Forward Networks, an emerging provider of modeling and analytics to analyze network behavior, has raised $16 million in Series B venture capital, reflecting the growing interest in software-based virtualization.
Led by DFJ, the latest round of funding brings the company’s total fundraising to $27 million. Other participating investors included Andreessen Horowitz and A.Capital Ventures.
Forward said this latest round will enable the company to meet the high demand of its platform and continue its mission to offer a software platform for error-free, robust and agile network operations.
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"We are thrilled to have DFJ join us on our journey. Having their financial support and expertise, along with that of Andreessen Horowitz and A.Capital, enables us to accelerate execution of our vision for networking," said David Erickson, co-founder and CEO of Forward Networks, in a release.
A key element of Forward’s approach is the Forward Platform, which launched from stealth last November.
According to the company, the Forward Platform creates an accurate behavioral model of the network, regardless of its size of complexity. Forward claims this behavioral model, and the applications built on top of it, eliminate and reduce manual, cumbersome and error-prone activities that network operators must endure on a daily basis.
While raising new funds, Forward also introduced a new product, Forward Essentials, along with support for VMware ESXi virtual networking.
The application enables network operators to reduce the time to root-cause network and security issues, as well as improve overall efficiency and time to market for network changes. Offered to companies as a web application, Forward Essentials provides instant search, a visual topology map, historical diff'ing, easy view sharing among teams and full REST APIs for automation.
Customers have the option to access two tiers of Forward Essentials:
- Free: This option includes full functionality, but has usage limits.
- Standard: A customer that purchases the standard tier will get unlimited licensed devices, unlimited daily network device snapshots and one year snapshot retention. This option includes a per-network-device per-month pricing model.
After launching its offerings last November, the company has grown its customer base and deepened relationships with existing customers.