- Interlink Computer Sciences
Infobox_Company
company_name = Interlink Computer Sciences, Inc.
company_
company_type = Network software
company_slogan =
foundation =1983
location =Fremont, California
products = Interlink, TCPaccess
key_people =
num_employees =
homepage =Interlink Computer Sciences, of Fremont California, was a developer of hardware and software that allowed
IBM mainframe computer s running theMVS operating system to be connected to non-IBM networks.Interlink was founded in 1983 by Lambert Onuma and Greg Thompson, formerly of
Digital Equipment Corporation . The company's first product, called simply "Interlink", allowed IBM mainframes to be connected toVAX computers on aDECnet network.In 1990, Interlink acquired a product called "ACCES/MVS" from
Advanced Computer Communications , which implemented a nativeTCP/IP protocol stack on the MVS operating system. First released in 1986, ACCES/MVS had been the first commercial TCP/IP implementation for MVS mainframes. Interlink developed and marketed this product as "SNS/TCPaccess". The prefix was later dropped, andTCPaccess became the company's main focus of development by the mid-1990's.Meanwhile, in 1989, IBM had introduced its own TCP/IP offering on MVS. This product had been ported from the VM operating system, and required expensive and inefficient protocol conversions. Interlink was able to successfully sell TCPaccess as a more efficient and better-performing alternative, and as late as 1996 it still held 25% of the TCP/IP market on MVS. As the decade progressed, IBM improved its product, and Interlink's market share steadily eroded.
In August 1996, Interlink became a public corporation, with an initial offering of $10 per share on the
NASDAQ exchange. In December of that year, a strategic agreement was announced withCisco Systems to jointly develop and market the TCPaccess product as "Cisco IOS forS/390 ". Shares of Interlink stock jumped to $15 on this news, and ultimately approached $18. Sales of the re-branded Cisco product fell below expectations, and Interlink struggled to rebuild its own sales channel. Interlink stock eventually fell below $4 per share.In 1998, Interlink introduced "e-Control", a new TCP/IP network management product for the mainframe. The company came to the attention of Dallas-based Sterling Software Inc., which had its own product in this space. In March, 1999, Sterling announced it had agreed to acquire Interlink Computer Sciences Inc. for $7 per share. The deal was valued at $64 million. On May 3, 1999, the acquisition was completed.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.