Wicat Systems was an American computer and software company founded in 1980 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 M ...
, Utah. Originally a branch of WICAT, the World Institute for Computer-Assisted Teaching (later the Wicat Education Institute), the company manufactured
multi-user
Multi-user software is computer software that allows access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leaving t ...
systems for educational institutions before focusing their efforts on educational
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
...
development in the early 1990s. The company was among the first to use the
Motorola 68000 microprocessor in a computer with the introduction of the Wicat System 100 in 1980. Both Wicat Systems and its parent institution were founded by Dustin H. Heuston, originally of New York.
History
At its peak in the mid-1980s, Wicat Systems employed 500 and had an annual budget of US$40 million. The company formed a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
with
Control Data Corporation in early 1985. Named Plato/Wicat after Control Data's Plato educational software, the venture was intended to "address the entire educational process, including computer-based instructional courseware, testing and evaluation, and classroom management and administration".
In 1992, the company was acquired by
Jostens
Jostens is an American manufacturer of memorabilia. The company is primarily known for its production of yearbooks and class rings for various high schools and colleges as well as championship rings for sports. Jostens also produced photobook pro ...
in a
stock swap valuated at roughly $111 million. Jostens, who had a rival educational software division Jostens Learning which was aimed at preschools, planned to use the Wicat Systems repertoire to increase their presence in high schools and
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...
.
Citations
References
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1980 establishments in Utah
1992 disestablishments in Utah
1992 mergers and acquisitions
American companies established in 1980
American companies disestablished in 1992
Companies based in Orem, Utah
Computer companies established in 1980
Computer companies disestablished in 1992
Defunct computer companies of the United States
Defunct software companies of the United States
Defunct computer hardware companies
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