Virtual management start-up lands $15M

Moka5 also announces former Microsoft and Yahoo exec as CEO

Systems-management start-up moka5 this week announced it had garnered $15 million in funding to continue developing and delivering its software, which lets IT administrators deploy, manage and secure virtual desktop environments from a central console.

Moka5, founded in 2005, marked its two-year anniversary with the news that it had landed $15 million in venture-capital funding in a second round led by Highland Capital Partners. The company's initial investor Khosla Ventures also contributed to this round, bringing the company's total to about $18 million, considering its $3 million first round, says Keith Ramee, moka5's senior director of global business development and sales. The money will be put toward furthering the company's mission to make personal computing simpler, easier and more secure for small to midsize customers, he says.

"A lot of vendors are targeting the enterprise, and we are looking to serve the smaller users to make computing less complicated than it has become," Ramee says. "With security and mobility features, we can make it less of a worry to use your computer and maybe bring back some of the fun to personal computing."

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Systems-management start-up moka5 this week announced it had garnered $15 million in funding to continue developing and delivering its software, which lets IT administrators deploy, manage and secure virtual desktop environments from a central console.

Moka5, founded in 2005, marked its two-year anniversary with the news that it had landed $15 million in venture-capital funding in a second round led by Highland Capital Partners. The company's initial investor Khosla Ventures also contributed to this round, bringing the company's total to about $18 million, considering its $3 million first round, says Keith Ramee, moka5's senior director of global business development and sales. The money will be put toward furthering the company's mission to make personal computing simpler, easier and more secure for small to midsize customers, he says.

"A lot of vendors are targeting the enterprise, and we are looking to serve the smaller users to make computing less complicated than it has become," Ramee says. "With security and mobility features, we can make it less of a worry to use your computer and maybe bring back some of the fun to personal computing."

For instance, using moka5 software to create LivePCs enables desktop users to transfer their environment to a USB device, such as an Apple iPod, and take it on the road.

"Because of the mobility element, desktop users can bring their entire desktop environment with them in their iPod when they travel," Ramee says. "That way they plug it in on a desktop in another location, and they can work as though there were in their main office. And it makes going through security at the airport easier."

The Redwood City, Calif., company built its business around software based on technology spun out of Stanford University computer science department in 2001. The software lets IT administrators deploy, manage, restore and secure virtual desktops, or as the company calls them, LivePCs. According to moka5, the LivePC technology allows desktop users to work on "any operating system, with any applications, on any device in a completely maintained, up-to-date and secure environment."

LivePCs are built using moka5 "studio" software and distributed to clients with the moka5 "player" installed on them. Ramee likened the player component to Adobe reader products. IT managers can also import virtual images created with technology from vendors such as VMware or Microsoft and distribute, manage and secure the virtual images via moka5 LivePC technology. As for security, Ramee explains that if a desktop user mistakenly downloads a virus to his or her machine, a simple right-click of the mouse can restore the operating system to its original uninfected state.

The company could compete with Kidaro, another newcomer that delivers manageability and security for virtual desktop environments. With about 25 employees today and a potential 10 customers about to sign on, Ramee says moka5 is looking to change the way people interact with personal computers.