Wednesday, February 13, 2008

West Coast software maker expands into the Bay State

By Christopher Calnan

Apani Networks, a California security software maker, is expanding its development operations with a new facility in Southborough.

Apani recently opened what it describes as an East Coast product innovation facility to give the company a bi-coastal presence, serving financial services customers in the Northeast, said executive vice president of sales Thomas Stanford, who will lead the new office.

He expects the facility to house about 15 Apani employees by the end of the year, and up to 30 employees by the end of 2009.

Apani, founded in 2003, is based in Brea, Calif. The company develops cross-platform server isolation software for large enterprises. Its software is designed to isolate and secure the communication between servers and endpoints regardless of operating system or physical location, according to the software company.

Apani, which employs 80 workers, also operates offices in San Francisco, New York and London.

Metropolitan Boston's technology worker pool was a factor in the selection of Southborough, Stanford said. Also, 70 percent of Apani's customers operate in the eastern time zone. That, coupled with the region being closer to the company's London operations, made New England a logical location for the facility, he said.

"For us, the Boston market is an easy choice," said Stanford, a Cohasset native. "Boston is the only really viable choice for a company like Apani."

He considers California-based Cisco Systems Inc. as Apani's chief competitor.

Apani is backed by Japanese investors who Stanford declined to identify, although he did say Apani plans to close a Series C round of funding within 30 days.