Startup oDesk was voted as a TechCrunch50’s demopit winner thanks to the launch of a new iPhone application that allows project administrators to monitor the work stream of their team members while they’re on the go. Today, oDesk’s free app is available on the App Store.
The stream features photos of your team’s workplace, keystroke events, and lets you know when your workers are checking in and out. You can also see each team member’s latest work memo, local time, and billing status for work.
oDesk has been around for a while, offering a “marketplace for talent” that makes it easy to hire workers remotely. The company currently has over 340,000 providers, with 12,200+ jobs that are open. oDesk has also launched an API Center to encourage developers to create custom workspaces around oDesk tools. The API allows for users to log-in from outside of oDesk’s applications, the ability to search oDesk’s provider data and profiles, and lets users retrieve snapshots of worker activities.
oDesk is backed by Benchmark Capital and has raised $29 million, most recently a $15 million round last year.
The oDesk API is implemented using a REST web service interface that is available to developers looking to build oDesk functionality and content into custom applications. Aiming to build a cohesive and community-based approach to customizing oDesk tools, the oDesk API shares a common token authentication system that allows seamless access between products and services. Visit the oDesk API Center at: http://developers.odesk.com/