Net6 was a startup founded in 2000 that created products in Security, Voice over IP
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Interne ...
protocols
Protocol may refer to:
Sociology and politics
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* Etiquette, a code of personal behavior
Science and technology
...
and SSL VPN.
History
Net6 was originally called WebUnwired and was founded in 2000 by Murli Thirumale (an Ex VP and GM at
Hewlett-Packard),
Goutham Rao (an Operating Systems Architect at
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the devel ...
), Jon Thies and Russell Lentini. Thirumale was the CEO of Net6 and Rao was the CTO and Chief Architect. The company originally focused on secure application access from mobile devices, and later shifted focus toward
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Interne ...
protocols and SSL VPN technology. The company created two hardware appliances called the Application Gateway for
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Interne ...
and the Access Gateway for SSL VPNs.
Partnerships
Net6 secured OEM deals for its product lines in 2000 from
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...
. In 2002 and 2003, Net6 added further OEMs for its product lines from
Nortel Networks
Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was foun ...
,
Avaya
Avaya Holdings Corp., often shortened to Avaya (), is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, that provides cloud communications and workstream collaboration services. The company's platform inc ...
Systems and
Siemens. Net6 primarily sold its products through their partner channels.
Funding
* In 2000, Net6, then known as WebUnwired secured $8M in series 'A' funding from
Sierra Ventures
Sierra Ventures is an American venture capital firm based in San Mateo, California. It is focused on early stage emerging technology companies.
History
The firm was founded by Peter Wendell in 1982 in Menlo Park, California. Early investments i ...
and
Olympic Venture Partners
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
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** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
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.
* In 2004, Net6 raised an additional $8M in series B funding from
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
venture partners.
Acquisition
In December 2004, Net6 Inc was acquired by
Citrix Systems
Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologies. ...
for $50M.
The acquisition marked Citrix's entry into the telecommunications security space, and Citrix continues to market the Access Gateway product under the Citrix Access Gateway(tm) product name, led by the management team of Murli Thirumale (CEO), Goutham Rao (CTO), Russell Lentini and Jon Thies (Principal Architects), Gordon Payne (VP of Marketing) and Joe Eskew (VP of Sales).
References
External links
Citrix corporate website
{{Citrix Systems
Citrix Systems
Networking hardware companies
American companies established in 2000
2004 mergers and acquisitions
Defunct computer companies of the United States
Defunct computer hardware companies