Vendor Spotlight: Auvik

Auvik Networks has created a cloud platform of IT monitoring services, which is known as Auvik. The Auvik system started out as a network monitoring system and has expanded with a new module for SaaS system monitoring. The platform offers an option for a multi-tenant account, which is designed for use by managed service providers (MSPs).

Auvik’s Origins and Growth

Auvik Networks, Inc. was founded in 2011 by a team of seasoned technology professionals with a shared vision of simplifying network management for IT teams and managed service providers (MSPs). The company’s founders were Marc Morin, David Yach, and Alex Hoff.

Marc Morin had already established himself as a successful entrepreneur. Prior to Auvik, Morin co-founded PixStream, a video networking company that was later acquired by Cisco. His experience in networking technology and business acumen were instrumental in shaping Auvik’s direction. David Yach brought a wealth of experience from his tenure at Research In Motion (now BlackBerry), where he served as Chief Technology Officer for Software. His deep understanding of software architecture and network management played a crucial role in developing Auvik’s platform. Alex Hoff had a background in product management and was pivotal in designing Auvik’s product with a strong focus on user experience.

Timeline and Evolution

The Auvik system took many years to develop and spent a year as a free tool during its Beta release phase.

• 2011: Auvik Networks is founded in Waterloo, Ontario, by Marc Morin, David Yach, and Alex Hoff.
• 2014: Auvik launches its first product, a cloud-based network management platform designed for MSPs and IT departments. The platform is well-received for its ease of use and powerful automation features.
• 2016: The company raises $11.4 million in a Series A funding round, led by Celtic House Venture Partners, Rho Canada Ventures, and BDC IT Venture Fund. This funding helps accelerate Auvik’s growth and product development.
• 2018: Auvik raises an additional $15 million in Series B funding, further fueling its expansion into new markets and enhancing its product offerings.
• 2020: Auvik continues to grow its customer base globally, providing network management solutions to MSPs and IT professionals in over 40 countries.
• 2021: The company further expands its product capabilities, including enhanced network traffic analysis and deeper integrations with other IT management tools.
• 2022: Auvik is acquired by private equity firm Great Hill Partners, positioning the company for further expansion and innovation in network management.

The involvement of Great Hill Partners, the development strategy of Auvik has switched to growth through acquisition. The company’s major purchases have been:

• MetaGeek Acquired in April 2022, this system is a Wi-Fi monitoring and troubleshooting package.
• Saaslio Acquired in October 2022, this company was founded in 2020 and provides SaaS application discovery and management.
• Boardgent Acquired in October 2020, this service is a remote access system that provides mechanisms to remotely manage desktops and laptops.

Company Ownership

The founders bought in external financing relatively early, with its first round of capital injection taking place in 2016. The company remained private throughout its history and still hasn’t listed its shares on any stock market.

Since its acquisition by Great Hill Partners in 2022 for $250 million, this private equity firm has been the primary shareholder of Auvik Networks. Great Hill Partners is known for its investments in high-growth companies in the technology sector, and its involvement has provided Auvik with additional resources to scale its operations and product offerings.

Key People

Post-acquisition, the board of directors for Auvik includes members from Great Hill Partners as well as key executives from Auvik. The board members include:

• Douglas Murray The CEO of Auvik has been in that position since 2022. He has more than 25 years of experience in the networking sector, with previous positions including a leadership role at Juniper Networks.
• Alex Hoff The only one of the founders who is still on the Board. Hoff is currently the Chief Strategy Officer of Auvik.

Locations

Auvik Networks’ headquarters is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, a region often referred to as “Canada’s Silicon Valley” due to its robust tech ecosystem. This city remains the central hub for its operations, including research and development, sales, and customer support. The company also has a global presence, with customers in over 40 countries, and it continues to expand its reach through partnerships and strategic alliances.

Target Market and Customer Base

Due to industry events and awards, Auvik has a much higher profile in Canada than anywhere else in the world. However, thanks to internet marketing, the company’s reach isn’t limited to its home market. In 2024, 85.5 percent of the platform’s customers were located in the USA, 5.5 percent were in Canada, and 4 percent were in the United Kingdom.

