Tumbleweed Communications
Encyclopedia
Tumbleweed Communications Corp. provided secure messaging and secure file transfer solutions for enterprise and government customers. Tumbleweed Communications merged with Axway in 2008.
Tumbleweed products were used to block security threats, protect information, and conduct business online. Tumbleweed provided solutions for inbound and outbound email protection, secure file routing, and identity validation that allow organizations to conduct business over the Internet. Tumbleweed offered these solutions in three product suites: MailGate, SecureTransport, and Validation Authority. MailGate provides protection against spam, viruses, and attacks, and enables policy-based message filtering, encryption, and routing. SecureTransport enables customers to safely exchange large files and transactions without proprietary software. Validation Authority determines the validity of digital certificates.
Tumbleweed has approximately 2,300 enterprise and government customers. Their traditional market focus has been in the financial services, health care, and government markets.
their patent
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In 2006, Tumbleweed reported $US 62 million in revenue, with revenue growth over one year of 24%.
In 2007, Tumbleweed reported $US 57.50 million in revenue, with revenue growth over one year of -7.30%.
category.
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US patent 6192407 is one of several owned by Tumbleweed that relates to document delivery systems that generate a unique URL
for intended recipients of a document in order to deliver that document. Tumbleweed has licensed this and related patents in their patent portfolio to 29 companies. They have filed several patent infringement
lawsuits. Those that have been sued include:
Overall, Tumbleweed earns about 6% of its revenue from patent licensing.
Tumbleweed products were used to block security threats, protect information, and conduct business online. Tumbleweed provided solutions for inbound and outbound email protection, secure file routing, and identity validation that allow organizations to conduct business over the Internet. Tumbleweed offered these solutions in three product suites: MailGate, SecureTransport, and Validation Authority. MailGate provides protection against spam, viruses, and attacks, and enables policy-based message filtering, encryption, and routing. SecureTransport enables customers to safely exchange large files and transactions without proprietary software. Validation Authority determines the validity of digital certificates.
Tumbleweed has approximately 2,300 enterprise and government customers. Their traditional market focus has been in the financial services, health care, and government markets.
Merger
- Axway Acquired Tumbleweed in early June 2008.
- Tumbleweed Acquired Corvigo in 2004. With the acquisition, Tumbleweed gained the LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based anti-spam appliance MailGate. - Tumbleweed Acquired Valicert in 2003. The Valicert SecureTransport product was added to Tumbleweed's security suite.
- Tumbleweed acquired Worldtalk in 2000.
Revenue
In 2005, Tumbleweed earned approximately $US 50 million in gross revenue from the sale of their products and services. Of that, approximately $US 3 million was from licensingLicense
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
their patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s.
In 2006, Tumbleweed reported $US 62 million in revenue, with revenue growth over one year of 24%.
In 2007, Tumbleweed reported $US 57.50 million in revenue, with revenue growth over one year of -7.30%.
Awards
In January 2007, Tumbleweed's MailGate 5550 was named SC magazine’s Best of 2006 "Recommended" award in the Anti-SpamE-mail spam
Email spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email , is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email. Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. One subset of UBE is UCE...
category.
Patents
Tumbleweed has a patent portfolio including 22 utility patents and one issued US design patentDesign patent
In the United States, a design patent is a patent granted on the ornamental design of a functional item. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers and computer icons are examples of objects that are covered by design...
.
US patent 6192407 is one of several owned by Tumbleweed that relates to document delivery systems that generate a unique URL
Uniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
for intended recipients of a document in order to deliver that document. Tumbleweed has licensed this and related patents in their patent portfolio to 29 companies. They have filed several patent infringement
Patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
lawsuits. Those that have been sued include:
- PayPalPayPalPayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
, This suit has been settledSettlement (law)In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. The term "settlement" also has other meanings in the context of law.-Basis:...
. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. - Hallmark CardsHallmark CardsHallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
, This suit has been settled. Hallmark agreed to take a license. - Yahoo!Yahoo!Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
and HSBC Bank USAHSBC Bank USAHSBC Bank USA, National Association, the American subsidiary of UK-based HSBC Holdings plc, is a bank with its operational head office in New York City and its nominal head office in McLean, Virginia . HSBC Bank USA, N.A...
, This suit has been settled. The terms have been described by Yahoo! and HSBC lawyers as favorable to Yahoo! and HSBC. - DST SystemsDST SystemsDST Systems Inc. is a software development firm that specializes in information processing and management, with the goal of improving efficiency, productivity, and customer service...
and NewRiver This suit has been settled. DST Systems and NewRiver will pay Tumbleweed four cents for each delivery of electronic information using a personalized, trackable URL.
Overall, Tumbleweed earns about 6% of its revenue from patent licensing.
Competitors
Major competitors of Tumbleweed include:- Sterling CommerceSterling CommerceSterling Commerce, an IBM company, provides business-to-business commerce solutions that enable the sharing of information among people, business systems, and enterprise systems...
- Trend MicroTrend MicroTrend Micro Inc. is a computer security company. It is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and markets Trend Micro Internet Security, Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security, OfficeScan, and other related security products and services...
- Zix
Representative customers
Representative customers of Tumbleweed include:- Bank of AmericaBank of AmericaBank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
- JPMorgan Chase
- The Regence GroupThe Regence GroupThe Regence Group is a nonprofit Blue Cross Blue Shield licensed health insurance company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It is licensed to sell health insurance plans under the Blue Cross Blue Shield name in Utah, and Oregon. It is licensed under the Blue Shield name in Idaho and western...
- Aetna AetnaAetna, Inc. is an American health insurance company, providing a range of traditional and consumer directed health care insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care, and disability plans, and medical management...