SilverPlatter
Encyclopedia
SilverPlatter Information, Inc. was one of the first companies to produce commercial reference databases on CD-ROM
s. It was founded in 1983 in the United Kingdom by Bela Hatvany
and Walt Winshall with the explicit intention of using CD technology to publish data. Ron Rietdyk was the company's first President; it was he, with Jane Niemi and Chris Pooley, who launched the company in the United States in 1986 from a small building in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts.
The company began experimenting with four databases: ERIC, LISA, PsycLIT
, and EMBASE
. In 1987 the company had 12 databases and revenues of approximately $6m. Competing with CD Plus (now Ovid Technologies
), Aries, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts and Dialog
, the company offered libraries a wide range of CD-ROMs. Over the next few year the company grew quickly, expanding from its academic base into medical, business and health and safety CD publishing.
In 1989 SilverPlatter launched MultiPlatter, a system for networking CD-ROMs across local area network
s, followed in 1991 by ERL (the electronic reference library
), a system for providing hard disk access to its databases via the DXP protocol. This last proved successful with more than 500 sites using the technology by 1997. In that year the company had grown to $75m in revenues and had over 250 databases.
In 2001 SilverPlatter was sold to Wolters Kluwer
at a reputed price of $113m, and now forms part of Ovid Technologies, the Wolters Kluwer subsidiary.
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s. It was founded in 1983 in the United Kingdom by Bela Hatvany
Béla Hatvany
Béla Hatvany is a pioneer in the automation of libraries and the information industry. Companies founded by him have been responsible for the first Online Public Access Catalog , the first CD-ROMs, the first networked CD-ROM, the first client-server library databases, and some of the earliest...
and Walt Winshall with the explicit intention of using CD technology to publish data. Ron Rietdyk was the company's first President; it was he, with Jane Niemi and Chris Pooley, who launched the company in the United States in 1986 from a small building in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts.
The company began experimenting with four databases: ERIC, LISA, PsycLIT
PsycLit
PsycLIT was a CD-ROM version of Psychological Abstracts. It was merged into the PsycINFO online database in 2000. PsycLIT contained citations and abstracts to journal articles, and summaries of English-language chapters and books in psychology, as well as behavioral information from sociology,...
, and EMBASE
EMBASE
Embase is an online information source of published literature designed to supportinformation managers and pharmacovigilance in complying with the regulatoryrequirements of a licensed drug. Through its unique and comprehensive content coverage,...
. In 1987 the company had 12 databases and revenues of approximately $6m. Competing with CD Plus (now Ovid Technologies
Ovid Technologies
Ovid Technologies, Inc. , part of the Wolters Kluwer group of companies, provides access to online bibliographic databases, journals and other products, chiefly in the area of health sciences...
), Aries, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts and Dialog
Dialog (online database)
Dialog is an online information service owned by ProQuest, who acquired it from Thomson Reuters in mid-2008.Dialog was one of the predecessors of the World Wide Web as a provider of information, though not in form. The earliest form of the Dialog system was completed in 1966 under the direction of...
, the company offered libraries a wide range of CD-ROMs. Over the next few year the company grew quickly, expanding from its academic base into medical, business and health and safety CD publishing.
In 1989 SilverPlatter launched MultiPlatter, a system for networking CD-ROMs across local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
s, followed in 1991 by ERL (the electronic reference library
Electronic Reference Library
Electronic Reference Library is a client to server approach to networking CD-ROM and magnetic databases. It enables access from Macs and UNIX machines. At present, there are only UNIX clients for workstations running Solaris 2.3 or greater, AIX and SCO UNIX, but it will be ported to other Unixes...
), a system for providing hard disk access to its databases via the DXP protocol. This last proved successful with more than 500 sites using the technology by 1997. In that year the company had grown to $75m in revenues and had over 250 databases.
In 2001 SilverPlatter was sold to Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer N.V. is a global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors...
at a reputed price of $113m, and now forms part of Ovid Technologies, the Wolters Kluwer subsidiary.
External references
- The SilverPlatter Platform at Ovid
- Ovid company history, with information on merger with SilverPlatter
- SilverPlatter company history from International Directory of Company Histories
- Presentation of the new OvidSP
- Home of the new OvidSP site