Eicon

Eicon was a Canadian communications-technology company founded in Montreal on October 12, 1984. Originally established as Eicon Technology Corporation and later known as Eicon Networks Corporation, it designed, developed, and manufactured communications products for enterprise, carrier, OEM, and specialized networking applications. Its products were distributed internationally through resellers and distributors and were also supplied to original-equipment manufacturers. The company’s portfolio covered several generations of communications technology. Its Eiconcard line connected personal-computer and server environments with legacy X.25 systems and was used in applications such as credit-card authorization, satellite communications, and SMS infrastructure. Eiconcard products also served as communications gateways between Ethernet-based PC networks and IBM midrange or mainframe systems, including environments using LU6.2 protocols. The line was notable for flexible protocol support and for retaining a role in specialized installed networks after newer IP-based architectures became dominant. Eicon’s Diva family represented a more contemporary part of its portfolio. Diva Server products provided communications functions for voice, speech, conferencing, fax, unified messaging, call recording, monitoring, and related telephony applications. They supported technologies including T1/E1, SS7, ISDN, and conventional PSTN lines. Later Host Media Processing offerings provided software-based adapters that enabled voice-over-IP capabilities for applications. Diva Server hardware and software were used in systems such as VoiceXML speech servers, SMS gateways, fax platforms, and enterprise communications systems. Diva Client products focused on connectivity for residential users, remote workers, and mobile workers. The range primarily included ISDN and combined ISDN/dial-up modem products. Eicon also entered ADSL and Wi-Fi equipment, although those categories became increasingly competitive and were heavily supplied by manufacturers in East Asia. Alongside communications products, the company developed graphics and printing systems, including Eiconscript and Eiconjet. Eiconscript used an intelligent adapter and an internally developed PostScript implementation, while Eiconjet used comparable hardware and software concepts for Hewlett-Packard PCL5 printing. A major corporate turning point came in October 2006, when Eicon acquired Intel’s Media & Signalling Division. The business had been associated with Dialogic before Intel acquired it in 1999 and was known for telephony boards used in PC servers. Following the transaction, the combined Eicon and Dialogic business changed its name to Dialogic Corporation, later referred to as Dialogic Inc. This transaction shifted the company’s identity toward a broader communications-platform and computer-telephony business. Because the documented corporate history culminates in that reorganization, the present status of Eicon as an independent operating brand is not established here.

Eicon was founded in Montreal, Quebec, on October 12, 1984, as Eicon Technology Corporation. It developed communications hardware and software for business, networking, and specialized data-communications environments. The company later used the name Eicon Networks Corporation and built an international distribution network serving customers through distributors, resellers, and OEM relationships. One of Eicon’s longstanding product families was Eiconcard. Introduced as part of the company’s communications portfolio from its founding period, Eiconcard adapters connected legacy X.25 systems and supported uses including payment authorization, SMS infrastructure, and satellite communications. The cards could also operate as communications gateways for IBM midrange and mainframe environments. Their protocol flexibility gave Ethernet-connected personal-computer networks access to IBM LU6.2 communications functions, including in settings where earlier Token Ring-based infrastructure had been used. The Diva family formed another major part of Eicon’s business. Diva Server systems were designed for voice, speech, conferencing, fax, and telephony applications. They supported carrier and enterprise interfaces such as T1/E1, SS7, ISDN, and traditional PSTN lines. The products appeared in VoiceXML speech servers, SMS gateways, fax and unified-messaging systems, and call-recording or monitoring platforms. By the late 2000s, Eicon also offered Host Media Processing products that acted as software adapters for adding VoIP capabilities to communications applications. Diva Client products served remote-access and connectivity requirements for homes, teleworkers, and mobile users. The principal technologies were ISDN and combined ISDN/dial-up modems. Eicon also produced ADSL and Wi-Fi equipment, although it subsequently operated in categories that faced strong competition from manufacturers based in East Asia. The company maintained interests beyond communications infrastructure. Its graphics and printing products included Eiconscript, a PostScript printing system based on an intelligent PC adapter and a company-developed PostScript implementation, and Eiconjet, which used related hardware concepts while implementing Hewlett-Packard’s PCL5 printer language through internally developed software. The most important documented corporate transition occurred in October 2006. Eicon acquired Intel’s Media & Signalling Division, a business that had been known as Dialogic before Intel acquired it in 1999. The division produced telephony boards for PC servers. After the acquisition, the combined business changed its name to Dialogic Corporation and was subsequently referred to as Dialogic Inc. The transaction effectively marked the transition from Eicon as a standalone corporate identity toward the broader Dialogic communications business. Available reference material does not establish whether the Eicon name continues as an independent active brand today.

