Untangle

Untangle is an American network security software company that develops the NG Firewall platform, a modular gateway product that bundles firewall, web filtering, spam blocking, malware protection, phishing defense, intrusion prevention and related security applications into a single appliance or software package. The company was founded in 2003 under the name Metavize, Inc. by John Irwin and Dirk Morris, and it publicly launched in 2005 at the Demo@15! event. In 2006 Metavize raised $10.5 million in financing from CMEA Ventures and Canyon Ventures and Associates, appointed Bob Walters as CEO, and rebranded itself as Untangle, Inc. The following year, in 2007, Untangle released its Gateway Platform as open-source software under the GPL version 2 license, and by that year it had surpassed 100,000 users across roughly 2,000 organizations. Untangle positions itself as a way to simplify network security for organizations that lack large IT security teams. Its marketing emphasizes taking the complexity out of network security and delivering everything needed in a single modular platform, avoiding the headaches of managing multiple vendor solutions. The company targets specific verticals including K-12 schools, state and local government, hospitality and retail, nonprofit organizations, healthcare, federal government, higher education, and banking and financial services. It also addresses issues such as BYOD and open Wi-Fi, incident response, insider threats, the Internet of Things, mobile policy enforcement, next-generation web filtering, and ransomware. Today Untangle operates as part of Arista Networks and its products are marketed under the Edge Threat Management brand at edge.arista.com. The offering includes NG Firewall, a range of apps, software packages, the ETM Dashboard with a mobile app, and hardware such as the NG Firewall Micro Edge appliance. Untangle sells through a partner program with distributors and resellers, and also offers free trials and online purchasing. The company describes NG Firewall as the number one choice of IT professionals and emphasizes its commitment to customer success.

Untangle was founded in 2003 as Metavize, Inc. by John Irwin and Dirk Morris. The company officially launched in 2005 at the Demo@15! event, presenting its network gateway concept to the technology industry. In 2006, Metavize raised $10.5 million in financing from CMEA Ventures and Canyon Ventures and Associates, appointed Bob Walters as CEO, and changed its name to Untangle, Inc. This rebranding marked the transition from a startup identity to a commercial network security vendor. In 2007, Untangle released its Gateway Platform as open-source software under the GPL version 2 license, a move that helped it gain traction among small businesses and IT administrators seeking an affordable, flexible security gateway. That same year, the company experienced significant growth, surpassing 100,000 users across approximately 2,000 organizations. The open-source model allowed users to deploy the platform on their own hardware or as a software appliance, while Untangle monetized through commercial applications, support subscriptions, and preconfigured hardware. Over the following years, Untangle expanded its product line into a modular suite of applications covering spam blocking, malware protection, web filtering, phishing protection, intrusion prevention, application control, bandwidth control, and policy management. The company targeted small and mid-sized businesses as well as specific verticals such as education, government, healthcare, hospitality, retail, and financial services. It built a partner program with distributors and resellers to reach customers beyond direct online sales. Untangle was later acquired by Arista Networks, a publicly traded networking company. Under Arista, the Untangle business and products are marketed under the Edge Threat Management brand at edge.arista.com. The current offering includes NG Firewall, a range of apps, software packages, the ETM Dashboard with a mobile app, and hardware such as the NG Firewall Micro Edge appliance. The company continues to emphasize simplifying network security for organizations that lack dedicated security teams, and it offers free trials and online purchasing alongside its partner channel.

• 2007

  Released the Untangle Gateway Platform as open-source software under GPL version 2; surpassed 100,000 users across about 2,000 organizations.

• 2006

  Raised $10.5 million from CMEA Ventures and Canyon Ventures and Associates; appointed Bob Walters as CEO; renamed to Untangle, Inc.

• 2005

  Officially launched at the Demo@15! event.

• 2003

  Founded as Metavize, Inc. by John Irwin and Dirk Morris.

• Acquired by Arista Networks; products marketed under the Edge Threat Management brand.

Modular, simplified network security for small and mid-sized organizations and specific verticals, marketed as a single-platform alternative to multiple vendor solutions.

• NG Firewall

  Modular network security gateway platform combining firewall, web filtering, spam blocking, malware protection, phishing defense, intrusion prevention and more.

• NG Firewall Micro Edge

  Hardware appliance for the NG Firewall platform.

• ETM Dashboard

  Management dashboard with a mobile app for overseeing Edge Threat Management deployments.

• Web Filter

  Next-generation web filtering application.

• Spam Blocker

  Email spam blocking application.

• Virus Blocker

  Malware protection application.

• Phish Blocker

  Phishing protection application.

• Intrusion Prevention

  Intrusion prevention application.

1. 1Edge Threat Management – Aristaedge.arista.com
2. 2Untangle – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Untangle – Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org
4. 4Untangle introduces WireGuard VPN connectivity with SD-WAN Router 3.0 Releaseprnewswire.com