company raised less money this year than it did last year. Typically, companies raise a bigger sum with each funding round.

Tidemark, formerly known as Proferi, raised $6.3 million in its A, or first significant, funding round last year, and said total equity raised totaled more than $11 million. A spokesman confirmed the new round was slightly smaller than the previous round, and said Tidemark didn't want to raise more cash than it needed at this stage.

Its software takes on established players like Oracle and SAP, and will allow customers to quickly see the possible outcomes for a variety of scenarios: For what happens if a competitor enters your space, or if you change a product line, Chief Executive Officer Christian Gheorghe told Reuters as examples.

Fellow cloud-based business-software company Box said last week it won $81 million in a late-stage round of funding. Domo, a cloud-based business intelligence company founded by former Omniture CEO Josh James, won $33 million in July.

Tidemark's initial customers are sales & marketing company Acosta; U.S. Sugar, and a large technology company it declined to name.

Its backers include venture-capital firms Greylock Partners and Andreessen Horowitz; and Dave Duffield, co-founder of Workday and founder of PeopleSoft, both business-enterprise companies.

(Reporting by Sarah McBride; Editing by Gary Hill)

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