Gordon Matthews (inventor)

Gordon Matthews
Gordon Matthews
Born	26 July 1936 (age 90); Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	23 February 2002 (aged 65); Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, inventor
Known for	Pioneer of voicemail technology

Gordon Matthews (July 26, 1936 – February 23, 2002) was an American entrepreneur and inventor who established one of the earliest firms to bring voicemail technology to the commercial market.

History

Matthews was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and earned a bachelor's degree in engineering physics from the University of Tulsa in 1959. Following his graduation, he served as a pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps.

His interest in combining voice communication with technology was sparked after a fellow pilot's fatal mid-air collision, which Matthews believed was caused by distractions while adjusting radio controls. After completing his military service, he joined IBM to work on voice-activated cockpit controls designed to prevent such accidents. In 1966, he transitioned to Texas Instruments.

Inspiration and first commercial system

In 1970, while visiting a client, Matthews noticed secretaries overwhelmed with piles of message slips documenting missed calls. This observation motivated him to develop an electronic system for storing voice messages. His original prototype utilized 64 telephone lines, 114 Intel 8086 microprocessors, and four sizable hard drives. Convincing customers to adopt this novel technology proved difficult.

At a conference, Matthews presented his idea to James Jensen, an executive at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M), who recognized its potential to enhance executive efficiency. By 1980, 3M had implemented the initial system at an approximate cost of $500,000 to serve about 3,000 users.

Founding of VMX

In 1979, Gordon Matthews established ECS Communications in Texas. Under his leadership, John Cayton developed the first VMX system. Matthews filed a significant patent related to voicemail methods in 1979, which was granted in 1983 (U.S. Patent No. 4,371,752) and remained in force until expiration. Over time, he accumulated more than thirty-five patents connected to voicemail technology.

He later renamed his company VMX Inc., reportedly meaning Voice Mail Express. Matthews created the VMX/64 system capable of supporting 3,000 users and was among the pioneers to market voicemail commercially for corporate environments. Early adopters included companies such as 3M, Kodak, American Express, Intel, Hoffman La Roche, Corning Glass, ARCO, Shell Canada, Zenith Data Systems, and Westinghouse—helping establish voicemail within business settings.

Although Matthews is often referred to as the "father of voicemail," earlier developments existed. IBM's Stephen Boies secured a voicemail patent in 1973 and launched the Speech Filing System (SFS) in 1975. Furthermore, Delphi Communications introduced their Delta 1 system in 1976 before Matthews filed his patent.

Legacy of VMX

While executives embraced voicemail systems for their productivity benefits, several issues arose:

Reduction in secretarial and administrative positions;
Although paper-based call notifications were eliminated, callback efficiency did not always improve;
Maintenance required dedicated IT personnel;
By 1990, users expressed dissatisfaction with complicated automated menus—often called "voice mail jail."

After encountering financial difficulties and nearing bankruptcy in 1988, VMX was acquired by Opcom, a firm specializing in telephone call management software. Opcom was subsequently purchased by Octel Communications in 1994—the leading voicemail provider worldwide—which itself was acquired by Lucent Technologies in 1997 before eventually becoming part of Avaya through a spin-off.

Death

In 2001, Matthews assumed an executive role at VTEL Corporation, a company based in Austin that focused on teleconferencing technology. The following year, VTEL underwent a name change to become Forgent Networks.

Matthews passed away on February 23, 2002, in Dallas, Texas, due to complications arising from a stroke. He was 65 years old at the time of his death and is survived by his wife Monika, along with his children Gordon and Christina.

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