Adaptec plays a pivotal role today in satisfying the world's growing need for more data, more storage, more connectivity. The Internet revolution is increasing demand for access to information. Meanwhile, business applications are more data-intensive and mission-critical. And computers are more and more important to the way people both work and play. We provide products that support information productivity for both businesses and individuals. Our Input/Output (I/O) solutions help move data quickly and reliably into and out of all kinds of computers. Adaptec is the undisputed market leader in high-performance, high-reliability I/O. In addition, our host I/O, RAID, and software products are the preferred solutions for the fastest growing segments of the computer market: Windows NT servers, workstations, and high-end desktop PCs. Key Dates:
Adaptec, Inc. is a leader in the manufacture and sale of hardware and software that allow data transfer between computers. The company has a strong share of the market for small computer system interface devices, known as SCSI (pronounced 'scuzzy'). These interfaces allow data to move quickly between different computer types and allow computers to communicate with peripheral devices such as printers, scanners, disk drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives and others. Adaptec also manufactures other technology in the general field of data movement, including advanced networking equipment and software. The firm maintains headquarters in Silicon Valley, in the town of Milpitas, California, with regional offices in Japan and Belgium. A Miami, Florida office oversees Adaptec's business in Latin America. Adaptec does not own its own manufacturing facilities, but subcontracts through vendors in Taiwan, Singapore, and elsewhere. Some of Adaptec's customers include major computer manufacturers such as IBM, Dell , Apple, and Compaq.
Adaptec was the brainchild of Laurence Boucher. Boucher had been a computer engineer at a company called Shugart Associates and at leading computer maker IBM. In 1981, at the age of 37, he left IBM to start his own company. As small computers began to get more powerful, Boucher saw a need for technology that would let them swap data with mainframe computers and other devices more quickly. The problem was known as the input/output bottleneck: very fast computers could not work to capacity if they could not get their data--from disk drives, networks, or whatever--at an acceptable speed. Eric J. Savitz, in a profile of Adaptec in the December 3, 1990 issue of Barron's, described the input/output bottleneck aptly as driving a sports car through Manhattan at rush hour: 'Theoretically, you might be able to go 140 miles per hour, but practically, you're lucky if you reach 10 miles per hour.' Boucher's company developed semiconductor chips, boards, and software that eliminated rush hour. Adaptec's technology made quick, flexible communication links between computers and their so-called peripheral devices, meaning printers, exterior drives, and other components that might be linked up to the computer.
The company had to act quickly to avoid going under. Fortunately, Boucher recently had hired several top executives with experience working at older, established computer firms. A marketing vice-president and sales president came to Adaptec from Intel, and Boucher also hired a chief financial officer who had previously worked at an analytical instrument manufacturer in San Jose, Finnegan Corp. Whereas Boucher was an engineer with keen insight into computer technology, these managers had more business background. They worked literally day and night to turn the company around, first of all by selling off inventory. During the business day, Adaptec sold its excess parts to other area companies, and in the evening, managers attended meetings of local electronics clubs to sell off unneeded controller boards. The company leased out unused testing equipment and extracted more time to pay from it
