Network World
Monday, November 9, 2009
DNSstuff.com
Get information about your IP
IP Information
50+ On-demand DNS and network tools

Who’s in the money? … Would you believe telecom start-ups?

PwC report on venture investing in networking shows upturn led by consumer services.

As reported last week, the big news that came out of the third quarter MoneyTree survey — produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association based on data from Thomson Financial — is that a few niches within the telecom sector saw significant interest from investors. Four of the Top 10 deals sealed in the third quarter were with telecom companies.

Open source software ready for big business
11/09/09
Open source has moved into a new phase where it is evaluated more on its technical merits than on the community model of software development. Here's a collection of established companies, up-and-comers and outright start-up projects worth watching.

Juniper's relationship with Packet Design
11/09/09
In our Oct. 26 WAN newsletter we discussed the fact that there were a number of rumors circulating about a dramatic move that Juniper would soon announce. On October the 29th Juniper used the New York stock exchange as a backdrop to make a series of announcements. We are doing to use this newsletter to focus on one piece of the Juniper announcements – Juniper's establishment of a close relationship with Packet Design.

Detailing contingency planning
11/09/09
Despite the inclusion of "for Federal Information Systems" in the title, SP 800-34 Rev 1 has a great deal of value for all information assurance and business continuity specialists.

That’s a good sign for the telecom industry, which hasn’t seen a growth in investment levels since mid-2002.

Browse through the data in our venture-capital database.

However, the majority of investor interest in the telecom sector is centered on companies designing the infrastructure to build a new generation of consumer-oriented services and applications, such as Limelight Networks with its digital media content distribution network.

That means enterprise IT won’t likely see the benefits of these investor dollars for a few years.

Consumer-oriented offerings “are what’s driving these investments, that’s certainly where the demand is," says Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of PwC’s venture capital and private equity practice. In a few years, once these infrastructure technologies such as wireless messaging services and mobile high-bandwidth delivery services are proven, they will probably trickle down into the more-conservative enterprise domain, he says.

Click to see: Top Ten

Top Ten
Here are the largest funding deals made during the third quarter with network-related companies:

Company Product/service Amount received (in millions)
Limelight Networks Digital media content-distribution network $130
MobiTV Wireless network-management and -acceleration software $70
Boingo Wireless Wireless broadband Internet service $65
Handango Mobile download services and software $61
Visto Messaging services for mobile operators $51
NewMarket IT Removal and recycling service for old PCs $50
ProtoStar Operates high-power geostationary satellites $36
Force10 Networks Router/switch maker $35
SunRocket Internet-based telephony service $33
Motricity Mobile content service $32
SOURCE: MONEYTREE SURVEY

The software sector — a perennially hot area for venture capital investment — saw a significant decline during the third quarter with deals totaling 19% less than they had in the previous quarter. A lack of interest in enterprise-focused technology can again be cited, because the market for corporate software is so mature that there’s little room for newcomers, Lefteroff says. Much of the software-related funding activity during the third quarter went to start-ups with whiz-bang Web 2.0-ish products and services aimed at the consumer.

React: Give us your thoughts on the issues here.
Start a public discussion with other Network World users on this article (scroll up to send this article to a colleague).
Log In | Register for an account (Why you should)

Note: Register to have your user name appear; otherwise your comment will show up as "Anonymous."

*Anonymous comments will only appear once they are approved by the moderator.

Copyright 2008 Network World Inc.


Network World Newsletter

Sign up for some of our Wireless & Mobile newsletters.

Wireless Alert
Cool Tools alert
Network World Daily
 All newsletters  

E-mail Address: