Southborough, Mass. -- After spending the last two years developing technology geared toward securing network connections to remote devices, ComBrio Inc. has launched.

Backed by $6 million in venture capital, the Southborough, Mass.-based company is aiming to provide an alternative to virtual private networks, or VPNs, that requires no configuration.

Paul Campaniello, director of marketing at ComBrio, called the company's virtual service infrastructure the "next logical extension" in the VPN market. The company's technology allows for a secure connection over the Internet to remote devices. It enables network managers to control service access into their protected networks and to protect assets from ongoing security threats.

Some other well-known alternatives to ComBrio's offering are frame relay, a high-speed packet switching protocol used in wide area networks; dial-up; and dedicated lines such as T1s, which are used for private networks. Campaniello said ComBrio's technology, which is priced between $20,000 and $25,000, costs significantly less than other offerings, in part because it relies on the Internet.

"We use the Internet, so it's ubiquitous," he said. Also, the company's technology does not require a user to open holes into a remote firewall, which is necessary in VPNs for users to connect to remote sites. ComBrio has a couple of customers, according to Campaniello, who said the product is designed for anyone who does remote device support.

ComBrio has raised two venture rounds, most recently a $5 million Series B that closed in January. The company's investors include StillRiver Fund, Inflection Point Ventures and Venture Capital Fund of New England. ComBrio is using the Series B financing to support sales, business development and research and development. Campaniello said the company has no plans to raise another round in the near future.

ComBrio was founded in 2002 by John Cook, chief technology officer, and Clark Lefavour, vice president of engineering. Cook's experience includes more than 20 years of product development roles at 3Com, Aether Systems and Network Solutions. Lefavour previously founded and led Infinity Computer, a system integration firm. ComBrio is led by Chief Executive Dave LeBeau, who most recently served as president of BATM Americas. The company has 30 employees.

http://www.combrio.com

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