Interlink Computer Sciences
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware, Computer software |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Lambert Onuma, Fred Wright, Karl Johnson, Greg Thompson |
| Defunct | May 3, 1999 |
| Fate | Acquired by Sterling Software Inc. |
| Headquarters | Fremont, California , United States |
| Products | Interlink, VM/DECnet product, SNS/TCPaccess (TCPaccess), e-Control |
Interlink Computer Sciences, Inc., headquartered in Fremont, California, specialized in creating hardware and software solutions that allowed IBM mainframe computers operating on the MVS system to interface with networks outside the IBM ecosystem.
Established in 1983 by former Digital Equipment Corporation staff members Lambert Onuma, Fred Wright, Karl Johnson, and Greg Thompson, Interlink's first offering, Interlink, enabled connectivity between IBM MVS mainframes and VAX machines within a DECnet environment. Subsequently, the company collaborated with Dupont to produce a VM/DECnet product that linked IBM VM/CMS platforms to DECnet networks, facilitating functionalities such as e-mail, file and tape sharing, terminal emulation, programming interfaces, and DECnet tunneling over SNA LU6.2 protocols.
In 1990, Interlink acquired the ACCES/MVS product from Advanced Computer Communications—a native TCP/IP implementation for MVS and VM systems originally launched in 1986—and rebranded it as SNS/TCPaccess. By the mid-1990s, TCPaccess had become the company’s flagship offering.
Following IBM’s release of its own TCP/IP stack for MVS in 1989—adapted from the VM platform but involving expensive protocol translation—Interlink marketed TCPaccess as a more streamlined alternative. As late as 1996, Interlink maintained a 25% share of the TCP/IP market on MVS systems, although IBM’s ongoing enhancements gradually diminished this position.
Interlink went public in August 1996 with an initial share price of $10 on the NASDAQ. In December of that year, it entered into a partnership with Cisco Systems to jointly develop and promote TCPaccess under the name Cisco IOS for S/390. This collaboration initially drove shares close to $18; however, disappointing sales and challenges in rebuilding its distribution network caused the stock price to fall below $4.
In 1998, Interlink introduced e-Control, a TCP/IP network management tool designed for mainframe environments. This innovation attracted interest from Sterling Software Inc., based in Dallas, which acquired Interlink in March 1999 for $7 per share—a transaction valued at $64 million and finalized on May 3, 1999.