Ovation Technologies
| Formerly | Spectrum Group Inc. |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | December 1982 in Canton, Massachusetts |
| Founder | Thomas J. Gregory |
| Defunct | 1984 |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Products | Ovation (never released) |
Ovation Technologies was a short-lived software company founded in Canton, Massachusetts, in December 1982[1] to create business productivity software for the then-emerging IBM PC and compatible market.[2] Briefly named Spectrum Group Inc., the company was founded by Thomas J. Gregory, who also served as the company's president.[3] Mike Walrod served as vice president of marketing.[4]
Their intended product, also named "Ovation", was an integrated software suite aiming to compete against the industry leader at the time, Lotus 1-2-3.[5] The company raised several million in capital and secured a distribution agreement with Tandy Corporation, including co-marketing with their line of Tandy 2000 computers.[6][7] The "Ovation" project was led by chief software designer Robert Kutnik.[8]
The company made impressive demonstrations, culminating with a high-profile news conference staged at Manhattan's Windows on the World restaurant,[9] but ultimately they were unable to ship their product, and filed for bankruptcy by the end of 1984.[5]
Ovation's most enduring claim to fame may be as what many consider to be the industry's first widely publicized and "most notorious" example of vaporware.[9][10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ Wierzbicki, Barbara (1983-11-07). "Ovation integrates five applications". InfoWorld. 5 (45). CW Communications: 31–32 – via Google Books.
- ^ "New Companies". Computerworld. 1983-10-24. p. 90. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- ^ Posner, Bruce G. (1983-09-01). "In Search of Better Business Plan". Inc. Mansueto Ventures. Archived from the original on 2010-02-06.
- ^ Shea, Tom (1984-05-07). "Developers Unveil 'Vaporware'". InfoWorld. Vol. 6, no. 19. pp. 48–51 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Bartimo, Jim (1984-12-03). "Stoking the Micro Fire". InfoWorld. p. 48. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- ^ Needle, David (1984-02-20). "Late Breaking News". InfoWorld. p. 11. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- ^ Alsop, Stewart II (1988-01-18). "Tandy DeskMate: Viva La Small Business" (PDF). P.C. Letter. 4 (2): 9–10.
- ^ McCarthy, Michael (1984-11-12). "From the News Desk". InfoWorld. 6 (46). CW Communications: 13 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Forbes ASAP Staff (2001-05-28). "Burning Questions, Final Answers". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- ^ Flynn, Laurie (1995-04-24). "The Executive Computer". The New York Times: D4. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10.
- ^ Townsend, Emru (2008-05-06). "The top 15 vaporware products of all time". PCWorld. IDG Communications. Archived from the original on June 19, 2021.
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