Today, the company has a portfolio of applications that are nearly 100 percent cloud based, with more than a dozen SaaS applications and cloud services ranging from salesforce.com to Vertical Response to Constant Contact.

FORBES: Success in the Cloud Begins with Integration

As Sift expands scale and deepens its market penetration, it could attract takeover offers from email marketers like Constant Contact, Vertical Response, and Vocus, all of which are looking for new ways to reach consumers.

FORBES: Startup Takes Effort Out Of Sifting Retail Deals In Your Email

Think about what this advancement has meant just in terms of access to the resources: When drilling into a hydrocarbon bearing formation 100 feet thick, vertical drilling would allow an operator to contact 100 feet of rock, which would limit your potential recovery to whatever oil or gas would flow into that length of pipe.

FORBES: Horizontal Drilling: A Technological Marvel Ignored