Building the Future of Enterprise Connectivity
Learn about Apcela, our people, our partners, company news, and career opportunities.
How long it takes to get your coffee, how fast or slow you can board the plane, when your Amazon shipment arrives … it all matters. Speed and performance in today’s world defines a brand. The ease by which we interact in the consumer world is extending to our lives as employees, clients, and corporate leaders. We no longer want speed … we demand it.
The promise of the cloud was to meet this challenge for the digitally transforming enterprise. SaaS and IaaS exploded over the last 10 years, pushing mission critical applications to the cloud and ushering in a new paradigm for the enterprise network. New marketing tools, CRMs, ERPs, R&D, and production environments were just a few clicks away, separated only by the chasm that is the secure, enterprise network.
Gone are the days of hosting every application in a centralized, protected data center. What was a neat and predictable network became a fragmented, expensive, sometimes vulnerable, and time-consuming operation for the engineers, analysts, and operators charged with running it.
Apcela pioneered the development of high-performance, application delivery networks, earning our stripes in the high-frequency capital trading markets. With network performance meaning the difference of millions of dollars every day for our customers, our passion became how to rethink application performance to deliver amazing results. And we did.
Seeing the cloud revolution on the horizon, we expanded our sights to the enterprise. We saw incredible network and security teams facing the challenge of how to adapt a premise-based, data-center architecture to a hybrid, decentralized SaaS and IaaS model. We knew we could help.
We grew our global backbone to be one of the fastest in the world. We established direct connect and peering relationships with every major SaaS and IaaS provider. We grew our physical and virtual presence closer to customer locations at the biggest and smallest internet exchanges. We leveraged SD-WAN and software defined technologies like no others, before or since. We grew our team of incredible, customer-focused talent. Most importantly, we helped our customers transform, grow, and #GoFaster.
Apcela designs and manages software-defined, cloud optimized networks for the digitally transforming enterprise. Supporting clients like Dow Jones, Language Line, and Lego, we take the complexity out of managing a hybrid IT infrastructure to deliver the speed, performance, and security that your customers and employees deserve. Core to our success is:
The cloud can transform your business. We can help.
From our founding team to our business leaders that have joined along the way, Apcela brings deep expertise and experience across all domains, IT and networking technologies, and industries. Innovation, integrity and excellence in service delivery are core to our founding principles and part of the way we do business.
With nearly 200 years of professional experience across industry-leading companies including Verizon, AT&T, Accenture, LightSquared, BroadSoft and Level 3, our leadership team’s practical experience is balanced by innovation and entrepreneurial drive.
Mark is Apcela’s Founder and CEO, and has spent a career building and operating mission-specific networks that deliver the highest levels of speed, performance, and security.
Mark has spent nearly three decades in global communications, telecommunications, and IT infrastructure, with leadership experience spanning AT&T, Verizon (Bell Atlantic and MCI), CSX Fiber Networks and successor CFN Services, and now Apcela. His work has focused on solving complex networking challenges where latency, availability, security, application performance, and business outcomes matter.
Under Mark’s leadership, Apcela has built on its enterprise networking heritage to serve customers with secure, high-performance network solutions for distributed applications, cloud-centric environments, and mission-critical needs. In 2025, Apcela acquired the SmartSky Air-to-Ground network, extending its mission-specific network platform into business aviation, commercial aviation, connected aircraft, and secure inflight network applications.
Mark’s perspective is shaped by a simple operating principle: networks should be built around the mission, the application, the user, and the business outcome — not generic connectivity. Today, that philosophy guides Apcela’s work across enterprise networks, aviation connectivity, connected aircraft, and secure government and sovereign data networking.
Mark holds a BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MBA from American University.
As VP of Operations, Mike directs Apcela’s operations supporting the growth of the company. Mike also oversees Acpela’s network planning, engineering and architecture, as well as the financial management of carrier relations, to ensure alignment with Apcela’s overall product growth and expansion strategy.
With more than 20 years of experience in business development, finance, strategy and program management in the communications and technology sectors, Mike has a proven record leading cross-functional programs ranging from launching new services and lines of business to leading large-scale network optimization and cost-reduction initiatives with both domestic and international scope.
