10 Hot Emerging Vendors For November 2011

Ready For Primetime

Step right up and get what may very well be your first look at 10 hot new IT vendors that are exploding onto the scene. Each month, CRN profiles 10 new IT vendors that are looking to shake up the industry in various technology segments, from security to cloud computing, from software to hardware.

These tech startups know the importance of the channel and are looking to align with valued channel partners to get their names and products out.

Take a look and get introduced to 10 vendors that are ready for prime time.

Yubico

Company: Yubico
Tech Sector: Security
Key Product: YubiKey

The Lowdown: Yubico is looking to change the way you think about security. Founded in 2007 in Sweden, and now with a U.S. headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., Yubico's YubiKey puts a new twist on USB technology and on authentication. The YubiKey is a USB thumb drive that when inserted into a computer and pressed generates a one-time password for the user to access apps and Web sites. The goal of YubiKey is to offer a level of authentication that eliminates the need to re-enter passwords and unlock secure environments. The hardware itself is thin, crush safe, water proof and battery free.

SysAid Technologies

Company: SysAid Technologies
Tech Sector: Software
Key Product: SysAid IT

The Lowdown: SysAid got its start in 2002 and has grown into a global provider of IT Service Management (ITSM) and Customer Service Support (CSS) software. The Israel-based company, which also has roots planted in the US, boasts more than 60,000 organizations across the globe as customers of its SysAid IT end-to-end IT management software. The modular software play, offered as SaaS or on-premise gives admins tools to streamline and automate IT processes and eases the pain of managing help desk and asset inventories. SysAid IT also supports most leading mobile platforms, the Apple iPad and tablets that run the Google Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 operating systems, freeing IT admins with the ability to manage their help desks via mobile devices. SysAid is also making a splash in the channel with its SysAid Partner Program that gives solution providers major discounts and dedicated channel managers.

Circonus

Company: Circonus
Tech Sector: Software-as-a-Service
Key Product: Circonus

The Lowdown: Circonus, founded two years ago, offers Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) that it bills as "monitoring-as-a-service" or MaaS that monitors networks, systems and applications to offer real-time trending and visualization of what's occurring in an IT environment. Circonus also extends its monitoring capabilities into marketing, finance and business operations to give a view of the entire business. Circonus is based in Columbia, Md.

Aternity

Company: Aternity
Tech Sector: Software
Key Product; Frontline Performance Intelligence Platform (FPIP)

The Lowdown: Aternity is tackling the tricky world of application performance monitoring with its Frontline Performance Intelligence Platform (FPIP). Now in its fifth version, Aternity's platform "redefines end user experience management by … effectively transforming every desktop -- real or virtual -- into a self-monitoring platform that is user experience aware," the company says. Basically, the FPIP collects and analyzes application usage and transaction data, which can be leveraged to improve the user experience. And FPIP 5.0 adds an incident impact analysis tool that lets managers gauge performance down to user levels to determine what is causing application hang-ups. And Aternity is looking to target the channel, as well, The company has said that 55 percent of its 2010 sales were channel-led via VARs, ISVs and outsourced service providers. In an interview with CRN earlier this year, CEO Trevor Matz said he expects channel sales will total 60 percent of Aternity's 2011 revenue, a figure that could hit 70 percent in 2012.

Saguna Networks

Company: Saguna Networks
Tech Sector: Mobility
Key Product: Saguna CODS

The Lowdown: Three-year-old Saguna Networks was built on the premise that mobility is the next frontier and the delivery of high quality, rich content over mobile networks will be a major necessity going forward. With that in mind, the Israeli company claims that its mobile Content Delivery Network (mCDN) coupled with its Saguna CODS offering, which converts the mobile Radio Access network into a computing and storage cloud, can increase the performance of the mobile network by reducing traffic loads by up to 80 percent during peak hours and increasing radio resource utilization by 20 percent to 30 percent. Saguna targets mobile network and WiMax network operators for its go-to-market

SkyDox

Company: SkyDox
Tech Sector: Cloud Computing
Key Product: SkyDox

The Lowdown: SkyDox makes a cloud-enabled file sharing and collaboration platform to rival Google Docs and others in this growing and increasingly competitive space. SkyDox, which was founded in 2009, offers real-time, document collaboration via a suite of online, mobile and desktop-based collaboration, storage and file management tools that let users review, comment on, search, store, deliver, manage and collaborate on more than 200 file formats. Started in the UK, SkyDox launched its U.S. operations this month.

NetQin

Company: NetQin
Tech Sector: Security
Key Product: NetQin Mobile Security

As the use of mobile devices in the enterprise steadily rises as does the potential risk it introduces. Enter NetQin, a mobile security startup that seeks to lock down devices with its mobile malware, virus and spyware protection. Headquartered in Beijing and with offices in San Jose, Calif., NetQin offers several flavors of its mobile security play, tackling security on various types of devices including Google Android, Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile with its twin engine "cloud + client" technology that offers scanning and removal to keep devices free from viruses and malware. And NetQin, founded in 2005, goes beyond just basic security, the company also offers backup, privacy protection and safeguards in case a device is lost or stolen. And NetQin says it's continually looking for new partners to expand its reach.

Exoprise

Company: Exoprise
Tech Sector: Cloud Computing
Key Product: CloudReady

Waltham, Mass.-based Exoprise wants to take the fear out of making the leap to the cloud. With its CloudReady flagship offering, the company looks to determine if a company is, well, cloud ready. CloudReady uses company data to provide detailed insight into a user's readiness, the TCO of existing on-premise applications and evaluation and recommendation of different cloud options. Exoprise was founded in 2009 and says its goal is to deliver the insight and controls needed to make an informed decision about moving to the cloud. With cloud-based assessment, migration and monitoring offerings, Exoprise wants to guide companies of all sizes to the cloud.

Boundary

Company: Boundary
Tech Sector: Cloud Computing
Key Product: Boundary Monitoring-as-a-Service

The Lowdown: The brainchild of an Amazon veteran, Boundary launched earlier this year with the goal of offering real-time cloud environment monitoring. The San Francisco-based company aims to give DevOps teams the ability to measure and analyze network and application traffic in any cloud infrastructure, wither in public, private or hybrid. Boundary unlocks the ability to diagnose network traffic spikes, server-to-server application flow issues and bandwidth usage hotspots. Boundary just came off of a $4 million Series A funding round.

LockPath

Company: LockPath
Tech Sector: Security
Key Product: Keylight platform

The Lowdown: Governance, risk and compliance (GRC) are top of mind for companies of all sizes as they look to navigate the choppy waters of regulatory compliance and risk management. Overland Park, Kan.-based LockPath's Keylight software platform offers insight into GRC by correlating security information from various data sources and pairing it with regulations and policies to measure risk. LockPath was found in 2009 with the goal of enabling organizations to make better business decisions, the company says. LockPath has also teamed up with a host of partners, from security experts to cloud providers, to integrate the Keylight platform into their offerings.