Avi Networks

CEO: Amit Pandey

Founded: 2012

Headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif.

Founded by former top Cisco executives, analysts said application deliver controller (ADC) specialist Avi Networks would be a great match with Cisco in container networking.

"Citrix, for example, took their virtual product and shoved it into a container, but I don’t believe that's what the world needs. You need to build a product where your ADC services become individual containerized services that you can spin up and down," said the global research firm analyst. "Avi created a distributed platform that uses containers to be able to spin up and down ADC services really quickly. In this multi-cloud world – and the hybrid cloud Cisco promotes all the time – the ability to apply those application services where and when the customer needs them in a lightweight, fast way, Avi does that better than maybe anyone."

The startup is aiming to become a 100 percent channel company, launching its first ever global channel partner program in July.