The spreadsheet has become the modeling tool of choice for today's business problems. However, before the first copies of 1-2-3 or Excel had shipped, LINDO Systems debuted VINO, the predecessor to What'sBest!, as the first spreadsheet solver for the first popular spreadsheet, VisiCalc.

In 1985, LINDO Systems and General Optimization jointly completed development on the first release of What'sBest! for Lotus 1-2-3 Release 1a. What'sBest! soon became the first and only optimization package ever to win a PC Magazine prestigious Technical Excellence Award. What'sBest! received attention from such mainstream and computer publications as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

What'sBest! has always specialized in tackling large scale, real worldproblems. By 1991, a utility company in England was using a customized version of What'sBest! to solve spreadsheet models in excess of 100,000 variables. In 1994, What'sBest! became the first spreadsheet add-in capable of solving large scale nonlinear models. Now, projects under development keep What'sBest! on the cutting edge of technology.

In 1988, LINGO became LINDO Systems first product to include a full featured modeling language. Users were able to utilize the modeling language to concisely express models using summations and subcripted variables.

In 1993, LINGO added a large scale nonlinear solver. It was unique in that the user did not have to specify which solver to use. LINGO would analyze the model and automatically engage the appropriate linear or nonlinear solver. Also unique to LINGO's nonlinear solver was the support of general and binary integer restrictions.

In 1994, LINGO became the first modeling language software to be included in a popular management science text. In 1995, the first Windows release of LINGO was shipped. Today, LINDO Systems continues to develop faster, more powerful versions.

For the new millenium in 2001, LINDO Systems released it's first Application Programming Interface known as the LINDO API. Developers were able to access greater speed and algorithmic control with the LINDO API than they could with any other software previously offered by LINDO.

Also in 2001, the LINDO API was added to the Solver Suite bundle of products. LINDO, LINGO, What'sBest!, and the LINDO API were all bundled together for one economical low price.

As you can see, LINDO has been a part of getting you the optimum since before the PC became such a large part of business. We are continuing to develop and test our optimization software every day to maintain our position as innovators in optimization modeling tools and give you the BEST!!!

For more information on the most recent versions of our products, you can see the LINGO, What'sBest!, or LINDO API pages on this website or contact LINDO Systems.

In 1995, LINDO Systems released its first bundled suite of applications. The Solver Suite included introductory versions of our three primary products, LINDO, LINGO and What'sBest!, and the bundled price offered a significant value. Users with commercial applications enjoyed the ability to fully investigate the different formulation styles used by each application. Today, many evaluate the Solver Suite before upgrading to a larger version of LINDO, LINGO or What'sBest!

Also in 1995, educational licenses for the Solver Suite were made available at a price students could afford.