CloudGenix shows up with software for managing networks in many data centers

A startup called CloudGenix came out of stealth mode today with plans to sell software for simplifying network operations at companies’ on-site data centers and remote offices.

CloudGenix aims to bring software-defined networking — where decision-making applications for networks run on standard servers, not expensive network hardware — to wide-area networks (WANs) that span multiple facilities. It can let companies put in place and adjust policies for applications running at many sites, from one central piece of software.

And in that endeavor, it’s packing $9 million in funding, as well as a team with DNA from networking giants Cisco and Juniper, not to mention Palo Alto Networks and Facebook.

Using the software to manage the way applications are delivered to various locations means companies “can repurpose a lot of their people,” Kumar Ramachandran, CloudGenix’s chief executive, told VentureBeat. And just as centralized management for application network policies across facilities can improve, application performance can improve, too, Ramachandran said.

Such a tool could prove quite valuable.

In the nascent software-defined networking business, startups like Big Switch and Embrane and staid vendors like VMware and Cisco have primarily targeted communications inside of a single data center, not the WAN, which is what CloudGenix will specialize in.

Cisco has announced plans for a product aimed at wide-area networks, which span multiple data centers, but it’s not yet available.

That leaves CloudGenix with lead time to refine its software.

And some networking industry analysts plan to keep an eye on the startup.

“The CloudGenix software-defined enterprise WAN is an early mover in this emerging market [of network virtualization for the WAN], making the company worth watching,” 451 Research networking research director Peter Christy said in a statement.

The startup plans to launch a beta of its software in the coming months, Ramachandran said. For now CloudGenix is in talks with more than 10 organizations at this point, including Coca-Cola and Columbia Sportswear, Ramachandran said.

He wouldn’t say how many people work at the startup.

CloudGenix started last year and has headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.

This marks the startup’s first funding round. Charles River Ventures and the Mayfield Fund contributed to the round, which will go toward product development and early go-to-market strategy, Ramachandran said.