Although the company has been expanding into SaaS system monitoring and endpoint management, its network monitoring services are still the core attraction of the Auvik platform.

The platform currently has more than 6,300 active subscribers. The platform supports more than 10 million devices and 3 million SaaS applications.

Auvik’s Product Suite

Auvik Networks has established itself as a key player in the network management space, offering a comprehensive suite of products designed to simplify and automate the complex task of managing IT networks. The company’s product suite is tailored primarily for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal IT teams, enabling them to gain better visibility, control, and efficiency over network operations.

Auvik’s product suite is built around its flagship offering, the Auvik Network Management platform, which provides a range of tools and features designed to automate network monitoring, troubleshooting, and management tasks. The suite includes:

• Network Monitoring and Visualization Auvik offers real-time network monitoring, which provides visibility into network performance and device status. The platform automatically maps network topology, allowing users to see how devices are interconnected and identify potential issues quickly.
• Automated Network Management Auvik automates many routine network management tasks, such as configuration backups, device firmware updates, and network traffic analysis. This automation reduces the manual workload for IT teams, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.
• Traffic Analysis Auvik provides detailed insights into network traffic, helping IT professionals understand which applications and devices are consuming bandwidth. This feature is critical for identifying bottlenecks and ensuring that network resources are allocated efficiently.
• Configuration Management Auvik’s platform includes tools for managing device configurations, ensuring that all network devices are correctly configured and that configuration changes are tracked and documented.
• Alerting and Reporting The platform offers customizable alerts and detailed reporting features, allowing IT teams to stay informed about network health and performance. Reports can be generated automatically, providing insights into network trends and potential issues.
• Integrations Auvik integrates with a wide range of third-party IT management tools, including ticketing systems, documentation platforms, and RMM tools, enabling seamless workflow management across different platforms.

Evolution of the Product Suite

Auvik’s product suite has evolved significantly since its inception, aligning with advancements in network technologies and the changing needs of IT professionals. Initially, Auvik focused on simplifying network management by providing basic monitoring and automation tools. However, as network environments grew more complex—with the proliferation of cloud services, IoT devices, and remote workforces—Auvik expanded its platform to include more advanced features.

• 2014-2016: The early versions of Auvik’s platform primarily focused on network mapping and basic monitoring. During this period, the product was well-received for its ease of use and ability to automate fundamental network tasks, which were traditionally time-consuming and error-prone.
• 2017-2019: As networks became more complex, Auvik introduced advanced traffic analysis and configuration management features, addressing the growing need for deeper network insights and tighter security controls. The platform also began integrating more extensively with other IT management tools, reflecting the shift towards more interconnected IT ecosystems.
• 2020-Present: In response to the increased demands of remote work and the growing importance of network security, Auvik enhanced its alerting, reporting, and security features. The platform now offers more granular visibility into network traffic, more robust automation, and better integration with cloud services. The acquisition by Great Hill Partners in 2022 provided Auvik with additional resources to continue innovating and expanding its product offerings.

Challenges and How Auvik Overcame Them

Like any growing tech company, Auvik faced several challenges throughout its evolution. One significant challenge was scaling its platform to meet the needs of larger networks and more diverse environments. Early on, the platform was primarily designed for small to medium-sized networks, but as Auvik’s customer base grew to include larger enterprises, the company had to enhance its platform’s scalability and performance.

To address these challenges, Auvik invested heavily in R&D, focusing on optimizing its platform for larger deployments and more complex network environments. The company also expanded its support and training resources to ensure that IT teams could effectively leverage the platform’s full capabilities.

Another challenge Auvik faced was maintaining a balance between ease of use and feature richness. As the platform evolved, there was a risk of it becoming too complex for smaller IT teams to manage. Auvik overcame this by prioritizing user experience in its product design, ensuring that even as new features were added, the platform remained intuitive and easy to navigate.

Flagship Product: Auvik Network Management Platform

The Auvik Network Management platform is the cornerstone of Auvik’s product suite, designed to provide comprehensive, cloud-based network monitoring and management. The platform is particularly known for its ease of use, automation capabilities, and in-depth network visibility.