1. 2006Acquisition of Intel’s Media & Signalling Division

   Eicon acquires Intel’s Media & Signalling Division, the former Dialogic business responsible for telephony boards used in PC servers.

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2. 2006Corporate identity changes to Dialogic Corporation

   The combined Eicon and acquired Dialogic operation changes its name to Dialogic Corporation, later known as Dialogic Inc.

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3. 1984Eicon is founded in Montreal

   Eicon Technology Corporation is founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on October 12, beginning a business focused on communications products.

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Enterprise and specialized communications infrastructure supplier, with a portfolio spanning legacy protocol connectivity, telephony hardware, remote-access products, media processing, and selected graphics systems.

• Diva ServerTelephony and media processing

  Diva Server was a family of communications products for voice, speech, conferencing, fax, unified messaging, call recording, and monitoring. The systems supported interfaces and protocols including T1/E1, SS7, ISDN, and conventional PSTN lines. Eicon later offered Host Media Processing products positioned as software adapters for adding VoIP capabilities to application platforms. Diva Server technology was used in VoiceXML speech servers, SMS gateways, and other enterprise or service-provider communications systems.

• Diva ClientRemote-access connectivity

  Diva Client products provided connectivity for home users, remote employees, and mobile workers. The range primarily comprised ISDN and combined ISDN/dial-up modem products. Eicon also offered ADSL and Wi-Fi equipment at various points, although those categories became increasingly competitive and were not described as the company’s continuing core.

• EiconcardLegacy data-communications adapters1984

  Eiconcard adapters connected legacy X.25 systems and supported specialized applications such as credit-card authorization, SMS, and satellite communications. Their flexible protocol stacks also enabled communications between Ethernet-based PC networks and IBM midrange or mainframe systems, including LU6.2 environments. The product line was associated with Eicon from its founding period and continued to be referenced as an available product in the source material.

• EiconscriptGraphics and printing

  Eiconscript was a PostScript printing solution built around a laser print engine connected to an intelligent adapter installed inside a personal computer. The adapter executed an Eicon-developed implementation of the PostScript language, combining dedicated hardware with software developed by the company.

• EiconjetGraphics and printing

  Eiconjet was a laser-printing solution that used a design and hardware approach related to Eiconscript but implemented Hewlett-Packard’s PCL5 printer language rather than PostScript. Its supporting software was developed internally using a clean-room design approach.

• 2006Acquire Intel’s Media & Signalling DivisionM&A

  Eicon sought to expand its communications portfolio with a business specializing in computer-telephony and media-signalling boards. The target division had previously operated under the Dialogic name before Intel acquired it in 1999.

  What changed. Eicon completed the acquisition of Intel’s Media & Signalling Division in October 2006.

  Aftermath. The combined operation changed its name to Dialogic Corporation and was later known as Dialogic Inc., making the transaction a major change in Eicon’s corporate identity.

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• 2006Consolidate the business under the Dialogic nameStrategy

  The acquisition brought Eicon’s existing communications activities together with Intel’s former Dialogic telephony business.

  What changed. The combined company adopted the Dialogic Corporation name rather than continuing as Eicon.

  Aftermath. The business subsequently became known as Dialogic Inc.; the independent continuation of the Eicon brand is not established by the available source.

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• 2006Eicon acquires Intel Media & Signalling Division

  Eicon purchased Intel’s Media & Signalling Division in October 2006. The business had formerly been associated with Dialogic and produced telephony boards for PC servers.

  M&A
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• 2006Combined Eicon and Dialogic business adopts Dialogic Corporation name

  Following the acquisition of Intel’s communications division, the combined operation changed its corporate name to Dialogic Corporation and was later known as Dialogic Inc.

  M&A
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1. Eicon