VOIP switch vendor Sentito Networks revealed today that it has raised some $28.5 million since late last year, with a $9.5 million Series D round closing as late as July (see Sentito Bags $28.5M, Hires Execs).

In all, the company has raised $53.5 million since its inception and it says it will use the cash to expand sales and marketing efforts.

The company's $19 million Series C round was led by Kodiak Venture Partners, and its Series D round was led by Core Capital Partners; both firms were previous Sentito investors.

In January, after the company had already closed its $19 million round, Sentito told Light Reading that it had only raised $25 million to date -- $11 million in February 2001 and $14 million in March 2003 (see Sentito Senses Something).

The company has confirmed that Terry Wolters left as its president and CEO back in March. Toward the end of June, it announced Dennis Chateauneuf as Wolters' replacement (see Headcount: Man-Eating Holiday and Headcount: Buy vs Lure).

While all that was going on, Sentito completely renamed its products and sought to reposition itself as less of a telephone switch vendor and more of a VOIP equipment player. Its switches used to live under the New End Office (NEO) brand, but now they exist as part of the Open Network Xchange (ONX).

"We've always been in the VOIP industry," says William Flanagan, Sentito's VP of marketing. "Previously we focused on the switching side of our box, but now that the market has matured and people are focusing on top-line revenue, it's clear that VOIP is going to give them that revenue...

"Two or three years ago we were talking about Class 5 replacement, and I no longer think that's the business."

The 80-something employee company is focusing on carriers that have aggressive plans to deploy VOIP technologies. "We still work with IOCs, we still work with RBOCs, but those sales cycles tend to be longer," Flanagan explains.

In that scope, Flanagan sees Sentito's competitors as "Cisco on the low end and Sonus on the high end."

That, in itself, is an encouraging sign for Sentito. Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) plays hardball all the time against all comers, of course. But Sonus Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: SONSE) has been somewhat distracted while wriggling through a months-long financial scandal, a saga that makes Sentito's restructuring pale in comparison (see Nasdaq to Delist Sonus).

And, now, with some fresh funding and new executives on board, Sentito will try to get carriers' attention before the serious VOIP spending starts. "All they [service providers] are doing now is clearing their throats," Flanagan says. "We've haven't begun to see what large carriers are going to do in this space."

— Phil Harvey, News Editor, Light Reading

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For more on this topic, check out:

• The coming Light Reading Live! event:
  — Next-Generation Services (NGS) Roadshow
• The coming Light Reading Webinar:
  — Next Generation Services: Management Matters
  
  
• The Light Reading Insider report:
  — VOIP: The Enterprise Options
  — Deconstructing VOIP

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For further education, visit the archives of related Light Reading Webinars:

• Carrier VOIP: How to Build Reliable Networks
• The Future of Voice, Video, and Data
• Infrastructure Requirements for Enterprise VOIP
• Key Softswitch Characteristics for Migrating Class 5 Infrastructure to VOIP
• Key VOIP Migration Strategies and Tactics for Service Providers
• Next-Generation Voice Architectures: Superior Softswitching
• Softswitches: The Gateway to Profitability

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For more info on the state of industry financials, check out the coming Light Reading Live! event:

Light Reading's Telecom Investment Conference, in New York City, November 10.