David McCann

Seattle-based Varolii Corp. has raised $8 million in venture capital to accelerate development of some projects, including next-generation smart phone apps.

The series D Round includes financing from all of Varolii’s current investors: BlueRun Ventures, Draper Fischer Jurvetson, Institutional Venture Partners and InterWest Partners

Draper Fischer Jurvetson venture partner William Bryant is joining Varolii’s board. Varolii also is adding a second board member, Lee Roberts, former CEO and Chairman of FileNet, which was acquired by IBM in 2006 for $1.6 billion.

Varolii makes communications software that allows banks, airlines, utilities and other organizations to send automated alerts or messages. Six of the top 10 airlines use the technology, as do five of the top wireless and cable providers. Overall, Varolii has 400 corporate customers, including the to 50 U.S. retail brands.

The venture deal comes four months after David McCann, a former Microsoft executive, was hired as Varolii’s president and CEO.

This is the first time the company has raised external funds in nine years.

McCann said Varolii had several projects on the drawing board that the new funding will allow the company to accelerate. One is the next generation of smartphone apps for Varolii clients to reach customers.

Most current apps are passive. A smartphone user downloads it and it sits dormant until the user activates it.

Varolii’s next-generation apps would be more proactive in situations when customers might want to be alerted or notified. One scenario could be a bank that wants to let a customer know about a questionable charge on a credit card, McCann said.

Varolii also wants to fast-track work to automate some of the inbound customer service interaction with Varolii clients, to help them save on call center budgets.

Varolii has struggled in the recent past due to the recession. The company canceled an initial public offering in 2008 and cut staff in January 2009 and in the summer of 2010.

The company has about 225 workers, including about 160 in Seattle. McCann said the company is not on a hiring binge, but does expect to add about a dozen developers, mostly in Seattle.

Like some other software companies, Varolii was reshaped by the recession. But Varolii is viable and “clearly I think we understand what it takes to drive growth in the market,’ McCann said.