Technology

Charles and Sam Wyly have spent more than five decades at the forefront of technological innovation.

Sam founded University Computing Company (UCC) in 1963 at age 29 with $1,000 and an idea. Charles joined the company in late 1963 and it ultimately became one of the most successful enterprises of its generation. The company pioneered business-to-business on-line computing and mainframe and mini-computer software products. At its pinnacle, UCC employed more than 5,000 people and operated in six foreign countries. The company went public in 1965, and less than four years later had realized a 100 to 1 return for IPO investors. This was a business and financial achievement seldom seen in the 20th century.

Sam and Charles later founded Sterling Software and its spin-off, Sterling Commerce. The companies were sold to Computer Associates and AT&T (formerly SBC), respectively, for $8 billion in March 2000.

In 1969, the Wylys founded Data Transmission Company (Datran), which launched the first nationwide digital switched network. This was the first telephone company for computers, a forerunner to today's Internet and World Wide Web. Datran is widely recognized as one of the pioneers in digital communication and a key player in the break-up of the AT&T monopoly.