- 8x8
8x8 Inc. (NASDAQ|EGHT) was originally founded in 1987 as Integrated Information Technology, Inc., better known as IIT. IIT was founded by Dr. Chi-Shin Wang and Dr. Y.W. Sing, both formerly of Weitek. [ Chan, Daisy. CNN Money [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2004/12/01/8214524/index.htm] , "Best New Gadgets", December 1, 2004 ]
IIT began as a fabless vendor of
semiconductor products for the math coprocessor and graphics chipset markets. [ McClean, Bill. "Profiles 1997: A Worldwide Survey of IC Manufacturers and Suppliers" [http://smithsonianchips.si.edu/ice/cd/PROF97/NORTHAM.pdf] , retrieved July 30,2008 ] The company producedx87 floating point coprocessor andgraphics accelerator chips for thepersonal computer market during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The floating coprocessors were produced for the 286, 386 and 486 generations ofmicroprocessors . The company also started a 486 compatible microprocessor chip project, but this project never resulted in a shipping product.Fact|date=July 2008The IIT graphics chips were marketed under the IIT AGX brand, and contained an
XGA engine with a Trident VGA part tagged on.Fact|date=July 2008In 1992 the company began shipping a lossless data compression product called Xtradrive, but was later sued by
Stac Electronics for violating patents.Fact|date=July 2008In the early 1990s IIT began producing chips, software and other technologies for the
videoconferencing market. By 1995 the company supplied videoconferencing chips to most of the world's room videoconferencing vendorsFact|date=July 2008, including Compression Labs, PictureTel, Sony, Tandberg, and British Telecom. Frustrated by the high prices and low volumes of these videoconferencing systems, the company changed its name to 8x8 and began marketing its own set-top videoconferencing systems for consumers under the ViaTV brand. 8x8 went public on the Nasdaq market in 1997, trading under the ticker symbol EGHT.Fact|date=July 2008Soon after thisdate, 8x8 launched a family of Voice over IP (VoIP) chips and software that were sold to IP phone, IP/PSTN gateway and other manufacturers of VoIP equipment. The Company acquired two companies (Odisei and U|Force)Fact|date=July 2008, to acquire network/server VoIP technologies, and began selling an end-to-end VoIP services technology solution to service providers in 1999. The Internet bubble/telecom bust in late 2000 and required the Company to change its strategy as all of its service provider customers went out of businessFact|date=July 2008 after the market crash.
In 2002, the company relaunched itself as a VoIP service provider under the [http://www.packet8.net/ Packet8] brand. In 2003, the Company launched its first consumer videophone services on the Packet8 network. In 2004, the company became the first VoIP service provider to offer replacement, E-911 services to its subscribers.Fact|date=July 2008 It also launched a suite of business services called Packet8 Virtual Office.
In 2008, 8x8 is the second largest standalone U.S. VoIP service provider (behind Vonage) with more than 100,000 residential customers, and more than 10,000 businesses and enterprises who use the company's Packet8 Virtual Office services for their business telecommunications needs.Fact|date=July 2008 The company continues to develop most of the software and technology used in its VoIP service offerings. For the quarter ending December 31, 2007, the company reported net income of $1.4M on $15.8M in sales, with gross margins of 65% and service margins of 70%.Fact|date=July 2008 The company reported $53M in sales for its last fiscal year.Fact|date=July 2008
8x8 has been awarded more than 70 U.S. Patents related to communications technologies.Fact|date=July 2008
External links
* [http://coprocessor.cpu-info.com/index2.php?mainid=html/manu.php&tabid=4&page=1 Coprocessor.info : IIT historical and x87 coprocessor development information]
References
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