Avega Systems, maker of home media networks that allow playback of music or video in any room of your house from a central hub, has brought in $2.5 million in equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Mountain View, Calif., the company is backed by Cisco Systems, Jafco Asia and Technology Venture Partners.

Avega’s Aios™ is the world-leading networked entertainment technology platform.

Aios™ consists of market-proven software components and hardware reference designs, providing unique end-consumer value proposition and high product differentiation. The platform enables Avega’s partners to rapidly and easily deliver a wide range of networked consumer electronics products for a rich, compelling yet simple whole-home media experience.

Based on a strong patent portfolio, Avega’s technology encompasses multi-room and multi-channel playback, control and server software, as well as high-performance media-grade network infrastructure software. The software can be deployed on a wide range of cost-effective, non-proprietary hardware platforms including ARM, PowerPC and other processors. While the range of suitable hardware platforms is very wide, specific complete hardware reference designs are available to minimize engineering effort and time to market. The reference designs encompass digital networking modules as well as entire playback, control and server reference products.

All the components of Avega’s networked entertainment technology platform are fully standards-compliant. This includes full compliance with the dominant wireless (802.11a/b/g and 802.11n Wi-Fi) and wired (Ethernet) home networking standards, as well as certified UPnP/DLNA functionality for the highest level of interoperability with third party devices. While all of Avega’s technology components are compatible with off-the-shelf networking infrastructure, Avega also offers media-grade network infrastructure technology for ultimate whole-home media networking performance.

The Aios™ platform is available today. For more information please use the form located here to contact an Avega representative.

[venturebeat]

Energy management could end up being the killer app for the slow-moving home automation market. Well, at least companies selling products like broadband-based home security are rapidly moving to add energy to their lineups. Here’s the latest: iControl, a 5-year-old startup backed by some of the biggest names in venture capital and networking announced this morning that it has launched an energy management product for utilities, broadband service providers and security firms.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm, which has received $45 million in funding from Kleiner Perkins, Charles River Ventures, Intel Capital, Cisco, General Electric, Comcast and security firm ADT, is making only the management software (not the hardware) and is partnering with device makers and networking companies to offer its product. Unlike some of the other energy management firms out there iControl is white labeling its product, which will be branded by its customer (for example a company like Verizon, or a utility like PG&E.

iControl CEO Paul Dawes sees security firms (like iControl investor ADT) as the fastest of its target markets to start delivering energy management to consumers. Security firms are finding themselves in a fluctuating market, which is moving from delivering services via the telephone networks to broadband networks, and Dawes says those companies will be attracted to iControl’s broadband-based security and energy management tools to stay competitive.

The company’s second target market, broadband service providers, like cable and phone companies, will start rolling out energy management by the first quarter of this year, predicts Dawes. “All the broadband companies will be doing this,” said Dawes. Last week startup EcoFactor launched its own software to control smart thermostats, also focused on the broadband service provider market.

Lastly iControl wants to partner with utilities to help them deliver energy management and demand response tools to customers. Dawes says utilities are already trialling its software, but he doesn’t expect this market to pick up for another 2-3 years.

iControl is also different from some of its competitors because it’s focusing on a low cost energy management product. Out of the gate the company expects its customers to provide consumers a smart thermostat and a gateway for around $70, and Dawes thinks that will drop to $50 over time. He expects broadband service providers to offer the energy management service to their customers for free, potentially bundled with a security system, and energy will act as a differentiator or value-add service, instead of a major revenue driver.

Ultimately the company’s biggest asset is probably its big-name backers. Cisco and GE are both playing key roles in the smart grid buildout, while Comcast’s cable customers could be a very important market. Of course it never hurts to have the Kleiner crew, with the likes of Al Gore, in your corner.

That said, iControl has significant competition from a variety of energy management firms that partly overlap with its service — here’s 10 energy management tools out there.

