Mr. Allen began his career as a member of the research staff at Carnegie-Mellon's Robotics Institute. In 1984, he joined Inference Corporation where he created Inference CBR, one of the first CRM problem resolution products. He left Inference in 1995 to co-found Limbex Corporation where he created WebCompass, an Internet search tool that won Best Of Show at COMDEX Fall '95. Quarterdeck Corporation acquired Limbex in 1996. In 1997, Mr. Allen co-founded TriVida Corporation and served as CTO until TriVida's acquisition by Be Free, Inc. in March 2000.

Mr. Allen earned a BS in applied mathematics from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1982, and has been awarded four U.S. patents.