Prior to Apcela, Mike served as Director of Strategic Programs at XO Communications where he led the company’s $150M transformation program, helped define and launch its Cloud IaaS solutions, and was responsible for end-of-life cycle planning and execution of the company’s legacy TDM services. Mike also held multiple leadership roles at MCI and played a significant role in helping the company emerge from bankruptcy and chart a new strategy for growth and eventual sale to Verizon.
Mike has a BS from Indiana University.
As VP of Sales and Marketing focused on Presales & Product Strategy, Kunal spearheads the alignment of Apcela’s innovative technologies with market needs. Drawing from 20 years of experience and his background in solutions engineering and network engineering, he bridges technical solutions with customer requirements.
At Apcela, Kunal has led the launch of the Arcus Platform, the Multicloud Order Portal and Router, and distributed security offerings. He excels in coordinating with technology and channel partners, managing relationships with existing customers, and steering the presales process to ensure that product strategies meet and exceed client expectations.
Prior to Apcela, he led the network engineering division at the Federal Communications Commission.
Kunal holds an MS in Computer Science from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.
As the VP Finance & Controller, Erin oversees the financial operations of the organization and the development of financial strategies that support overall business goals. This role also involves managing budgets, forecasts, and audits while providing leadership to the finance team to drive efficiency and financial performance.
Erin is an accomplished financial leader with a robust background in accounting and financial advisory. Prior to Apcela, Erin served as an Associate Director at Calculate, LLC, partnering with dynamic start-ups to enhance financial operations.
Erin has also worked as Financial Advisory Manager at Deloitte & Touché, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. She conducted thorough financial assessments and guided clients through complex transactions. Her tenure at Deloitte also included four years in Audit and Assurance, where she managed global teams and oversaw audits for Fortune 200 companies, consistently delivering high-quality results and fostering team development.
Erin is a Certified Public Accountant since 2018 and holds an MBA and a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Scranton.
Mike Dodson is an accomplished telecommunications executive with experience at Nextel, Sprint, and LightSquared, and most recently as the Chief Network Officer of SmartSky Networks, where he led the launch of the nation’s first airborne 4G LTE-based network. With extensive expertise in the design, deployment, and operation of large wireless networks, Mike excels in building high-performing teams and translating strategic goals into actionable plans. His skills encompass business development, program management, and risk management, making him a key player in driving innovation within the wireless industry. Known for his problem-solving abilities and technical leadership, Mike is dedicated to delivering exceptional results and advancing the future of aviation communications.
Our commitment to our clients’ success and our team at Apcela is what has fueled our strong growth and drives development of leading-edge technology solutions. Our innovation and excellence have been recognized with many industry accolades, including:
Apcela was recognized as a leader in three of the five quadrants by ISG in the 2023 Provider Lens Quadrants
Apcela was recognized as a leader in three of the five quadrants by ISG in the 2022 Provider Lens Quadrants.
Apcela was recognized as both a leader in five of the six quadrants by ISG in the 2021 Provider Lens Quadrants.
Apcela was recognized as a Leader in SDN Transformation Services and Network Technologies Suppliers, and as a Rising Star in Mobile Network Additional Services, SD-WAN Equipment and Services Suppliers.
“Apcela is a vibrant, innovative, and rapidly expanding supplier of relevant SDN products and services in the U.S.”
Apcela is proud to be listed as one of the 2020 SD-WAN Implementation Award winners, selected by Internet Telephony and presented at the 2020 SD-WAN Expo.
Apcela was recognized as a Leader in SDN Transformation Services and SD Network Technologies (Core), and as a Rising Star in Mobile Network Additional Services, SD-WAN Equipment and Services Suppliers, and SD-Network Technologies (Mobile to Edge).
Mark Casey, Apcela, Founder and CEO
Casey positioned Apcela in the financial services and trading markets with its Alpha Platform and TradingHUB technologies. He now aims to do the same thing in SDN with the company’s AppHUB Platform. The orchestrated application delivery platform integrates a global, high-performance backbone with SDN in the data centre, SD-WAN at customer premise and at the edge with configured and managed virtual network functions (VNFs). Apcela’s SDN delivery is simple, network-as-a-service offering managed from a single, pane of glass. The combined components delivers intent- and outcome-based networking from Layer 1 to 7.
