The problem: Who is using up all the bandwidth? For IT engineers, the custodians of web connectivity in any business, this is often a pressing concern. Businesses can experience usage and performance problems when a handful of bandwidth-hungry applications gobble up the majority of their network resources. It could be people or devices unintentionally strangling the network – bandwidth-sapping film downloads are particular culprits – or it might be the work of malicious applications or services. For the company’s IT helpdesk, it is not immediately clear. Traffic to and from the Internet is flowing from every network-enabled device: that can include mobile phones, computers, tablets and more.
How do you fix it? Network Polygraph can sniff out the bandwidth hog and cut downtime in half. As a cloud-based and offsite analysis service, it keeps tabs on data use, helping businesses diagnose the causes of traffic spikes and troubleshoot bandwidth issues. Whereas alternative products require users to either license software or purchase hardware, Polygraph collects metrics exported by companies’ routers, and analyses them using proprietary algorithms.
The company has already claimed success in uncovering fraud in the online payment system, Bitcoin.
Network Polygraph produces bandwidth usage charts, flags the IP addresses that generate most traffic, and detects network-based attacks
The Company: Network Polygraph was co-founded by a team of three in 2013, and got off the ground with €95,000 raised among the founders and a loan of €75,000. It generated revenues of €85,000 last year and this April received €65,000 in grant money from the SME Instrument programme run by the European Commission. Polygraph is now preparing the ground for a €200,000 venture capital round. Customers include DigitalOcean, a top-five cloud provider worldwide; RedIRIS, the Spanish academic ISP that connects 500 universities and public bodies to the internet; and Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, one of the biggest clubs in Belgian professional football. Pere Barlet-Ros is co-founder and chairman of the company.
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