Emerging Vendors 2013: Networking And VoIP

Notable In Networking

CRN's annual Emerging Vendors examines the hottest tech startups in multiple disciplines throughout the IT industry. And that includes companies with leading-edge networking and VoIP technologies that make all the other hardware and software stuff work together. Here are some emerging vendors with key networking and VoIP products, from software-defined networking and networking virtualization, to unified communications to next-generation videoconferencing.

Aryaka Networks

Milpitas, Calif.
Top Executive: Ajit Gupta, President & CEO

Aryaka Networks offers its WAN Optimization-as-a-Service, Network-as-a-Service and Applications Delivery-as-a-Service for boosting the performance of cloud computing networks and applications. The services eliminate the need for expensive WAN appliances and long-haul private links, according to the company.

Big Switch Networks

Mountain View, Calif.
Top Executive: Guido Appenzeller, Co-Founder & CEO

Network virtualization startup Big Switch Networks announced commercial availability of its products in 2012. This year, the company unveiled Switch Light, an open-source thin switching platform meant to streamline the adoption of OpenFlow protocols and software-defined networks. Big Switch said the new software, slated for general availability during the second half of the year, frees customers from being locked down to a specific networking vendor or architecture.

Blue Jeans Network

Mountain View, Calif.
Top Executive: Krish Ramakrishnan, CEO

Blue Jeans Network provides a cloud-based videoconferencing and meeting room system. The service, according to the company, is designed to be consumed entirely as a hosted service, and can work across virtually any video or audio protocols. Users can host, schedule and manage their own videoconferences via an easy-to-navigate Web interface.

BurstPoint Networks

Westborough, Mass.
Top Executive: Patrick Clark, President & CEO

BurstPoint offers the BurstPoint Video Communication Platform, an end-to-end video content management and distribution system that allows organizations to create and capture, edit and publish, distribute and deliver, and consume high-definition live and stored video content into a single, integrated platform.

Embrane

Santa Clara, Calif.
Top Executive: Dante Malagrino: Co-Founder, President & CEO

Embrane, a rising star in the burgeoning software-defined networking arena, takes the position that too many SDN companies are focused on Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking functions. Embrane's Heleos distributed software platform moves the programmable networking attributes most SDN companies promote into Layer 4 through 7 networking, offering such functions as VNP and load balancing.

LightSquared

Reston, Va.
Top Executive: Douglas Smith, CEO

LightSquared is attempting to build a wholesale 4G LTE wireless broadband communications network across the U.S. The company is currently in bankruptcy proceedings.

LineRate Systems

Louisville, Colo.
Top Executive: Steve Georgis, CEO

LineRate Systems came out of stealth mode last year, offering software that delivers services on top of virtualized networks with the ability to work on platforms running commodity x86-based servers. The company touts its difference from other SDN players as providing programmability in all network layers.

Nicira

Palo Alto, Calif.
Top Executive: Steve Mullaney, CEO

Nicira is a pioneer in software-defined networking and network virtualization for open source initiatives. In July, virtualization giant VMware announced an agreement to acquire Nicira for $1.05 billion.

Pica8

San Jose, Calif.
Top Executive: James Liao, Co-Founder & CEO

Pica8 calls its approach to software-defined networking an "open SDN reference architecture" -- essentially a blueprint for cloud providers to combine switches with an OS and an OpenFlow controller. Pica8 was spun out of server vendor Quanta a year-and-a-half ago, and offers a virtualized network switch built with merchant silicon.

PlumGrid

Sunnyvale, Calif.
Top Executive: Awais Nemat, Co-Founder & CEO

SDN startup PlumGrid took the wraps off its Virtual Network Infrastructure platform in June. The new technology is targeted at enterprises and cloud service providers that are building out private or public cloud data centers, helping them quickly create, copy and deploy secure, multitenant virtual networks.

Ringio

Herndon, Va.
Top Executive: Sam Aparicio, Co-Founder & CEO

Ringio offers a cloud-based PBX that routes calls to any phone, including mobile phones, along with relevant call routing and CRM information about the caller.

Sococo

Mountain View, Calif.
Top Executive: Chris L. Wheeler, President

Sococo (for "social communications company") offers online team collaboration services including voice, video, chat and multiscreen sharing.

SuperLumin Networks

Dayton, Ohio
Top Executive: Chris Riegel, CEO

SuperLumin Networks, a subsidiary company of Dayton, Ohio-based Stratacache, is a developer of scalable, high-performance media proxy and application acceleration technologies. The company's products provide caching, streaming video optimization and multimedia acceleration solutions to companies and service providers.

Talari Networks

San Jose, Calif.
Top Executive: Emerick Woods, President & CEO

Talari Networks' WAN virtualization technology aggregates multiple, diverse networks into a virtual WAN and continuously adapts network traffic based on the availability and realtime quality of the network paths. That ensures application performance isn't hindered by underlying network issues.

Tely Labs

Redwood City, Calif.
Top Executive: Sreekanth Ravi, Founder & CEO

Tely Labs has made several moves this year to grow both its channel and its family of telyHD videoconferencing systems. The company launched telyHD Pro, its latest videoconferencing system that offers a slew of new features, including interoperability with standards-based systems like those from Polycom or Cisco, and integration with Blue Jeans Network's videoconferencing service.

VDO360

Edgewater, Md.
Top Executives: Dan Freeman, Chip Manning

VDO360 offers the USB PTZ HD camera at a price point of less than $1,400. The company also recently released a packaged system, the VDOPC, which includes the USB PTZ HD camera, an i5 Intel NUC PC with Windows 7 preloaded, wireless keyboard and mouse, Bluetooth speakerphone, camera mount and cables. Users simply need to add a monitor to get a complete videoconferencing system for use with any of the available software video services. The VDOPC is priced at less than $2,800.

The VDOPC is an "open" PC, allowing customers to load their own programs and use the equipment for both videoconferencing and local presentations. VDO360 will continue to develop and release new and innovative products to support the emerging technology of unified communications. The company's products are available through a growing network of distributors and dealers.