5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

For the week ending Aug. 5, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their ‘A’ game to the channel.

The Week Ending Aug. 5

Topping this week’s Came to Win list is next-generation cloud networking company Aviatrix for its ambitious growth and IPO plans.

Also making this week’s list are chipmaker Semtech for an acquisition that will boost its position in the Internet of Things arena, Talon Cyber Security for an impressive funding round, data management and protection tech vendor Cohesity for its new CEO hire, and Extreme Networks for its expanded channel program offerings for partners with cloud solutions.

Aviatrix’ Ambitious Five-Year Goals Include $3B In Revenue, An IPO And A $50B Market Cap

Aviatrix, the fast-growing cloud networking and network security company, has big plans that include going public within the next 18 months and achieving both $3 billion in annual revenue and a market cap of $50 billion in five years.

That’s according to Aviatrix President and CEO Steve Mullaney who, in an interview with CRN, boldly predicted that the company will one day be bigger than Cisco Systems because cloud computing will be 10-times bigger than the on-premises networking market.

Aviatrix, founded in 2014, takes the position that cloud networking is very different from traditional data center networking. The company offers multi-cloud networking and security with new levels of visibility and control but maintains the simplicity and automation unique to each public cloud provider.

Aviatrix today is a $100 million company and is on pace to double its sales in 2023. It has more than 600 customers, including 68 of the Fortune 500. The company raised $200 million in a funding round in September 2021.

IoT Blockbuster: Semtech To Buy Sierra Wireless For $1.2 Billion

Semtech’s $1.2 billion deal to acquire Sierra Wireless is bringing together two key players in the Internet of Things space with the goal of assembling a new chip-to-cloud platform that will enable full digitization of industrial systems.

Semiconductor and IoT company Semtech, which announced the Sierra Wireless acquisition deal with this week, said the company’s vision is to assemble a simple, horizontal platform that combines Long Range Radio (LoRa) wireless and cellular technologies with cloud services.

Semtech is a global supplier of high-performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms for infrastructure, industrial equipment and high-end consumer products. Sierra Wireless, which specializes in networking and IoT solutions that combine devices, network services and software, works with customers to develop industry-specific systems for IoT deployments.

Talon Cyber Security Raises $100M In Funding Round

Secure enterprise browser software developer Talon Cyber Security raised an impressive $100 million in Series A funding this week. The funding comes at a time when venture funding for IT startups – including cybersecurity companies – is becoming scarce.

Equally impressive was the fact that one of the investors was CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, the venture capital arm of cybersecurity superstar CrowdStrike.

Talon Cyber plans to apply some of the funding to boost its go-to-market efforts including hiring channel chiefs for the U.S. and Europe,

Talon, founded just 16 months ago, has been on a roll: The company wowed attendees at the RSA conference in June where it was voted the “Most Innovative Startup” competing in the prestigious RSA Sandbox Contest.

Cohesity Hires Former VMware Exec Sanjay Poonen As CEO

Cohesity, a leading data management and protection technology developer, made a big move this week to bolster its top management when it hired Sanjay Poonen, the one-time chief operating officer at VMware, to be its new president and CEO.

Poonen, one of the most visible executives in the IT industry, left VMware in May 2021. In his eight years at the virtualization technology giant Poonen, who as COO led VMware‘s sales, marketing, services and appliances operations, played a critical role in doubling the company’s revenue from $6 billion to $12 billion.

With Poonen taking the top job at Cohesity, founder and CEO Mohit Aron will become Cohesity’s chief technology and product officer.

Extreme Networks Offers New Certifications, Program Benefits For Cloud-Minded Partners

Channel-led Extreme Networks wins kudos this week for launching a series of new partner program updates that focus on partners who provide cloud-based networking and security solutions.

Topping the list are three new partner certification badges for partners with expertise in state and local government; sports and entertainment delivery; and diversity, equity and inclusion. Along with the badges partners can gain access to specialized collateral like webinars and market development funds, participate in sponsorship opportunities, and work with Extreme on community-based initiatives.

The updated partner program includes new training materials (including technical training on Extreme Fabric Connect), bonus sales content, and grant writing services for networking projects.

The Extreme Certified Professional Program, a product-focused livestream series with an expanded and modular curriculum, will be available through a new video portal in February 2023.