Pertino

History

Pertino is a Silicon Valley-based startup company built by a team with backgrounds from Apple Inc, Packeteer, Blue Coat Systems, Juniper Networks, Cisco, Gearworks, OnLive, and Zscaler.

Co-founder and CEO Craig Elliott is a former Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) executive who worked his way up from an Apple salesman at computer reseller Beacon Microcenter in Ames, Iowa. In 1985, at age 23, Elliott was earned the "Top Sales Person for Apple Computer" award and was given a Porsche by Steve Jobs. Elliott later served as CEO at Packeteer Networks, where he led the company through its acquisition by Blue Coat Systems in 2008.

Co-founder and CTO Scott Hankins is the former Director of Engineering at Blue Coat Systems, where he led the software integration of PacketShaper technology into the onboard flight systems of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk drone. Before that, he was the Architect at Packeteer and an Automation and Robotics Engineer at NASA.

Other founding members include Andrew Mastracci (Architect) and Michael Cartsonis (Former VP of Product and Business Development).

Technology

Pertino introduced its network-as-a-service (NaaS) in February 2013. The company refers to its technology as its Cloud Network Engine, which combines software-defined networking (SDN) technology with wide-area network (WAN) virtualization. The Pertino Cloud Network Engine is hosted in top tier data centers around the world such as Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, and Linode.

Users can deploy a cloud-based network in minutes by downloading and installing the Pertino client. The network’s owner can then invite other people to join their network through invitations, or can directly download the Pertino client onto devices they want to connect. Users can install Pertino on office resources including file servers, application servers, local printers, or desktops to enable remote connectivity. Once connected to a physical or cloud-based resource, users have continuous access to their Pertino network and can utilize features like file sharing, mobile access, cloud backup, and remote desktop (RDP) capabilities. Connected devices and resources show up in the computer’s network folder just as if they were connected through a local area network (LAN). The network owner can control the network—including device location and people online status—on the network owner's web management dashboard.

Pertino provides an alternative to traditional VPN systems by eliminating the need for new hardware, configuration, software licenses, and ongoing IT support. No IP address, DHCP, DNS, or NAT configuration is required to build and manage a network. To prevent security threats like public Wi-Fi sniffers, Pertino’s networks are secured with 256-bit AES encryption.

Product Releases

Pertino released a private beta test of its Cloud Network Engine in the Spiceworks online IT community of over 7 million IT professionals. On February 12, 2013, the company introduced a limited release of its product. The limited version supported Windows 7, 8 and Windows Server 2008 and Windows 2012 Server. Pertino’s service works with whatever hardware the member already has in place.

In October 2013, Pertino announced its Fall release at the Spiceworld IT conference in Austin, Texas. The release included a redesigned web management dashboard and AppScape™, the industry’s first cloud network app store for network services. The company also released its beta version of Pertino for Android, which gives network admins full visibility and control of Android devices, in addition to Windows and Mac machines on their Pertino networks.

Awards and Recognitions

The company has received awards and recognition from a variety of sources including:

Network World – Product of the Week (Pertino AppScape)

CIO | “The Top 10 Software Define Networking Startups”

CRN | “The 10 Coolest Networking Startups of 2013”

TiE SV | Lightening Round Winner for SDI Track at TiEcon 2013

TechCrunch | “Ten Startups That Turn Complexity into Simplicity”

CRN | “13 SDN Startups to Keep an Eye on in 2013”

CRN | “Ten Hot Tech Startups for September” compiled by CRN magazine

Network World | “12 Hot Cloud Computing Companies Worth Watching"

Business Insider | “25 Enterprise Startups to Best Your Career On"

Channelnomics | “List of 10 Software Companies Cisco Should Fear”

CRN | “Ten Hot Networking Startups for 2012”

ComputerWorld | “12 Hot Cloud Computing Companies Worth Watching”

CRN | “Top 25 SDN Players to Know in 2012”

The Startup 50 | “List of Hot Cloud Startups"

Investors and Advisors

Pertino raised US$ 8.5 million in venture capital from Norwest Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners, as well as a number of private investors. Pertino secured B-round financing five months later with a $20 million investment from Jafco Ventures.

The company’s advisory council includes:

Guru Parulkar, Executive Director of the Open Networking Laboratory (ON.lab), and a consulting professor and executive director of the Open Network Resource Center (ONRC) at the Stanford University School of Engineering.

Nick J. Lippis III, publisher of the Lippis Report, a resource for network and IT business decision makers that has over 35,000 executive subscribers, and a co-founder of the Open Network Users Group (ONUG).

J.P. Allen, founding department chair of the University of San Francisco (USF) Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship department, and past faculty member at Purdue University and the University of Cambridge.