[earth2tech]

Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately held ScanSafe, Inc.  Based in London and San Francisco, ScanSafe is a market leader of software-as- a-service (SaaS) Web security solutions for organizations ranging from global enterprises to small businesses. 




“With the acquisition of ScanSafe, Cisco is executing on our vision to build a borderless network security architecture that combines network and cloud-based services for advanced security enforcement,” said Tom Gillis, vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Security Technology Business Unit (STBU).  “Cisco will provide customers the flexibility to choose the deployment model that best suits their organization and deliver anytime, anywhere protection against Web-based threats.”

Web security is a large and expanding market expected to grow to $2.3 billion by 2012.  By acquiring ScanSafe, Cisco is building on its successful acquisition of leading on-premise content security provider IronPort.  The acquisition brings together the Cisco IronPort™ high-performance Web security appliance and ScanSafe’s leading SaaS Web security service.  This combination will expand Cisco’s security portfolio to offer superior on-premise, hosted, and hybrid-hosted Web security solutions. 

“ScanSafe pioneered the market for SaaS Web security and continues as a leader in this rapidly growing market,” said ScanSafe CEO Eldar Tuvey.  “At a time when enterprises are increasingly focused on a flexible and mobile workplace, the need for hybrid-hosted Web security solutions is greater than ever.  By joining the Cisco team we will be able to offer even better and more flexible protection to our customers.” 

ScanSafe’s service will be integrated with Cisco® AnyConnect VPN Client, the newest virtual private network (VPN) product from Cisco, to provide the industry’s leading secure mobility solution.  In addition, ScanSafe’s global network of carrier-grade data centers and multi-tenant architecture will further enhance Cisco’s ability to provide new cloud-security services for customers anywhere in the world.

Upon the close of the acquisition, the ScanSafe team will become part of Cisco’s STBU, reporting to Gillis. 

The ScanSafe acquisition demonstrates Cisco's commitment to security and its ability to use its financial strength to quickly capture key market transitions through its build, buy, and partner strategy.  Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $183 million in cash and retention-based incentives.  The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2010. 

  TRENDBIRD Exclusive ! 

If we learned anything from the construction of the Internet, it’s that the more partners and standardized technology that are involved at the early phases of an infrastructure rollout, the smoother it will go. IBM is trying out that embrace-everyone strategy by launching its SAFE software, and Cisco similarly debuted today an ecosystem for partners to make sure systems are interoperable with its smart grid network using Internet Protocol.

Cisco has signed up tech companies, utilities and service providers into its ecosystem, trying to find partners at all levels of the network. A long list of companies includes software firms like Accenture and Oracle, tech providers like Arcadian Networks, Itron, Landis+Gyr and Siemens, and service providers like Verizon and Cable&Wireless Worldwide. Announced utility partners so far are Florida’s FPL, Duke Energy, Yello Strom and Enmax, though San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and PG&E are also in discussions with Cisco.

The more partners Cisco has, the easier it will be to sell its network solutions to utilities. While Cisco said there are more companies in the ecosystem than named, the currently announced list is noticeably absent of network competitors like Silver Spring Network, startups (like the kind working with IBM) and even large players like IBM itself.

This is actually a strategy we’ve heard before. A year and a half ago, when we were calling Silver Spring “the Cisco of the smart grid,” the company launched its technology alliance program based on IP and which included smart meter makers GE Energy, Itron and Landis+Gyr, demand response players Comverge and EnerNOC, home energy network players Control4, Greenbox Technologies and Tendril, software makers eMeter, GridPoint and Oracle — and even Cisco itself.


Experience the True Power of the Grid

Cisco delivers an end-to-end, IP-based secure communications infrastructure for the smart grid from generation to businesses and homes.

Cisco Smart Grid solutions help utilities:

• Optimize grid efficiency through better correlation of power supply and demand
• Reduce energy network outages and disruptions
• Increase the resiliency and security of the power system
• Increase environmental sustainability

[earth2tech]