Emerging Vendors 2014: Networking And VoIP

Emerging Networking And VoIP Vendors Are Connecting With The Channel

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

Affirmed Networks

Acton, Mass.

Top Executive: CEO Hassan Ahmed

Affirmed Networks produces technologies aimed at helping mobile operators handle the influx of traffic and devices tapping into their networks. Among those technologies is Affirmed Open Workflow, a service orchestration solution built into all of Affirmed's products that enables the integration of multiple subscriber network services into a single solution.

Aryaka Networks

Milpitas, Calif.

Top Executive: President and CEO Ajit Gupta

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

Santa Clara, Calif.

Top Executive: CEO Douglas Murray

The goal for software-defined networking startup Big Switch Networks is to bring hyperscale data center networking technologies to a wider audience. The company's products include the Big Tap Monitoring Fabric network monitoring system and the recently introduced Big Cloud Fabric bare-metal SDN switching fabric.

Blue Jeans Network

Mountain View, Calif.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Krish Ramakrishnan

Blue Jeans Network provides a cloud-based videoconferencing and meeting room system with the goal of making video communications as easy to use and as pervasive as audio communications. The service, according to the company, supports multi-vendor, multi-device interoperability and can work across virtually any video or audio protocols.

BurstPoint Networks

Merrimack, N.H.

Top Executive: President and CEO Patrick Clark

BurstPoint offers BurstPoint for Enterprises and BurstPoint for Service Providers video conferencing with streaming capabilities based on the company's BurstPoint Video Communication Platform architecture that captures voice, video and data from multiple VC systems.

Eagle Eye Networks

Austin, Texas

Top Executive: President and CEO Dean Drako

Eagle Eye Networks develops an on-demand security and operations video management system that offers cloud and on-premise encrypted recording, camera management, mobile view and alerts capabilities. The cloud-managed platform supports IP and analog cameras using the company's Intelligent Bandwidth Management technology. Eagle Eye was founded in 2012 by Barracuda Networks co-founder and former CEO Dean Drako.

Embrane

Santa Clara, Calif.

Top Executive: President and CEO Bill Burns

Embrane, a rising star in the 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 takes SDN to higher networking layers, offering application-centric network services such as VNPs, firewalls and load balancing.

Evrything

London, New York

Top Executive: CEO Niall Murphy

Evrything develops managed Software-as-a-Service applications for connecting devices into the Internet of Things. The company raised $7 million in Series A funding in April, including a corporate investment from Cisco.

Intercom

San Francisco, Calif.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Eoghan McCabe

Intercom offers a personal messaging service that web and mobile companies use to communicate with their customers. The company raised $23 million in Series B funding in February.

Jeda Networks

Newport Beach, Calif.

Top Executive: CEO Stuart Berman

Jeda Networks is developing its flagship Fabric Network Controller that provides a software-defined networking approach to storage the company says combats costly, inflexible storage networks. The company's product is currently in beta.

Neura

Sunnyvale, Calif.

Top Executive: CEO Gilad Meiri

Neura is developing Internet of Things technology the company says will create "intuitive and intelligent experiences between people and their connected devices." Possible markets include home environment and wellness/healthcare applications.

Pica8

Palo Alto, Calif.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO James Liao

Pica, a developer of software-defined networking technology, markets the PicOS externally programmable switching operating system that runs on commodity bare-metal switches and can be adapted to fit any application environment.

PLUMgrid

Sunnyvale, Calif.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Awais Nemat

PLUMgrid develops technology for building secure cloud networks for public and private clouds. Last month PLUMgrid launched what it called the first secure cloud network suite for OpenStack, built on the company's PLUMgrid Platform and IO Visor technology.

PowerCloud Systems

Palo Alto, Calif.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Jeff Abramowitz

PowerCloud is a supplier of Wi-Fi-as-a-Service products, including its CloudCommand Virtual Management Center, to hotels, restaurants, retail chains and managed care facilities. Many solution providers see managed Wi-Fi as a major business opportunity.

Relay2

Milpitas, Calif.

Top Executive: CEO Perry Ha

Relay2 develops and manufactures scalable, high-performance, cloud-based controllers and cloud-managed wireless access points. In April the company shipped its Relay2 Enterprise Cloud WLAN System, a wireless local area network infrastructure technology.

Ringio

McLean, Va.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO Sam Aparicio

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

Speek

Dulles, Va.

Top Executive: Co-Founder and CEO John Bracken

Speek offers a free, easy-to-use conference calling system (and a premium Speek Pro service) that replaces traditional dial-in and PIN with a URL. The company is a product of AOL's Fishbowl Labs incubator.

Tely Labs

Redwood City, Calif.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Sreekanth Ravi

Tely Labs develops its simple, secure and affordable TelyHD video conferencing systems. Last month the company overhauled its channel program, creating a simpler certification process, to recruit more solution providers to attack the SMB video conferencing marlet.

VDO360

Edgewater, Md.

Top Executive: President Hugh William Richards

VDO360 offers a variety of unified communications equipment, ranging from video cameras and webcams to microphones.

Viptela

San Jose, Calif.

Top Executive: CEO Amir Khan

Viptela is changing the way companies deploy wide-area networks. The startup emerged from stealth in May, touting its Secure Extensible Network, a software-based technology that integrates routing, network security and segmentation policy into a single system. That eliminates the need for enterprises to acquire each of those capabilities through separate, single-point solutions.

Voxeet

Sausalito, Calif.

Top Executive: Founder and CEO Stephane Giraudie

Voxeet develops high-quality audio conferencing services for businesses. Earlier this year the company released Voxeet 2.0 with what the company called "3DHD" sound, including new mobile apps for iOS and Android devices and desktop computers.