Fifth Generation Systems

About Fifth Generation Systems

Fifth Generation Systems, Inc. was a computer utility and security software company established in October 1984 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The company was founded by Robert Mitchell, Leroy Mitchell, Roger Ivey, and Bruce Ray.

The firm entered the burgeoning personal computer market with a focus on data backup and security utilities. Its initial and most recognized product was FastBack, a hard disk backup utility for IBM PCs and later for Apple Macintosh computers. FastBack distinguished itself from competitors by employing advanced direct memory access (DMA) techniques that allowed it to read from a hard drive and write to a floppy disk simultaneously, a feature that significantly reduced backup times. This technical advantage, combined with data compression, positioned FastBack as one of the fastest backup solutions available during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The company's business model centered on the development and retail sale of software for the DOS, Windows, and Mac OS platforms. Over its history, Fifth Generation Systems expanded its product line through both in-house development and acquisition. The portfolio grew to include a range of utilities such as DiskLock for access control and encryption, the font management tool Suitcase for Macintosh, the CopyDoubler file copying utility, and the Direct Access menuing system for DOS. The company later came under the leadership of Barry L. Bellue as president and CEO. This change followed the departure of the original founders, who accused Bellue of fraud after he acquired the company.

A significant milestone in the company's trajectory was its acquisition by Symantec on October 4, 1993, for a reported $53.8 million. This event marked the end of Fifth Generation Systems as an independent entity, with its products being integrated into Symantec's existing portfolio, which at the time was being built into a comprehensive suite of PC and Mac utilities under the Peter Norton Computing Group.