Binary Research

Binary Research Ltd was a New Zealand software company founded in Auckland in 1991 by Murray Haszard following the sale of his earlier company, B32 Software. The company initially explored utilities for transferring files between computers, a market then served by products such as Blast and Laplink. Its first commercial direction produced a cable-based file-transfer program marketed between 1994 and 1996 under names including Beam, UniBeam and LinkWiz. The software supported several operating environments, including MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, OS/2 2.0 and SCO Unix, and used parallel or serial connections; later versions could also use a network cable. Although the product was positioned as a fast alternative to Laplink, it did not achieve strong commercial results because Laplink was already the dominant product in the category. Binary Research then applied the technical experience it had gained in file transfer and parallel-port communications to a more consequential product. Ghost, first sold in 1996, pioneered disk-cloning software: the creation of a complete disk image that could be copied or deployed to another computer. This approach became useful for system deployment, backup, hardware rollout and recovery, particularly in organizational computing environments. Ghost gave the company a much stronger market position than its earlier file-transfer products. Binary Research established an international agent network and created Binary Research International Inc in Glendale, Wisconsin, as a sales and support operation. The success of Ghost also exposed the limits of Binary Research's size. The company was able to create an influential product but lacked the resources to operate and expand the global sales organization that the product required. In 1998, Haszard sought an acquirer capable of developing Ghost further. Symantec became interested, and Binary Research's New Zealand employees unanimously approved the transaction. Symantec acquired Ghost for US$27.5 million in July 1998. Nearly all of Binary Research's New Zealand employees moved to Symantec, and Ghost continued to be developed in Auckland for more than a decade. Binary Research Ltd was closed after the acquisition. Binary Research International Inc continued as a Ghost reseller and broadened its distribution activities to other software products. One notable product associated with the later operation was the Universal Imaging Utility, or UIU, which supported creation of a system image deployable across a broad range of computer hardware regardless of manufacturer, components or installed drivers. The original Binary Research company is therefore principally remembered for Ghost's role in establishing disk cloning as a recognizable software category, and for its transition from a small Auckland developer into an acquired technology business with international reach.

Binary Research was established in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1991 by Murray Haszard after the sale of B32 Software, his previous company. Its first area of interest was file transfer between computers. The company considered developing products to compete with Blast and Laplink, but abandoned the Blast-oriented project at an early stage. It proceeded with a cable-transfer utility that could move files through parallel or serial connections. The resulting software was sold from 1994 to 1996 under multiple names, including Beam, UniBeam and LinkWiz. It was released for MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, OS/2 2.0 and SCO Unix. The product claimed faster transfers than Laplink and later acquired support for network-cable connections. Despite its technical positioning, Beam was not a financial success. Laplink's established dominance made it difficult for Binary Research to gain sufficient share in the file-transfer market. The company reused knowledge from Beam's transfer mechanisms and parallel-port work to develop Ghost. First sold in 1996, Ghost pioneered disk-cloning software by allowing the contents of a disk to be captured and reproduced as an image. This made it possible to deploy standardized systems across computers, perform recovery operations and replicate installations more efficiently than installing software individually. Ghost became highly successful and gave Binary Research a product with international potential. To support the product, Binary Research created a worldwide agent network and established Binary Research International Inc in Glendale, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, as a sales and support center. The company nevertheless remained small relative to the global commercial infrastructure Ghost required. In 1998, Murray Haszard began seeking a larger company that could acquire and expand the product. Symantec expressed interest, and the New Zealand employees of Binary Research unanimously approved the transaction. Symantec purchased Ghost for US$27.5 million in July 1998. Almost all New Zealand employees transferred to Symantec, and development of Ghost remained in Auckland for more than ten years. Binary Research Ltd was closed following the acquisition. Binary Research International Inc survived as a reseller of Ghost and expanded into other software products. Its later distribution portfolio included the Universal Imaging Utility, which helped create system images deployable across a wide range of hardware configurations without being tied to a particular manufacturer, component set or driver collection. Binary Research's historical importance comes less from the commercial longevity of the original company than from Ghost's influence on system administration and software deployment. The company moved from an unsuccessful attempt to challenge an incumbent file-transfer product to creating a new and widely recognized category in disk cloning. Its acquisition illustrates how a small specialist developer can produce strategically valuable infrastructure software while lacking the scale to market and support it globally on its own.

• 1998

  Symantec acquires Ghost

  [1]Binary Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Symantec acquired Ghost for US$27.5 million in July. Most New Zealand employees moved to Symantec, and Binary Research Ltd was subsequently closed.

• 1996

  Ghost is first sold

  [1]Binary Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Binary Research introduced Ghost, an early disk-cloning product derived from its file-transfer and parallel-port technologies.

• 1994

  Beam-era file-transfer products reach the market

  [1]Binary Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Binary Research marketed its cable-based file-transfer software under names including Beam, UniBeam and LinkWiz.

• 1991

  Binary Research is founded in Auckland

  [1]Binary Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Murray Haszard founded Binary Research Ltd in Auckland after the sale of his earlier company, B32 Software.

A technically innovative systems-software company focused first on rapid file transfer and later on disk cloning, imaging and deployment. Its strongest differentiation was Ghost's ability to replicate complete disk contents for system rollout and recovery.

• File-transfer utility · 1994

  Beam

  Beam was Binary Research's principal early file-transfer product. It transferred files between computers over parallel or serial cables and was marketed in different forms and markets under related names such as UniBeam and LinkWiz. Versions were available for MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, OS/2 2.0 and SCO Unix, with later support for network-cable transfers. The product competed with Laplink but did not become a financial success.

• File-transfer utility · 1994

  UniBeam

  UniBeam was one of the names used for Binary Research's cable-based file-transfer software during the company's 1994–1996 product period. It belonged to the same technical family as Beam and LinkWiz and was designed to move files between computers using parallel or serial connections.

• File-transfer utility · 1994

  LinkWiz

  LinkWiz was another marketed name associated with Binary Research's early file-transfer technology. The software addressed direct computer-to-computer transfers and formed part of the product line that preceded Ghost.

• Disk-cloning and disk-imaging software · 1996

  Ghost

  Ghost was Binary Research's breakthrough product and is described as pioneering the disk-cloning software field. First sold in 1996, it created images of disk contents that could be reproduced on other systems, supporting standardized deployment, backup and recovery. Its success led to an international sales and support network and ultimately to Symantec's 1998 acquisition.

• System imaging and deployment utility

  Universal Imaging Utility

  The Universal Imaging Utility, commonly called UIU, was a significant product distributed by Binary Research International after the original Binary Research company had closed. It facilitated creation of a system image that could be deployed across a broad range of hardware, reducing dependence on a particular computer brand, component configuration or driver set.

• 1998

  Sell Ghost to SymantecM&A

  Background

  Ghost had become highly successful, but Binary Research was too small to operate the global sales and support organization needed to develop the product at full international scale.

  Action taken

  Murray Haszard sought an acquiring company, and Symantec purchased Ghost for US$27.5 million in July 1998 after Binary Research's New Zealand employees unanimously approved the transaction.

  Aftermath

  Nearly all New Zealand employees joined Symantec, Ghost continued to be developed in Auckland for more than ten years, and Binary Research Ltd was closed. Binary Research International remained active as a reseller and software distributor.

  Acquisition price. US$27.5 million (July 1998)

  Source

1. 1Binary Researchen.wikipedia.org