#USA #Santa Clara #Forward Networks #David Erickson #Network Digital Twin

Forward Networks' Record-Breaking Year in 2025

Forward Networks, recognized as a leader in network digital twin technology, has successfully concluded a record-breaking year in 2025. The company achieved an incredible 175% surge in multi-year contracts, primarily driven by its innovative solutions appealing to global enterprises, service providers, and critical industries. As organizations dive deeper into AI and automation, the demand for precise insights into network behavior has intensified, creating a substantial market opportunity for Forward Networks.

A Significant Impact on IT Infrastructure

In today's increasingly complex hybrid IT environments, businesses often struggle to manage their networks effectively using traditional methods. Forward Networks has positioned itself as a crucial player by offering the industry’s only mathematically accurate model of network behavior. This capability enables organizations to eliminate blind spots, validate intent, enforce security, and operate confidently at scale. Dave Erickson, CEO of Forward Networks, remarked on the company’s mission: “We started Forward Networks because networks, including hybrid and multicloud, had grown too complex for manual processes or traditional tools to understand.”

With the rise in AI initiatives across industries, organizations recognize the importance of having the right tools to manage their networks efficiently. The growth observed in 2025, fueled by new customers and expanded adoption, shows that delivering accurate network insights has become vital for success.

Key Milestones and Strategic Expansion

In FY2025, Forward Networks reached several significant milestones:

• - Global Expansion: The company opened a new office in Japan, expanded its presence in Europe, and nearly doubled its engineering team in India.
• - Large-scale Operations: Its technology was successfully deployed in some of the world's largest networks, supporting installations with over 50,000 mathematically modeled devices.
• - Efficiency Gains: The completion of over 2 million path searches saved clients an estimated 950 years of manual network management efforts.

The company also noticed a substantial increase in its Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), with a 30% rise in financial services and technology customers and triple-digit growth in the media and entertainment sectors.

Enhanced Security and Compliance Features

2025 also saw Forward Networks release several product advancements aimed at fortifying client security and simplifying compliance measures. Key updates included:

• - A streamlined vulnerability management process integrated with CISA KEV to help prioritize actively exploited threats.
• - Enhanced discovery and analysis capabilities of network-edge endpoints through deeper integration with the Network Query Engine (NQE).
• - Improved compliance and audit response facilitated by new historical insights and configuration histories.

These innovations are designed to empower customers with a deeper understanding of network behavior, enabling them to assess risks more accurately and manage security with enhanced efficiency.

Leadership Alignment for Future Growth

To support its ambitious growth strategies, Forward Networks strengthened its leadership team in 2025 by appointing Sanjay Mehta as Chief Marketing Officer and Bobby Condon as Chief Revenue Officer. Their experience spans successful high-growth companies, positioning Forward Networks to leverage their expertise effectively.

Recognition and Future Outlook

The company's innovative approach earned it several industry accolades in 2025, including recognition as a “Great Place To Work” and a finalist placement for CEO David Erickson in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards. As 2026 approaches, Erickson emphasized the essential nature of digital twin technology for managing complex hybrid environments. He stated, “Operating complex networks without a clear, verifiable understanding of how they behave across sites, data centers, and clouds is no longer sustainable.”

Looking ahead, Forward Networks remains steadfast in its commitment to deploying mathematical accuracy to revolutionize IT network management and security practices.

To stay updated on Forward Networks’ journey and innovations, visit www.forwardnetworks.com/ai.