8. Varonis Systems

Founded: Early 2005

Location: Herzeliya, Israel, and New Jersey, U.S.

What does the company offer? Intelligent Data Usage, a line of governance software products that control which employees in an enterprise can access data.

Why is it worth watching? Varonis' product gives organizations control over unstructured data , such as PowerPoint presentations, Word documents and spreadsheets. "About 85% of . . . the data in most companies takes unstructured form," says Johnnie Konstantas, vice president of marketing. "We have created a solution that essentially tells organizations who is accessing that data, and what they're doing when they access it. . . . These are sort of all the pieces to get control of unstructured data and make sure only the right people are looking at the right data to do their jobs and nothing more."

How did the company get its start? The founders, Yaki Faitelson and Ohad Korkus, both worked for NetVision , an Israeli ISP, where they became interested in how employees receive permission to view data, and how it is often difficult to find out why employees had permission to view data after it is deleted mistakenly.

How did the company get its name? Varonis means "lion" in Latvian. Faitelson, the CEO and president, admires the lion for its strength, endurance, power and loyalty.

CEO and background: Faitelson held leadership positions in global professional services and systems integration divisions at NetVision and Network Appliance.

Funding: US$13.5 million from venture capital firms including Evergreen and Pitango Venture Capital .

Who's using the product? Conde Nast, the Museum of Modern Art, Msystems , and various unnamed banks and financial institutions.