Leader in Network Services (VAS)
Apcela was recognized for its high performance/low latency networks, hybrid networks, multi-cloud and SD networking that enables accelerated application use and delivery.
Rising Star in SD-WAN Services (DIY)
Apcela’s private network was recognized for its strong partner deals with cloud, service and software suppliers enabling enterprises and specific industry verticals to accelerate application delivery; and
Rising Star in Mobility 4G 5G Services
Apcela was recognized for its success and recognition around its AppHUB platform enabling mobile employees to enjoy enhanced security and innovative mobility solutions.
Apcela’s UltraFast Market Data for the Cloud technology was recognized for its innovation by combining leading market data providers like NYSE, Nasdaq, CME, Cboe, BATS, CTA, UTP, SIX and IEX with leading IaaS providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud.
Recognized as one of the 50 fastest-growing mid-sized companies in the Washington D.C. region based on three-year average revenue and employee growth.
Apcela’s Alpha Platform was recognized by Waters Technology as the Best Buy-Side Low Latency Trading Network for the broadness of its connectivity, proximity to market centers and exchanges, and ability to manage large data and trade volumes without adding unnecessary latency. Apcela received this recognition in the inaugural year of this category.
Ranked as one of the top 500 fastest growing public or privately-held technology companies in North America based on revenue growth and technology innovation for four consecutive years. Apcela (as CFN Services) debuted at #29 on the list in 2011 and has remained in the top half ever since. In 2014, Apcela (as CFN) ranked as the number one company in revenue growth in the Washington, D.C. region and the ninth fastest growing company in North America in the Communications and Networking category.
Recognized as one of the 50 fastest growing companies in the Washington region based on three-year revenue growth for two consecutive years.
Short-listed as one of the top Cloud Computing Innovations of the Year within the UK and EMEA financial services sector for Apcela’s Alpha Platform.
Recognized as the “Hottest Bootstrap” by the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) for having built a significant presence and shown tremendous growth potential without relying on institutional investors.
Recognized as the 2012 NVTC Destination in the mid-sized company category for innovative technology solutions. Apcela showcased its global network optimization and cloud services platform that enables enterprises and government agencies to enhance productivity, reduce costs and improve overall performance.
Chosen among thousands of top privately-held and most innovative companies from North America, Europe and Asia, Apcela was named as a 2011 Red Herring Global 100 company. This accolade has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising technology companies and entrepreneurs worldwide.
Recognized for industry excellence with market data, reference data and enterprise data management, joining six other firms in this category including NYSE Technologies, Thomson Reuters and Equinix.
Honored as one of the most promising private technology ventures in North America. Winners were selected based upon their technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition, and financial health.
For press inquiries contact us at media@apcela.com
FTair expands Apcela ONE ATG and DUAL ATG installation and support coverage across the Mid-South and Tennessee Valley with maintenance-aligned upgrades, Sign & Fly financing, and nationwide aircraft support. Apcela today announced that FTair has joined the Apcela ATG Preferred Dealer network, expanding dealer-led installation, integration, and support for Apcela ONE
Field-approval installations available for a variety of classic business jets Air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity provider Apcela and Liberty Partners have developed an upgrade path for installation of Apcela (née SmartSky) systems on legacy business airplanes that simplifies the certification process. Installing ATG on older aircraft using the major alteration process “gives operators
FAA approved engineering and PMA installation kits bring repeatable, fixed-price connectivity upgrades to Learjet, Citation, Hawker, Falcon, and Gulfstream operators NEW ORLEANS, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Apcela, in collaboration with Liberty Partners, today announced a structured program that gives operators of legacy business aircraft a faster, more predictable, and cost-effective
Programs designed to incentivize interest in airborne connectivity opportunities Apcela ATG, developer and operator of the former SmartSky air-to-ground connectivity network, is offering new incentives and marketing support for dealers selling Apcela systems. “We’re seeing incredible data rates,” said CEO Mark Casey after the Apcela network was relaunched last year, and customers are
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