Mako Networks

Mako Networks builds cloud-managed network edge devices and a central management system aimed at distributed, multi-location businesses — gas stations, convenience stores, retail chains, quick-service restaurants — that need PCI DSS-compliant networking at dozens or hundreds of sites without on-site IT staff. Its Mako System pairs proprietary plug-and-play network appliances at each location with a cloud console that can detect a PCI compliance lapse within minutes.

Founded in 2000 in Auckland, New Zealand, Mako Networks became, in 2009, the first network management company worldwide to qualify as a PCI-certified Level 1 service provider, and says it has maintained that certification every year since. The company has grown from its Auckland origins to offices in the US, UK, and Australia, and reports its technology is deployed in 22 countries, with roughly 80 employees.

Mako’s specific value is compliance-focused network security for franchise and multi-site retail operators, a narrower niche than general-purpose network security vendors, and its PCI Level 1 service-provider status is an independently auditable third-party certification rather than a self-reported claim, which is a meaningfully stronger evidence base than most vendor marketing claims in this category.