Shiva Corporation

Shiva Corporation was a company that specialized in computer networking and associated equipment, in particular remote access products. The company was founded in 1985, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Shiva was co-founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduates Frank Slaughter ^[1] and by Daniel J. Schwinn, the current president and CEO of Avidyne Corporation. ^[2]

Shiva acquired the British network products company Spider Systems in 1995, which became Shiva Europe Ltd.^[3]

Users of 16-bit Internet Explorer on Windows 3 with dial-up connections saw the Shiva name regularly, as the company provided part of the dial-up TCP/IP stack for 16-bit Internet Explorer versions 3, 4 and 5.^[4]

Shiva was acquired by Intel in October 1998 ^[5] during a lengthy class-action lawsuit in which it was alleged that it hid information concerning the deterioration of the company ^[6] and became part of the Intel Network Products Division.

In November 2002 it was acquired by Simple Access Inc., which adopted the Shiva Corporation identity. A year later, the company was acquired by Mernet Secure Network. Mernet were subsequently acquired by Eicon Networks in February 2004.^[7] Since 2006, Eicon are now known as Dialogic Corporation.

References

1. http://spectrum.mit.edu/articles/normal/early-success/
3. Shiva Corporation Finalizes the Acquisition of Spider Systems
4. Article: Shiva's remote access client technology included in Microsoft Internet Explorer; Open Client Programming Interface enables remote access capabilities for Windows 3.x applications.
5. Acquisition: Intel to Acquire Shiva Corporation; Broadens Product Line and Channels to Bring Comprehensive Data Networking Solutions to Small to Medium Enterprises - Company Business and Marketing, EDGE, On & About AT&T, October 26, 1998.
6. Shiva Corporation - Securities Class Action
7. Eicon snaps up Shiva, The Register.