Key Features:

• Automated Network Mapping: Auvik automatically discovers and maps out the entire network topology, providing a real-time, interactive visual of how devices are connected. This feature significantly reduces the time IT teams spend on manual documentation.
• Real-Time Network Monitoring: The platform offers continuous monitoring of network performance and health. IT teams can quickly identify and resolve issues with the help of customizable alerts that notify them of any irregularities.
• Configuration Management: Auvik automates configuration backups and allows for easy management of device configurations. The platform ensures that all changes are tracked, and previous configurations can be restored if necessary.
• Traffic Analysis: With Auvik, users can monitor network traffic in real-time, providing insights into which devices and applications are consuming the most bandwidth. This is crucial for identifying bottlenecks and optimizing network performance.
• Integrations: Auvik integrates seamlessly with a wide array of third-party tools, including PSA (Professional Services Automation) and RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) platforms, which enhances its functionality and ease of use within existing IT workflows.

Auvik Networks has built a strong reputation in the network management industry, particularly with its flagship Auvik Network Management Platform. The platform’s ease of use, comprehensive feature set, and strong automation capabilities make it a valuable tool for MSPs and IT departments. Although the cost and learning curve for some features may be a concern for smaller organizations, the overall value provided by Auvik justifies its position as a leading solution in the market.

Read our Auvik Review.

Other Notable Products

Additional products like TrafficInsights and Network Device Monitoring further enhance the platform’s capabilities, offering deep insights and proactive management tools that address the evolving needs of modern networks.

1. Auvik TrafficInsights

Auvik TrafficInsights is an add-on feature within the Auvik platform that provides deep visibility into network traffic. It helps IT teams understand the flow of data across their networks, identify traffic bottlenecks, and detect potential security threats.

TrafficInsights allows users to drill down into traffic patterns, seeing exactly which applications and devices are using bandwidth and how traffic is flowing between network segments. By analyzing traffic patterns, TrafficInsights can help identify unusual or suspicious activity that may indicate a security breach or malware presence.

The tool provides a deeper understanding of network traffic, which is essential for both performance optimization and security. TrafficInsights integrates seamlessly with the core Auvik platform, making it easy to access and use.

TrafficInsights is a feature of the more expensive Performance plan from Auvik, which means it comes at an additional cost. Some users may find this prohibitive. While powerful, the level of detail provided can be overwhelming for smaller teams or those less experienced in traffic analysis.

2. Auvik Network Device Monitoring

Auvik Network Device Monitoring is another critical component of the Auvik platform, offering real-time monitoring and management of network devices such as routers, switches, and firewalls. Device Health Monitoring provides continuous monitoring of the health and performance of all connected devices, with alerts for any issues. Firmware Management allows for automated firmware updates and ensures that all devices are running the latest software versions.

By monitoring device health in real time, IT teams can proactively address issues before they impact network performance. Automated firmware management reduces the need for manual intervention, ensuring devices are always up-to-date.

While Auvik supports a wide range of devices, there may be limitations with less common or proprietary hardware, which could require manual management.

Auvik Plans

Auvik offers flexible pricing and plans designed to meet the needs of different types of organizations, particularly managed service providers (MSPs) and corporate IT operations teams. The pricing is generally based on the number of managed network devices, making it scalable for businesses of various sizes. Here’s an overview of Auvik’s plans and pricing structure:

1. Essentials Plan

The Essentials Plan is designed for organizations that need core network monitoring and management features. It includes basic monitoring, automated network mapping, and device status tracking.

Key Features:

• Real-time network monitoring
• Automated network mapping
• Device health and status tracking
• Configuration backup and restore
• Customizable alerts
• Basic reporting and dashboards

Best For: Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and MSPs that need foundational network management capabilities without extensive customization or advanced features.

2. Performance Plan

The Performance Plan builds on the Essentials Plan by adding more advanced features for traffic analysis, deeper insights, and greater control over network operations. It is ideal for larger organizations or those with more complex network environments.

