Ardence
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Predecessor | VenturCom |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Marc H. Meyer, Doug Mook, Bill Spencer, Myron Zimmerman |
| Defunct | 2008 |
| Fate | Acquired by Citrix Systems in 2006; embedded software segment spun off to IntervalZero in 2008 |
| Headquarters | Waltham, Massachusetts , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (including Europe, Middle East, Africa, India) |
| Products | Software-streaming solutions, embedded OEM development platform |
| Parent | Citrix Systems (2006–2008) |
Ardence operated as a software firm with its main office located in Waltham, Massachusetts and additional branches in Washington, D.C., Virginia Beach, VA, Chicago, IL, Denton, TX, as well as across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. The company focused on delivering software-streaming solutions alongside an embedded OEM development platform. Established in 1980 under the name VenturCom, it adopted the Ardence brand in 2004.
On December 20, 2006, Ardence was acquired by Citrix Systems Inc. Subsequently, in 2008, former Ardence leaders purchased the embedded software segment from Citrix and launched IntervalZero, with Citrix retaining a minority shareholding.
History
VenturCom was created in 1980 by Marc H. Meyer, Doug Mook, Bill Spencer, and Myron Zimmerman. The rebranding to Ardence in 2004 was intended to highlight the company’s emphasis on software-streaming technologies that were fueling expansion and opening new market avenues.
Citrix’s acquisition of Ardence in 2006 was designed to strengthen its capabilities in delivering applications on demand. Two years later, the embedded software unit was spun off to IntervalZero—a venture founded by former Ardence executives—while Citrix continued to hold a minority interest.
Products
The enterprise-grade software-streaming solution supported deployment of Microsoft Windows, SUSE Linux, Red Hat Linux, and Turbolinux operating systems and their applications directly from network-attached storage. This technology allowed any x86-compatible machine—whether desktop, server, or device—to be provisioned or re-provisioned starting from bare metal.
At the heart of this technology was a device driver integrated into the selected OS that presented a virtual disk via a proprietary UDP-based protocol. Systems were configured to netboot a kernel embedding this driver, enabling swift operating system deployment.
Awards
In 2005, Ardence was honored with the ComputerWorld Horizon Award.
The following year, it earned the CRN Best In Show Award at IBM PartnerWorld.