Company:Forward Networks

From HandWiki
Forward Networks
IndustryComputer software
FoundedJuly 23, 2013
FounderDavid Erickson, Nikhil Handigol, Brandon Heller, Peyman Kazemian
Headquarters
Santa Clara, California
Websitehttps://www.forwardnetworks.com/

Forward Networks, Inc. is an American company founded in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company develops enterprise software for network management and software-defined networking.[1]

History

Forward Networks was founded by David Erickson, Nikhil Handigol, Brandon Heller, and Peyman Kazemian, who met as Ph.D researchers at Stanford University. While operating software-defined networking deployments running OpenFlow[2] at the university,[3] Erickson, Handigol, Heller, and Kazemian built a software platform based on Kazemian's research at Stanford for his electrical engineering dissertation.[4] Kazemian's research enabled the use of configuration data and operational state information from devices on a network to create a virtual copy of that network.[5]

Until November 2016, the company operated in stealth mode[6] and raised $16 million in funding by DFJ,[7] with participation from Andreesen Horowitz.[8]

In October 2019 the company raised $35 million in Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs, also a customer of the company.[9]

In January of 2023, following 139% year-over-year growth, Forward Networks announced it closed $50M in Series D funding.[10] The round was led by MSD Partners with support from new investors, Section 32 and Omega Venture Partners.

Forward Networks' other customers include PayPal, Ubisoft, and Telstra.[11]

Intent-based networking

Intent-based networking (IBN), a term coined by Gartner in 2017 describes a system designed to automate a network lifecycle from design and implementation to deployment and validation.[12]

Forward Networks' technology focuses on verification with regards to intent-based networking. The platform generates a mathematical model of the network to perform functions such as composing timestamped collections of network configurations and state information of a network infrastructure.[13] The product is marketed as a network assurance platform[14] called Forward Enterprise.[15]

See also

References

  1. "Forward Networks Inc - Company Profile and News". https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1314286D:US. 
  2. "Startup Aims To Simplify Network Management". 2016-11-14. https://www.networkcomputing.com/data-centers/startup-aims-simplify-network-management. 
  3. Butler, Brandon (2016-11-14). "Startup Forward Networks helps search, protect and predict network behavior". https://www.networkworld.com/article/3140941/startup-forward-networks-helps-search-protect-and-predict-network-behavior.html. 
  4. "Accelerating and De-Risking Network Operations | Forward Networks | David Erickson". 2018-01-16. https://www.insightssuccess.com/forward-networks-accelerating-de-risking-network-operations/. 
  5. "Forward Networks creates digital twins to assure network performance". https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/forward-networks-creates-digital-twins-to-assures-network-performance. 
  6. "Forward Networks nets $16M to help prevent network outages". http://social.techcrunch.com/2017/08/23/forward-networks-nets-16m-to-help-prevent-network-outages/. 
  7. DFJ (2017-08-23). "Fast Forward with Forward Networks". https://medium.com/dfj-vc/fast-forward-with-forward-networks-38ca91a38222. 
  8. Krause, Bill (2016-11-14). "Déjà Vu All Over Again with Forward Networks". https://a16z.com/2016/11/14/forward-networks/. 
  9. "The Wave of Digital Media Consolidation Isn't Over Yet". https://fortune.com/2019/10/08/term-sheet-tuesday-october-8/. 
  10. Lunden, Ingrid (2023-01-24). "Forward Networks raises $50M for digital twin technology to help model, manage and secure complex enterprise networks" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/24/forward-networks-raises-50m-for-digital-twin-technology-to-help-model-manage-and-secure-complex-enterprise-networks/. 
  11. "Network Verification Software" (in en-US). https://www.forwardnetworks.com/. 
  12. "Intent-based network: the next big thing?". https://www.networkmiddleeast.com/84677-intent-based-networking-the-next-big-thing. 
  13. Arcilla, Alex. "ESG Technical Review: Verifying Network Intent with Forward Enterprise". https://www.esg-global.com/validation/esg-technical-review-verifying-network-intent-with-forward-enterprise. 
  14. "NFD13: Forward Networks Comes Out of Stealth to Impress". 2016-12-22. https://netcraftsmen.com/nfd13-forward-networks-comes-stealth-impress/. 
  15. Inc, Gartner. "Forward Networks Network Automation Software Reviews" (in en). https://gartner.com/market/network-automation/vendor/forward-networks. [|permanent dead link|dead link}}]