Key Features:

• All Essentials Plan features
• Advanced traffic analysis (with TrafficInsights)
• Enhanced network performance monitoring
• More comprehensive reporting and analytics
• Deeper integrations with third-party IT management tools
• Support for additional network protocols and device types

Best For: Larger organizations or MSPs managing complex networks, requiring more detailed insights and performance tracking.

Pricing Structure

Auvik’s pricing is not publicly fixed, as it depends on the specific needs and scale of the customer’s network. However, the pricing is typically based on the number of devices managed within the network. The following factors influence the overall cost:

• Number of Network Devices: The more devices you need to manage, the higher the cost. Devices include routers, switches, firewalls, and other networked hardware.
• Add-Ons: Certain advanced features, such as TrafficInsights for in-depth traffic analysis, may come at an additional cost.
• Contract Length: Auvik offers discounts for annual subscriptions compared to month-to-month billing.

Custom Pricing

Auvik encourages potential customers to contact their sales team for a tailored quote. This approach allows Auvik to adjust pricing based on specific organizational needs, ensuring that customers only pay for the features and capacity they require.

Price Considerations

Auvik’s plans and pricing are designed to be flexible and scalable, catering to the diverse needs of MSPs and IT teams. While the exact cost can vary based on network size and specific requirements, Auvik’s structure ensures that organizations can find a plan that fits their budget and operational needs.

The two main plans, Essentials and Performance, allow users to choose between basic monitoring and more advanced network management features, depending on the complexity of their networks.

Free Trial and Demos

Auvik also offers a free trial, allowing organizations to test the platform before committing to a purchase. This trial typically lasts 14 days and includes access to all features, giving prospective users a comprehensive understanding of the platform’s capabilities.

Major competitors

Auvik operates in the network management and monitoring space, where it faces competition from several key players. Each competitor offers its own strengths and features, catering to various segments of the market. Here are the main competitors to Auvik:

1. SolarWinds

SolarWinds is a major player in the IT management software industry, offering a comprehensive suite of products for network monitoring, system management, and IT security.

Key Products:

• Network Performance Monitor (NPM)
• Network Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
• Server & Application Monitor (SAM)
• Network Configuration Manager (NCM)

2. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor

PRTG by Paessler is an all-in-one network monitoring tool that provides real-time visibility into network performance, health, and traffic.

Key Features:

• Unified monitoring for networks, servers, and applications
• Customizable screens and alerts
• Free forever for those who use just 100 sensors

3. ManageEngine OpManager

ManageEngine OpManager is part of Zoho Corporation’s ManageEngine suite, which provides IT management software solutions across various domains.

Key Features:

• Network performance monitoring
• Some traffic analysis
• Network troubleshooting
• Server monitoring

4. LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor is a cloud-based infrastructure monitoring platform that provides full-stack observability across networks, servers, applications, and cloud environments.

Key Features:

• Automated discovery
• AIOps-driven insights
• Coverage across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments

5. NinjaOne

NinjaOne (formerly NinjaRMM) is a unified IT management platform that combines remote monitoring and management (RMM), patch management, and network monitoring.

Key Features:

• Device management
• Network monitoring
• Automated patching
• Data backup

Market Analysis

Auvik competes in a crowded and competitive market with several established players. While SolarWinds and Paessler PRTG are strong contenders due to their comprehensive feature sets and market presence, Auvik differentiates itself through ease of use, automation, and strong MSP support. ManageEngine OpManager and LogicMonitor also provide robust alternatives, each with its own strengths in terms of scalability and customization.

Ultimately, the choice between Auvik and its competitors will depend on an organization’s specific needs, such as the complexity of its network, the level of automation required, and its budget.

Conclusion

Auvik Networks has successfully navigated the challenges of a rapidly changing IT landscape by continually evolving its product suite in line with emerging network technologies and the needs of its users.

From its early focus on network mapping and basic monitoring to its current suite of advanced network management tools, Auvik has consistently prioritized automation, visibility, and ease of use. As the company continues to grow and innovate, it remains well-positioned to meet the demands of modern IT networks and maintain its leadership in the network management space.