Oculan, whose purple boxes are used to manage and secure networks at small and midsize companies, is fading to black.

Company officials told employees last Thursday that Oculan would be suspending "normal business operations" that day and let about 50 of them go. Just a handful of employees are staying on temporarily to shut down the business. Oculan started up in 2001 and collected $10 million in funding from Soros Private Equity Partners over the past few years.

President and CEO Robert Davis said in a statement that the company needed another round of funding to reach profitability. Vice President of Marketing and Corporation Communications Darrek Porter said in a statement, "Until very recently, we believed that another round of funding was near."

Officials claimed the private company had been experiencing huge revenue growth year over year.
  
In announcing Version 5.0 of its products May 5, Oculan gave no indication that the company was on shaky footing.

Oculan's products are sold through hundreds of resellers, the company says. The products are also used to support managed services.

A company spokesman says Oculan's investors have not made clear yet what will become of the company's remains, such as its technology. As such, Oculan cannot say yet how customers will be supported beyond working with their resellers.

Competitors include Interloci, N-able Technologies and SilverBack Technologies.