Auvik Networks Inc. has secured a $6 million first round from Celtic House Venture Partners, Rho Canada Ventures, BDC Venture Capital IT Fund and its founders. The company's founders include industry veterans Marc Morin (ex-Founder/CTO of both PixStream and Sandvine), David Yach (ex-CTO Software RIM, VP Sybase) and Alex Hoff (Product Manager, Sandvine). The funding will allow the company to accelerate the development and initial commercialization of its cloud managed network automation platform.

Auvik's software brings a new level of simplicity and automation to what today is a complex and tedious function that can require a significant level of network expertise. The core technology is a proprietary compiler that constructs network configurations from abstract business requirements. This allows IT to approach networking very differently, focusing on supporting business goals rather than worrying about network configuration. The platform enables anyone in IT to easily configure, monitor and manage network devices and applications. SMB's and smaller enterprises will benefit from best practices that are automatically implemented by the platform, resulting in a more reliable, secure and agile network, without the need to add in house expertise.

"We believe networks and related applications shouldn't be complicated to configure, monitor and manage", says co-founder CEO Marc Morin, "They should just work." Auvik's platform will not only address the networks and devices of today, but will allow companies to take full advantage of networks of the future. "Software Defined Networking (SDN) will usher in a renaissance for the networking world. We embrace this way of thinking, which shifts the focus from hardware to software, unlocking the latent capability in networking hardware and spurring new and innovative applications. Our cloud managed network automation platform brings many of the advantages of SDN to your existing network."
About Auvik Networks Inc.

Auvik wants to make networking easier. Through the use of innovative technology, Auvik's cloud managed network automation platform dramatically simplifies the way IT configures, monitors, and manages its network. The company's founders include industry veterans Marc Morin (ex-Founder/CTO of both PixStream and Sandvine), David Yach (ex-CTO Software RIM, VP Sybase) and Alex Hoff (Product Manager, Sandvine). For more information, visit www.auvik.com.
About Celtic House Venture Partners

Celtic House Venture Partners is an independent Canadian investment firm. Since 1994, Celtic House has been one of Canada's most active investors in technology and innovation. Capitalizing on the deep domain expertise of its partners, Celtic House has consistently provided superior financial returns to its investors. Celtic House has collaborated with management teams and repeat entrepreneurs to develop technology companies from the inception phase through to exit, generating over 20 initial public offerings and successful acquisitions. From offices in Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa, Celtic House manages in excess of $425 million across three funds. Celtic House is currently making new investments out of Celtic House Venture Partners Fund IV, which it closed in 2012 at $105 million.
About Rho Canada Ventures

Rho Canada, based in Montreal, is dedicated to backing leading, early-stage companies across Canada. Formed in 2006, Rho Canada is affiliated with Rho Ventures, based in New York and Palo Alto, and leverages off Rho Ventures' 30+ years of experience in investing in venture-stage companies. Since 1981, Rho Ventures has been investing in leading edge, high growth companies that redefine the status quo. The firm has a deep history of supporting companies at multiple stages of growth spanning early stage investments to later stage expansion and growth equity transactions. Rho Ventures has financed approximately 200 companies and has invested in market leaders across many high growth sectors including information technology, communications, new media, healthcare and energy technology. Rho has over $2 billion under management. For more information, visit www.rho.com or follow Rho Canada on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RhoCanada.
About BDC IT Venture Fund

The BDC IT Venture Fund is a $150 million fund with offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Calgary, and strong links to Silicon Valley. The investment focus is typically on early stage companies with passionate and visionary entrepreneurs in the Enterprise, Internet and Mobile sectors. The fund has invested in many successful companies including Radian6 (acquired by Salesforce), Opalis (acquired by Microsoft), Bycast (acquired by NetApp) and Q1 Labs (acquired by IBM). The IT VC fund is part of BDC Venture Capital, which has more than $1 billion under management and more than 25 years' investing experience in IT, health and energy/clean technology companies, as well as venture funds. Find out more at www.bdc.ca/vc or follow us on Twitter @BDC_VC.