OPNET Technologies, Inc.

What starts as a graduate school project at MIT often stays a graduate school project. But in 1986, brothers Marc and Alain Cohen, along with their classmate Steven Baraniuk, saw a commercial opportunity in Alain's project, "Optimized Network Engineering Tools," or OPNET. They founded OPNET Technologies, Inc. to tackle the growing complexity of computer networks. The company's core business was providing software for network and application performance management, essentially allowing businesses to model, analyze, and troubleshoot their increasingly vital IT infrastructure. The company grew steadily, building out a suite of products for network planning, engineering, and operations. This journey led to a significant milestone in August 2000, when OPNET went public on the NASDAQ. The IPO provided capital to expand its reach and capabilities, partly through a series of its own acquisitions. The final chapter for OPNET as an independent entity came in October 2012. Riverbed Technology, a player in the network performance space, announced it would acquire OPNET for approximately $1 billion. The deal combined OPNET's strength in application and network performance management with Riverbed's focus on wide area networks, creating a more comprehensive solution for enterprise customers.