Mike LaJoie retired as executive vice president and chief technology officer of Time Warner Cable at the end of 2014, but it's already clear in the early part of 2015 that he intends to stay in the cable technology picture.
Guavus, a big data analytics company based in San Mateo, Calif., is expected to announce today (January 21) that LaJoie has joined the company’s board and will serve as chairman.
LaJoie is joining Guavus as the company continues to expand into new markets and looks to expand its presence in the cable industry, which is increasingly eager to use its data in ways that could open up new revenue streams while also reducing operating costs.
While Guavus has not identified its current crop of MSO customers, the vendor has been active in the cable industry for years. For example, Marwan Fawaz, an exec late of Charter Communications and the former head of Motorola Home and now a partner at Sarepta Partners, is a member of Guavus's panel of industry advisors. According to Guavus’s website, David Nicholas, an exec late of cable-focused companies such as Alticast, BigBand Networks (now part of Arris), Vyyo, and Concurrent Computer Corp., is on board as senior vice president sales – cable and media. In 2013, Guavus acquired Pipeline, a product originally developed by Applied Broadband that collects and analyzes IPDR (Internet Protocol Detailed Records) from cable modem terminations systems (CMTSs). At the time, Guavus said Pipeline’s platform had been licensed by seven of the top 10 cable operators in North America.
“Guavus has become a trusted partner to the world’s largest communications companies that are looking to transition to being data-driven enterprises,” LaJoie said, in a statement. “Guavus has demonstrated great innovation and I look forward to contributing to its continued success as a member of the Guavus board.”
“We are extremely honored that Mike will be contributing to the vision and direction of Guavus at a time when data is becoming increasingly strategic to the future growth and operating success for our customers,” added Anukool Lakhina, the CEO and founder of Guavus. “Mike’s extensive management experience and proven operational expertise makes him a valuable addition to our board as we continue to grow and deliver a range of big data solutions that provide significant value to customers globally.”
Last June, LaJoie announced plans to retire from TWC on Dec. 31, 2014, following a 21-year career with the company, noting then that his main focus for the balance of 2014 would be on the Comcast integration.
Guavus claims that its Reflex platform currently processes over 2.5 petabytes of data per day, equivalent to 250 billion records per day and 2.5 million transactions per second. Guavus feedds that data into applications that, for example, can be used to help ISPs line up pricing plans based on customer device usage, create targeted ad campaigns based on customer interests, and keep close tabs on network data traffic trends.
Founded in 2006, Guavus announced last August that it had raised a $20 million round, extending its total investment to more than $107 million. Investors in the most recent round included Artiman Ventures, Sofinnova Ventures, Intel Capital, SingTel Innov8, Investor Growth Capital, QuestMark Partners, TransLink Capital and Goldman Sachs.
