During its existence, the company possessed manufacturing facilities in Penang, Malaysia, and international offices throughout Europe and the Asia Pacific.

[1][2] The company was founded in 1988 by Dirk Gates and Kirk Mathews on the premise of delivering modem and Ethernet connectivity to mobile computers.

[citation needed] Xircom was renowned for their PC Cards, the most well known of which was the RealPort series designed by boutique start-up ID firm Next Planet.

[citation needed] NetAccess Series Remote Access cards (RAS) included models ISDN, and the world's first multiport modem (MPM-4 and MPM-8).

It turned these products into its own Port-Gear line, including special drivers to support USB in Windows NT v4 systems.

[citation needed] Before being purchased by Intel in 2001, Xircom made a series of innovative connectivity devices for handheld computers, including the CompactFlash (Ethernet, Modem, GSM, etc.