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Progress Software

Progress Software Corporation is an American public company that produces software for creating and deploying business applications. Founded in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices in 16 countries, the company posted revenues of $753 million (USD) in 2024.[2]

History

1980s: DLC to Progress Software

Progress Software was co-founded by several MIT graduates, including Joseph W. Alsop, Clyde Kessel, and Chip Ziering in 1981.[3] Originally called Data Language Corporation (DLC), the company changed its name to Progress Software in 1987, the same name of its main product, Progress.

1990s: Public company

In 1991, Progress Software joined the NASDAQ.

2000s: Broad expansion

In 2002, Progress Software acquired Stylus Studio developer eXcelon Corporation for approximately $24 million.[4] In 2003, Progress Software acquired DataDirect Technologies for $88 million.[5] In 2004, Progress Software acquired Persistence Software for $16 million.[6] In 2005, Progress acquired complex event processing company Apama.[7] In January 2006, Progress Software acquired Actional Corporation.[8] In 2006, Progress Software acquired Neon Systems, a company specializing in modernizing 3270 applications.[9]

In 2008, Progress Software acquired Xcalia, a data integration company, and Mindreef, which developed SOAPscope products. In September 2008, Progress acquired IONA Technologies, developer of service-oriented architecture platforms Artix and Orbix, for $146 million.[10][11]

2010s: Focusing and rebranding

In 2010, Progress Software acquired business process management vendor Savvion Inc.[12][13] In April 2011, Progress Software sold its SWIFT integration product "ADS" (formally Iona's "Artix Data Services") to C24 Technologies Ltd. The product was re-branded to its former name "Integration Objects".

In 2012, Progress announced its shift to become a much more narrowly focused specialist vendor, looking to sell or decommission most of its existing products.[14][15] In June 2012, the company sold its open source division FuseSource, which was spun out from the IONA business in October 2010, to Red Hat. In October 2012, Progress Software sold the brands Sonic, Savvion, Actional and DataXtend (DXSI) to Trilogy which created the company Aurea Software.[16] In December 2012, the Orbix, Orbacus and Artix product lines were sold to Micro Focus International for $15 million.[17]

In 2013, Progress Software acquired Rollbase Inc. and Software AG acquired Apama activities from Progress Software.[18] In 2014, Progress acquired Cincinnati-based Modulus.[19] Also in 2014, Progress acquired Telerik, a provider of application development tools.[20] In 2019, Progress Software acquired Ipswitch, Inc., an IT management vendor known for its MOVEit managed file transfer platform.[21][22]

In May 2016, Progress Software re-branded as "Progress" in an effort to "shed any doubts it was not living up to its name".[23]

2020s: Targeted expansion

In 2020, Progress Software announced the acquisition of Chef Software Inc., the developers of the Chef configuration management tool. The acquisition was completed by October 2020.[24][25][26] In 2021, Progress Software acquired Kemp Technologies, who build load balancing products.[27] The acquisition was completed on November 1, 2021.[28] In 2023, Progress Software acquired database vendor MarkLogic Corporation.[29] In 2024, Progress Software acquired ShareFile from Cloud Software.[30] The acquisition was completed on October 31, 2024. In 2025, Progress Software acquired Nuclia, a provider of agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology.[31]

Products

The Progress portfolio includes solutions for enterprise integration, data interoperability, and application development, including Software as a Service (SaaS) enablement and delivery.

