Company - Background

Company Background

Apparent Networks was founded in 2000 in Vancouver, British Columbia by a group of computer scientists and entrepreneurs.  Although they came from very different backgrounds, the Company’s founders all had one thing in common. They knew that network performance issues often caused operational problems for medium- to large-sized organizations.  They also knew that those network problems were usually difficult to locate and analyze, and expensive to fix.  

The main problem the team saw was with existing network management systems.  Those systems, which give lots of data about individual network devices, were incapable of providing IT teams with true, end-to-end visibility into network performance.  Without that complete view from an application-traffic perspective, IT teams and network managers were not getting the information they needed to resolve network issues quickly and confidently. 

Given the frequency of network performance problems, and the high costs of network downtime (including increased IT remediation costs, lost revenues and lower employee productivity), the founders saw a strong market opportunity.  To capitalize on this market need, Apparent Networks focused on developing solutions that provide greater visibility into network performance, and the impact of that performance on critical business applications. 

Apparent Networks develops solutions for enterprise customers in a range of market segments, and for managed service providers.  Our software solutions provide customers with clear and actionable information that they can use to resolve their most complex and difficult networking challenges.  By doing so, we help IT teams and their business-side constituents move from reactive to proactive network management, and from an environment of conflict and finger-pointing to one of enhanced collaboration. 

The AppCritical Solution

The primary software solution offered by Apparent Networks today is called AppCritical.  Unlike traditional network management tools that look in detail at individual devices, AppCritical gives users complete visibility into their network infrastructures.  It analyzes the entire, end-to-end network path used by an application without any breaks or blind spots.  AppCritical’s breakthrough technology even lets IT teams see inside their service providers’ networks to determine exactly how that network is performing and whether or not it is affecting their application traffic and their end users.  This industry-first capability unlocks more definitive performance and service quality information, enabling more decisive problem solving. 

AppCritical lets network teams answer the fundamental question – “Is it the network or the application?”  It delivers meaningful and actionable information in plain and simple terms so network teams can share it with their business-side colleagues.  AppCritical establishes a common framework in which IT and business teams can move from conflict to collaboration, and leverage IT investments to the organization’s greater advantage.  That’s the AppCritical difference.  

Apparent Networks Today

Apparent Networks develops and markets software that gives enterprises and managed service providers a radically different and more effective way to assess the performance of their converged networks.  The Company’s software gives IT teams and their line-of-business constituents the ability to track in real time the performance and service quality their networks are delivering – not just availability.  Offering a unique application-traffic orientation, and true end-to-end clarity (including visibility into service providers’ clouds), Apparent Networks provides awareness of the most critical network characteristics needed by VoIP, IP video and other Web-enabled applications. 

Apparent Networks is headquartered in Wellesley Hills, Mass.  Privately held, and backed by top-tier venture investors, including Bain Capital Ventures and JMI Equities, the Company presently employs about 50 people.  In addition to its corporate headquarters, Apparent Networks maintains a large development center in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a growing roster of sales and service locations throughout North America. 

Today, solutions from Apparent Networks have been successfully deployed and are now being used by large enterprises, managed service providers and tier-one technology vendors.  The companies trust technology from Apparent Networks to assure end-user quality of experience.  Sample customers include 3Com, ACS, Bell, Boeing, Electronic Arts, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Network Appliance, Nortel, Polycom, Siemens, Symantec, TELUS and Toshiba. 

AppCritical Brochure [pdf]

Corporate Capabilities [pdf]