Olof Söderblom

Olof Söderblom, born 1940, is the creator of Token ring networking, and grandson of Nathan Söderblom.

Token-Ring Patent

Swedish inventor Olof Söderblom conceived of the token-ring network in 1967. The first token ring network built was at Svenska Handelsbanken (Swedish bank) connecting 2,500 terminals at 500 branch office. In 1968, Mr. Söderblom filed for Swedish and U.S. Patents describing a ring network between offices of a corporation. That ring network at Svenska Handelsbanken became fully operational (completed) in the early 1970's. The "Head Office" would initiate a signal that would be forwarded to each location in term when each's message transmission was complete. This was the first concept of a "token" passing system. His patent submission was pending at U.S. Patent Office for nearly 13 years before a U.S. Patent Office decision in 1981 affirmed that Söderblom's 1968 submission and invention preceded work submitted and done at AT&T Bell Labs.

Comparative Analysis

In 1980, Olof Söderblom and Thomas Blitz founded Compass (consulting) in Sweden. Olof Söderblom pioneered comparative analysis - the formation of complex models to allow the analysis of detailed performance metrics. Volvo, L M Ericsson Data AB and SKF Dataservice submitted performance metrics to Compass for comparison and analysis. These first clients formed the foundation of what is now a worldwide database covering all aspects of IT and business operations.

References

• Data transmission system - United States Patent 4293948
• Compass web site
• University of Colorado