Ross Williams
Encyclopedia
Ross Neil Williams is an Australian computer scientist
and entrepreneur
who has made significant contributions to data compression
and data deduplication
technologies. He is best known as the inventor of the and the founder of Rocksoft Pty Ltd.
Ross Williams gained his PhD in data compression
from the University of Adelaide
in 1991 and his thesis was subsequently published as Adaptive Data Compression. Williams conducted research into Lempel–Ziv lossless compression techniques during which he developed the SAKDC algorithm, the LZRW
range of algorithms, and created the newsgroups comp.compression and comp.compression.research.
In 1996 Williams submitted a patent, , for a variable-length data partitioning system that has since become the basis for data deduplication
technology in the computer data storage industry.
In 2001, Williams founded the data integrity and data storage company Rocksoft Pty Ltd. With Williams as chairman and chief architect, Rocksoft developed the deduplication technology to a commercial product. In 2006, Rocksoft was sold to ADIC
which was in turn immediately acquired by Quantum Corporation.
In 2007, Williams' patent became the subject of legal action
between Quantum Corporation and Riverbed Technology
.
Since exiting Rocksoft, Williams founded, along with associate David Sag, Carbon Planet Pty Ltd, a carbon credit
s auditing, origination, and retailing company.
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who has made significant contributions to data compression
Data compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
and data deduplication
Data deduplication
In computing, data deduplication is a specialized data compression technique for eliminating coarse-grained redundant data. The technique is used to improve storage utilization and can also be applied to network data transfers to reduce the number of bytes that must be sent across a link...
technologies. He is best known as the inventor of the and the founder of Rocksoft Pty Ltd.
Ross Williams gained his PhD in data compression
Data compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
from the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
in 1991 and his thesis was subsequently published as Adaptive Data Compression. Williams conducted research into Lempel–Ziv lossless compression techniques during which he developed the SAKDC algorithm, the LZRW
LZRW
Lempel–Ziv Ross Williams, refers to variants of the LZ77 lossless data compression algorithms with an emphasis on improving compression speed through the use of hash tables and other techniques...
range of algorithms, and created the newsgroups comp.compression and comp.compression.research.
In 1996 Williams submitted a patent, , for a variable-length data partitioning system that has since become the basis for data deduplication
Data deduplication
In computing, data deduplication is a specialized data compression technique for eliminating coarse-grained redundant data. The technique is used to improve storage utilization and can also be applied to network data transfers to reduce the number of bytes that must be sent across a link...
technology in the computer data storage industry.
In 2001, Williams founded the data integrity and data storage company Rocksoft Pty Ltd. With Williams as chairman and chief architect, Rocksoft developed the deduplication technology to a commercial product. In 2006, Rocksoft was sold to ADIC
Advanced Digital Information Corporation
Advanced Digital Information Corporation was an independent American manufacturer of tape libraries and storage management software which is now part of Quantum Corp...
which was in turn immediately acquired by Quantum Corporation.
In 2007, Williams' patent became the subject of legal action
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
between Quantum Corporation and Riverbed Technology
Riverbed Technology
Riverbed Technology is a technology company that specializes in improving the performance of networks and networked applications. It was founded May 23, 2002 by Jerry Kennelly and Steve McCanne in San Francisco, California where its world headquarters remains...
.
Since exiting Rocksoft, Williams founded, along with associate David Sag, Carbon Planet Pty Ltd, a carbon credit
Carbon credit
A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide....
s auditing, origination, and retailing company.