COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 511210

Computer Software Publishing, Including Design and Development, Packaged

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

86companies1819–2004founding years86still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedInvensys PLC
1819
FoundedEastman Kodak Company
1901
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
FoundedThe Walt Disney Company
1938
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedSpacelabs Medical, Inc.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedSPSS Inc.
1968
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
FoundedCompuware Corporation
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedOracle Corporation
1977
FoundedThe Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
FoundedMicrosoft Corporation
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedInfogrames Entertainment S.A.
1983
FoundedMorningstar Inc.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
FoundedCadence Design Systems, Inc.
1988
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedRemedy Corporation
1990
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
TechnologyLinux and open source challenge proprietary software.
FoundedNVIDIA Corporation
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
FoundedBEA Systems, Inc.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
FoundedAnteon CorporationFoundedInktomi Corporation
1996
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
FoundedBlue Martini Software, Inc.
1998
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Invensys PLC →
Active · founded 1819 · United Kingdom
Invensys PLC grew out of the merger in 1999 of Britain's Siebe PLC and the British manufacturing conglomerate BTR PLC.
Merriam-Webster Inc. →
Active · founded 1831
Merriam-Webster Inc.
Unisys Corporation →
Active · founded 1886
Unisys Corporation is a major provider of computer-related services and technologies to customers in the financial…
NEC Corporation →
Active · founded 1899 · Japan
Early 1920s:NEC, IWE, and a division of the Sumitomo group form a joint venture to produce electrical cables, marking…
Eastman Kodak Company →
Active · founded 1901
A multinational corporation whose name and film products are familiar to photographers around the world, Eastman Kodak…
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1909
Éditions Gallimard →
Active · founded 1911 · France
Éditions Gallimard is the third-largest publishing group in France.
Nortel Networks Corporation →
Active · founded 1914 · Canada
Nortel Networks Corporation is one of the world's leading providers of networking products and services, with a…
Zondervan Corporation →
Active · founded 1931
Zondervan Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers, is one of the largest Christian…
The Walt Disney Company →
Active · founded 1938
A colossal force in the entertainment industry, The Walt Disney Company (Disney) is best known for bringing decades of…
Hewlett-Packard Company →
Active · founded 1947
Since merging in 2002, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Compaq have created the new HP (Hewlett-Packard Company), serving more…
Milliman USA →
Active · founded 1947
Milliman USA is one of the largest independent consulting and actuarial firms in the United States.
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. →
Active · founded 1949
The undisputed number one paymaster to the nation, Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
Wincor Nixdorf Holding GmbH →
Active · founded 1952 · Germany
Wincor Nixdorf Holding GmbH is one of the world's leading manufacturers of automated teller (ATM) and electronic…
Spacelabs Medical, Inc. →
Active · founded 1958
Spacelabs Medical, Inc., wholly owned by OSI Systems, Inc., is a leading global provider of patient monitoring systems…
Pantone Inc. →
Active · founded 1962
Pantone, Inc., with its corporate headquarters in Carlstadt, New Jersey, is a private company that over the last four…
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. →
Active · founded 1962
While Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
EPIQ Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
EPIQ Systems, Inc.
Intel Corporation →
Active · founded 1968
Intel Corporation is the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, with major facilities in the United States,…
SPSS Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
Based in Chicago, SPSS Inc.
IDX Systems Corporation →
Active · founded 1969
IDX Systems Corporation is a leading healthcare information technology company that offers software, hardware, and…
Medical Information Technology Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Headquartered in Westwood, Massachusetts, Medical Information Technology Inc.
Nolo.com, Inc. →
Active · founded 1971
Nolo.com, Inc.
Compuware Corporation →
Active · founded 1973
Compuware Corporation is one of the largest software developers in the world, serving some 3,000 corporate clients by…
Lawson Software →
Active · founded 1975
Throughout its 25-year history, Lawson Software has remained focused on providing businesses with software applications…
Candle Corporation →
Active · founded 1976
As one of the world's largest independent software and services companies, El Segundo, California-based Candle…
Computer Associates International, Inc. →
Active · founded 1976
Computer Associates International, Inc.
DeLorme Publishing Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1976
DeLorme Publishing Company, Inc.
Oracle Corporation →
Active · founded 1977
Oracle Corporation is the number one supplier of information management software, and the second largest independent…
3Com Corporation →
Active · founded 1979
3Com Corporation is the world's number two provider of computer networking products, systems, and services, trailing…
Epic Systems Corporation →
Active · founded 1979
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Epic Systems Corporation is one of the healthcare industry's leading information…
Intrado Inc. →
Active · founded 1979
Intrado Inc.
Seagate Technology, Inc. →
Active · founded 1979
Seagate Technology, Inc.
The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. →
Active · founded 1979
Founded in 1979 as a Unix consulting company, The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
