Raymond John "Ray" Noorda (19 June 1924 – 9 October 2006) was a
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
computer businessman. He was
CEO of
Novell
Novell, Inc. was an American software and services company headquartered in Provo, Utah, that existed from 1980 until 2014. Its most significant product was the multi- platform network operating system known as Novell NetWare.
Under the le ...
between 1982 and 1994. He also served as
chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of Novell until he was replaced in 1994.
Early life
Noorda was born in
Ogden,
Utah, the third son of
Dutch immigrants Bertus Noorda and Alida Margaretha van den Berg. He attended
Weber State College
Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
History
Weber State University was founded ...
in Ogden. During
World War II, he served in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
for two years as an electronics technician, working with
radar systems. He graduated ''
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' with a bachelor's degree in
engineering from the
University of Utah in 1949. Noorda worked for
General Electric from graduation until 1971, after which he worked at a number of California companies.
Personal life
Noorda was a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
He married Lewena "Tye" Taylor in 1950, and they were later
sealed
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
in the
Salt Lake Temple
The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temp ...
.
Among the positions that Noorda held in the LDS Church were counselor in a
branch presidency and counselor in a
stake Sunday school presidency.
Novell
In 1983, Noorda assembled the
SuperSet
In mathematics, set ''A'' is a subset of a set ''B'' if all elements of ''A'' are also elements of ''B''; ''B'' is then a superset of ''A''. It is possible for ''A'' and ''B'' to be equal; if they are unequal, then ''A'' is a proper subset o ...
team whose members included
Drew Major, James Bills, Dale Niebaur and Kyle Powell. The team was originally assigned to create a
CP/M
CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/ 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. Initially ...
disk sharing system, but instead came up with a successful
file sharing system for the newly introduced
IBM-compatible PC
IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...
. This
network operating system
A network operating system (NOS) is a specialized operating system for a network device such as a router, switch or firewall.
Historically operating systems with networking capabilities were described as network operating systems, because they al ...
was later called
Novell NetWare.
Under Noorda's watch, Novell acquired several companies and products with the goal of countering
Microsoft's rapid spread into new markets, including
Digital Research,
Unix System Laboratories
Unix System Laboratories (USL), sometimes written UNIX System Laboratories to follow relevant trademark guidelines of the time, was an American software laboratory and product development company that existed from 1989 through 1993. At first wh ...
,
WordPerfect, and
Borland
Borland Software Corporation was a computer technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was the development and sale of software development and software deployment product ...
's
Quattro Pro. Microsoft CEO
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
claimed that Noorda had a "tremendous vendetta" against Microsoft and that Noorda had supported the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
's antitrust investigations of Microsoft in the early 1990s that led to a
consent decree restricting its
operating system licensing practices.
Noorda ran Novell until 1993. He was succeeded by
Robert Frankenberg
Robert J. Frankenberg (born 1947) is an American computer engineer and business executive who served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Novell, Inc. from 1994 to 1996.
Life and career
Frankenberg spent much of his career at Hew ...
in 1994.
Around 1992, Noorda used the term
co-opetition
Coopetition or co-opetition (sometimes spelled "coopertition" or "co-opertition") is a neologism coined to describe cooperative competition. Coopetition is a portmanteau of cooperation and competition. Basic principles of co-opetitive structures ...
to characterize Novell's business strategy.
Later career
Up to his death, Noorda owned the
Canopy Group
The Canopy Group is an American investment and property management firm founded by Ray Noorda in 1995 through the Noorda Family Trust. It is headquartered in Lindon, Utah. At various times it has consisted of, or been known as, Canopy Technolo ...
, which he had founded in 1992 through the Noorda Family Trust (NFT Ventures, Inc.).
One of its holdings,
Caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber i ...
, purchased the
Unix assets in 1995 from the
Santa Cruz Operation
The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. (usually known as SCO, pronounced either as individual letters or as a word) was an American software company, based in Santa Cruz, California, that was best known for selling three Unix operating system variants ...
, which had acquired them from Novell. In 1996, it also acquired the
Digital Research assets from Novell and immediately brought a
lawsuit against
Microsoft that largely duplicated the claims that the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
(FTC) and
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
had pursued in the early 1990s. The lawsuit was ultimately settled in 2000 with a $280 million payment to Caldera.
Noorda received
honorary doctorates from the University of Utah in 1994 and Weber State University in 1995. As a consequence of age and associated health issues (
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...
and
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...
), Noorda did not participate in the day-to-day management of Canopy's affairs after 1998.
Noorda was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1995.
Noorda had four sons and one daughter. His daughter committed
suicide in 2005.
Noorda died on 9 October 2006 at his home in
Orem
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City.
Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...
, Utah, at the age of 82.
References
Further reading
Biographical detailsNNDB bio
Ray Noorda, computer pioneer, dies at 82(Salt Lake Tribune, 2006-10-09)
Technology pioneer Ray Noorda dies(Canopy press release)
(Stephen J. Vaughn-Nichols, ''Linux-Watch'')
*
https://web.archive.org/web/20190419191113/http://www.ctyme.com/dri2.ht
1991-03-20, 1991-05-23, 1991-07-24, 1991-08-02 -->(NB.
Marc Perkel claimed to have inspired Ray Noorda in February 1991 for
Novell
Novell, Inc. was an American software and services company headquartered in Provo, Utah, that existed from 1980 until 2014. Its most significant product was the multi- platform network operating system known as Novell NetWare.
Under the le ...
to buy
Digital Research and develop something he called "
NovOS".)
External links
* (canopy.com)
Surfing a High Tech Wave: A story of Novell's Early Years 1980-1990
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noorda, Raymond John
1924 births
2006 deaths
American chief executives
American computer businesspeople
Latter Day Saints from Utah
United States Navy personnel of World War II
American people of Dutch descent
Novell NetWare
Novell people
Businesspeople from Ogden, Utah
People from Orem, Utah
University of Utah alumni
Weber State University alumni
20th-century American businesspeople
United States Navy sailors