Storage Dimensions
| Company type | Subsidiary (1987–1992) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer storage |
| Founded | January 1, 1985 in Los Gatos, California, U.S. |
| Founder | David A. Eeg, Gene E. Bowles |
| Defunct | April 1998 |
| Fate | Merged with Artecon, Inc. |
| Headquarters | Milpitas, California , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Data storage equipment, SpeedStor software |
| Parent | Maxtor (1987–1992) |
Storage Dimensions, Inc. was a U.S.-based computer enterprise operating from 1985 until 1998, headquartered in Milpitas, California. The firm specialized in the sale of data storage equipment, primarily focusing on magnetic tape and hard drive subsystems, which incorporated hardware produced by third parties. Additionally, it developed server-oriented software for corporate clients. The company gained recognition chiefly for its SpeedStor disk utility software compatible with MS-DOS and Windows. Between 1987 and 1992, Storage Dimensions functioned as a subsidiary under Maxtor.
History
Established in 1985 by David A. Eeg and Gene E. Bowles—both formerly affiliated with Atasi Corporation—in Los Gatos, California, Storage Dimensions released its inaugural product in 1986: the AT160F hard disk drive subsystem designed for IBM PC compatibles. This solution integrated one or two 160-MB Maxtor hard drives, a controller card featuring BIOS developed by Award Software, and SpeedStor software. The single-drive configuration was priced at $5,975, while the dual-drive option cost $9,795. This product enabled personal computers to efficiently handle graphics-intensive applications that were previously restricted to minicomputers and workstations.
A strategic partnership with Maxtor culminated in Maxtor acquiring Storage Dimensions in June 1987 and relocating its main office to Milpitas, California. Following the acquisition, Maxtor merged U.S. Design Corporation into Storage Dimensions but preserved the latter’s brand identity. By the end of 1987, Storage Dimensions achieved $18 million in revenue driven by its high-performance hard drive subsystems. In 1988, the company launched the SpeedStor AT650E—the largest capacity 5.25-inch drive available for IBM PCs at 651 MB—and introduced the LANStor LAN650E tailored for Novell’s NetWare file servers.
Under Maxtor’s stewardship, Storage Dimensions’ sales escalated to $80 million by 1992. That year marked a corporate restructuring when Maxtor divested Storage Dimensions as an autonomous company concentrating on RAID storage solutions, tape backup devices, network storage management software, and server software offerings. In April 1998, Storage Dimensions merged with Artecon, Inc., a San Diego-based Unix systems integrator founded in 1984; post-merger, the combined entity adopted the Artecon name.