BMC Software, Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
BMC Software, Inc.
IntelliCorp, Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
Once a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), Mountain View, California-based IntelliCorp, Inc.
MAPICS, Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
MAPICS, Inc.
Psion PLC →
Active · founded 1980 · United Kingdom
Britain's Psion PLC is reinventing itself.
Microsoft Corporation →
Active · founded 1981
With annual revenues of more than $32 billion, Microsoft Corporation is more than the largest software company in the…
Quark, Inc. →
Active · founded 1981
Quark, Inc.
Amdocs Ltd. →
Active · founded 1982
Amdocs Ltd.
FileNet Corporation →
Active · founded 1982
Since the mid-1980s, FileNet Corporation has been helping paperwork-heavy enterprises efficiently track and store…
Creo Inc. →
Active · founded 1983 · Canada
Creo Inc.
Infogrames Entertainment S.A. →
Active · founded 1983 · France
France's Infogrames Entertainment S.A.
Ansoft Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
Ansoft Corporation is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based developer of electronic design automation (EDA) software, used…
Attachmate Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
Attachmate Corporation is one of the largest privately held software companies in the world, operating as a developer…
Cisco Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Morningstar Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Based in Chicago, Morningstar Inc.
Stratagene Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
Stratagene Corporation is a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of specialized life science research and diagnostic…
Portal Software, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
Since it was first established in 1985 as an Internet service provider, Portal Software, Inc.
Allen Systems Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1986
ASG completed one major deal in 2001, acquiring SNMP Frameworks, which led to the development of a Web-based network…
Avid Technology Inc. →
Active · founded 1987
Avid Technology Inc.
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1988
With revenues of $1.43 billion in 2001, Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Verity Inc. →
Active · founded 1988
Based in Sunnyvale, California, Verity Inc.
Mercury Interactive Corporation →
Active · founded 1989
As Mercury's 15th anniversary approached, Landan continued to explore new business opportunities for the Sunnyvale,…
Veritas Software Corporation →
Active · founded 1989
Veritas Software Corporation is a leading supplier and developer of data availability software in areas such as storage…
Manhattan Associates, Inc. →
Active · founded 1990
Manhattan Associates, Inc.
Remedy Corporation →
Active · founded 1990
Launched toward the end of 1990, Remedy Corporation was a pioneer in developing automated software solutions for…
Henry Schein, Inc. →
Active · founded 1992
Henry Schein, Inc., is the largest distributor of health care products and services to office-based health care…
Macromedia, Inc. →
Active · founded 1992
Anyone who uses the Internet knows Macromedia, Inc.'s products well, if not necessarily by name.
Network Appliance, Inc. →
Active · founded 1992
Network Appliance, Inc.
GT Interactive Software →
Active · founded 1993
GT Interactive Software is a major publisher and distributor of entertainment software for PC and Macintosh computers,…
NVIDIA Corporation →
Active · founded 1993
Founded in 1993, NVIDIA Corporation is a leading designer of graphics processors.
Siebel Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1993
Siebel Systems, Inc.
Onyx Software Corporation →
Active · founded 1994
Onyx Software Corporation has pioneered the development of customer relationship management (CRM) software in the…
RealNetworks, Inc. →
Active · founded 1994
RealNetworks, Inc.
BEA Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1995
BEA Systems, Inc.
Kurzweil Technologies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1995
Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.
Red Hat, Inc. →
Active · founded 1995
Red Hat, Inc.
VeriSign, Inc. →
Active · founded 1995
VeriSign, Inc.
AMICAS, Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
AMICAS, Inc.
Anteon Corporation →
Active · founded 1996
Anteon Corporation provides information technology solutions and engineering services to government clients.
Ariba, Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
Ariba, Inc.
E.piphany, Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
E.piphany, Inc.
F5 Networks, Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
F5 Networks, Inc., develops software-based technology that helps companies manage their Internet traffic.
Information Holdings Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
Information Holdings Inc.
Inktomi Corporation →
Active · founded 1996
Inktomi Corporation may not be known to as many Internet users as the popular search engine portals Yahoo!
Kana Software, Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
Kana Software, Inc.
Knowledge Universe, Inc. →
Active · founded 1996
Knowledge Universe, Inc.
Indus International Inc. →
Active · founded 1997
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Indus International Inc.
Quovadx Inc. →
Active · founded 1997
Quovadx Inc., a global software and services firm based in Englewood, Colorado, serves thousands of companies in the…
Blue Martini Software, Inc. →
Active · founded 1998
Blue Martini Software, Inc.'s principal business is to provide software solutions that streamline and enhance the…
Sycamore Networks, Inc. →
Active · founded 1998
Sycamore Networks, Inc.
Opsware Inc. →
Active · founded 1999
For approximately two and one-half years, from early 2000 through mid-2002, Opsware Inc., formerly Loudcloud, provided…
Ascential Software Corporation →
Active · founded 2001
Although Ascential Software Corporation is a relatively new company that was established in 2001, it has its roots in…
META →
Active · founded 2004
Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc., is one of the world’s leading technology and social networking…
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