Where are they now? 2007's IT management start-ups to watch

A few years back, Network World began its annual tradition of searching the high-tech industry to find promising start-ups that stood out because the companies approached IT application, network and systems management in innovative ways.

The newcomers chosen often become common names across IT organizations, and many others go the way of acquisition when the bigger players catch wind of their advanced technologies. Yet some don't survive the competitive market and simply fade away.

Here's a brief look at what these companies have done in the management market since winning the title of "one to watch" in 2007.  And here's our 2008 list as well as a slideshow highlighting their products: 

Akorri 

Why it made the list: Akorri garnered attention not only with technology to manage storage and servers in virtual environments, but also by bringing in close to $40 million in venture capital funding. The company's BalancePoint software suite collects information about using server and storage resources, and analyzes it to determine how well applications will perform under various conditions. CEO Tom Joyce, appointed in November 2007, managed to win over customers such as CareGroup Heathcare Systems, Monster.com, Northeastern University and John Hancock with the company's premise that storage is not an island and cross-domain management is a must-have in virtual environments.

Highlights from past year: Akorri capitalized on the rush to virtualize with both partner and customer news. For instance, the company signed a global reseller agreement with Dell in which Dell's worldwide direct and channel sales forces are authorized to sell Akorri BalancePoint software. Akorri also secured a contracts with the U.S. Government General Services Administration for IT software and grew its customer base by 200%. A few new customers include AutoTrader, Cambridge Trust Company and the County of Sacramento, Calif.

Aternity 

Why it made the list: Aternity's approach to application management focused on the end-user experience, a metric industry watchers say is more valuable than disparate IT systems statistics. The company's Frontline Performance Intelligence (FPI) platform can help IT and business managers determine when performance slowdowns are due to IT or the business and better prioritize how to fix problems.

Highlights from past year: Since making the list in 2007, Aternity announced a set of packaged FPI products tailored for specific enterprise applications, which the company says will help customers using such applications get more relevant results faster. For instance, Aternity worked to develop products for SAP, Oracle, Siebel, Remedy, Documentum, Microsoft Office/Exchange, Lotus Notes and Halliburton's Landmark. The company also secured contracts with three Israeli insurance companies -- Menora Mivtachim Group, Migdal and Clal -- which Aternity says represent more than 70% of the Israeli insurance market and manage more then $44 billion in assets.