Ximian

Ximian was a software company known primarily for its work on open-source software, particularly its contributions to the GNOME desktop environment and its development of groupware solutions for Linux.

Ximian was founded in 1999 by Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman, initially under the name International Gnome Support (IGS). The company's original focus was providing commercial support and services related to GNOME. As the company grew, it shifted its focus to developing and selling its own integrated desktop solutions.

One of Ximian's key products was Ximian Desktop, which comprised a suite of applications built on top of GNOME, including Evolution (a groupware client similar to Microsoft Outlook), and other desktop utilities. Evolution became a popular open-source alternative to proprietary groupware solutions, offering calendaring, contact management, email, and task management features. Ximian Connector facilitated connectivity to Microsoft Exchange servers, making Ximian Desktop a viable option for organizations that used Microsoft's platform.

Ximian also made significant contributions to the Mono project, an open-source implementation of Microsoft's .NET Framework. This allowed .NET applications to run on Linux and other platforms.

In 2003, Novell acquired Ximian. Following the acquisition, Novell continued to develop and support Ximian's products, including Evolution and Mono. Novell's subsequent sale to Attachmate in 2011 resulted in further changes to the company structure, but the legacy of Ximian's contributions to open-source software continues to influence the Linux ecosystem.