San Jose-based networking giant Cisco said today that it has acquired Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence, a Santa Barbara firm which develops software used for managing building infrastructure. According to Cisco, Richards-Zeta's middleware will be used as part of a solution for allowing customers to maximize operations and energy efficiencies, to create greater energy savings, and to reduce their carbon footprint. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Santa Barbara-based AppFolio , a developer of software-as-a-service for property management, is announcing today that it has raised $8M in additional funding for the firm. The funding comes from the Investment Group of Santa Barbara (IGSB). the firm has previously also raised capital from Cisco Systems and BV Capital, in addition to the Investment Group of Santa Barbara. Appfolio said the funding round brings the company's total raised to $30M. The company said the new funding will go to accelerate its growth.

Citrix Systems , a provider of enterprise infrastructure software based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said Wednesday that the firm is reducing its headcount by approximately 10 percent--and has laid off staff at the firm's Santa Barbara Unit, Citrix Online. According to sources, the firm has provided notice to people in its Santa Barbara office about the cuts. A spokesperson for Citrix confirmed the cuts Friday evening.

Santa Barbara-based Solid Oak Software , a maker of PC Internet filtering technology, is claiming that the firm's software code is being used by the country as part of a new program to force PC makers to install filtering software on all new PCs shipped in the country. companies from shipping PCs with the Chinese software loaded. In a report from the Wall Street Journal, the firm said it is looking for an injunction to prevent U.S. A

Santa Barbara-based cloud computing software firm RightScale announced today that the firm is partnering with a number of other software providers to deliver business intelligence software on its cloud management platform. RightScale said its software can automatically configure the software from those vendors, deploy it into the cloud. RightScale said it is unveiling the new product with Jaspersoft, Talend, and Vertica, which integrates technology from those firms for the business intelligence market. RightScale is venture backed by Index Ventures

Santa Barbara-based 15desks , a developer of software-as-a-service for educators, said this morning that the firm has launched a new product for course management. The firm said it is privately funded, and first launched in 2007 at the University of Santa Barbara. ...Tags: Tags: 15desks software saas education school universit The firm said its product will allow educators, students, parents, administrators as well as others share resources, get information about grades, and other educational information.

Santa Barbara-based Eucalpytus Systems , the venture funded startup developing open source, private cloud management software, said Thursday that it has released its first major update of its software. According to the firm, the updated software now includes multi-cluster support, better scaling, and new monitoring capabilities. Eucalpytus is venture READ MORE>> ...Tags: Tags: eucalyptus systems cloud computing softar

Santa Barbara-based D2 Technologies, which develops embedded software for the voice-over-IP market, said this week at CES that it has upgraded the firm's flagship vPort product line. version of its software, which is used by OEMs and service providers to develop voice communications products, has added new support for video calls, high definition audio, Windows CE/Mobile, and remote security management. The firm said the 2.0 The firm is targeting development of femtocells, mobile internet devices, and handsets with the software.

There are some very cool new features being released all the time as part of the software that powers this system. So here's the Hot List for 1/1/2009 - 1/15/2009 Top 5 Posts The 7 Ways to Get Traffic on the Web Why You Need To Lead A Tribe - Seth Godin LA Gets Dugg, Hammered, Screwed How To Get The World Excited About Your Business –The James Siminoff Interview Viral analytics and metrics - go viral young startup Top 20 Keywords SEO Metrics Marketing Social Media Alelo Google Yahoo Mahalo MySpace Tech Coast Angels

Santa Barbara-based Eucalyptus , which develops open source, cloud computing management software, has linked with a developer of scaling software for the Java programming language, Terracotta, the firms said Tuesday. According to Terracotta and Eucalyptus, the two will provide tighter integration between their respective software, and also engage in joint sales and marketing. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Terracotta's software is being used to manage Java applications within the cloud; Eucalyptus develops software used to manage private and