Current products

  • Sitefinity[32] – web content management.
  • Sitefinity Insight – a customer data platform (CDP), seamlessly integrated with the CMS enabling customer journey analysis, personalization, and optimization.
  • NativeChat – an AI platform for creating and deploying chatbots.[33]
  • Corticon[34] – business rules engine.
  • Kemp LoadMaster
  • Flowmon
  • WhatsUp Gold
  • Chef
  • Kendo UI – UI toolkit for web development.[35]
  • Telerik – UI tools for .NET development.[36]
  • Test Studio[37] – test automation.
  • Fiddler Everywhere
  • DataDirect Connectors[38] – connectors to integrate data across relational, big data and cloud databases.
  • DataDirect Hybrid Data Pipeline[39] – hybrid connectivity to data in the cloud or on-premises.
  • MOVEit
  • WS_FTP
  • OpenEdge[40] – platform for building business applications and database management system.
  • MarkLogic
  • ShareFile
  • Semaphore
  • Podio

Data breaches

In 2023, a security vulnerability in Progress-owned file transfer software MOVEit was exploited in a data breach affecting various companies and government organizations.[41] A running total maintained by cybersecurity company Emsisoft showed that more than 2,500 organizations were known to have been impacted as of October 25, 2023 with more than 80 percent of those organizations being US-based.[42] The cybercriminal organization Clop was alleged to have been partially responsible for the attacks,[43] and claimed responsibility for breaches of 1st Source, the BBC, British Airways, the New York City Department of Education,[44] Putnam Investments, and Shell among others.[45][46]

References

  1. Progress Completes Acquisition of Ipswitch, Inc. Progress Software Corporation, retrieved 2019-06-13^
  2. Progress Software Revenue 2010-2025 www.macrotrends.net, retrieved 2025-07-31^
  3. MIT-Related Companies with 10,000 Employees or More Massachusetts Institute of Technology, retrieved 2007-04-02^
  4. Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service. Progress buys XML tool maker eXcelon Computerworld, 2002-10-21, retrieved 2020-09-29^
  5. SEC Form 8-K: Progress Software Corporation United States Securities and Exchange Commission, December 5, 2003^
  6. PROGRESS SOFTWARE CORPORATION TO ACQUIRE PERSISTENCE SOFTWARE TO ACCELERATE GROWTH OF OBJECTSTORE OPERATING COMPANY bobsguide, September 28, 2004, retrieved 2020-09-29^
  7. Progress Software acquires algorithmic technology vendor Apama Finextra Research, 2005-04-07, retrieved 2020-09-29^
  8. W. David Gardner. Progress Software acquires Actional for US$32 million itnews.com.au, January 1, 2006, retrieved 2007-04-02^
  9. Progress Software Acquires NEON Systems March 23, 2006^
  10. Andrew Phelan. Trinity boys sell college firm for $162m Irish Independent, 26 June 2008, retrieved 13 April 2021^
  11. eWeek Wed, 25 June 2008^
  12. Progress Software Corporation Acquiring BPM Leader, Savvion Inc. - PC World Australia PC World, retrieved 2020-09-29^
  13. News Wire Feed Light Reading 1/12/2010. Progress Buys Savvion Light Reading, retrieved 2020-09-29^
  14. Empowering Organizations Through Digital Transformation - Progress Progress.com, retrieved 2016-10-14^
  15. John R. Rymer's Blog blogs.forrester.com, April 29, 2012, retrieved 2016-10-14^
  16. Progress Software Announces Agreement to Sell Four Non-Core Product Lines to Investment Arm of Trilogy Enterprises (NASDAQ:PRGS) investors.progress.com, retrieved 2016-10-14^
  17. Micro Focus International plc 2012-12-24^
  18. Software AG buys complex-event processing technology from Progress PCWorld, 2013-06-13, retrieved 2020-09-29^
  19. Progress Acquires Modulus; Enables Fast, Scalable Node.js and MongoDB App Development and Deployment (NASDAQ:PRGS) investors.progress.com, retrieved 2016-10-14^
  20. Progress Completes Acquisition of Telerik and Expands Executive Management Team (NASDAQ:PRGS) investors.progress.com, retrieved 2016-10-14^
  21. Progress acquires Ipswitch for $225 million, tops first quarter targets ZDNet^
  22. Progress Completes Acquisition of Ipswitch, Inc^
  23. Justine Hofherr. After 35 years, Progress Software introduces a new name and vision Builtinboston.com, November 8, 2016, retrieved 2022-10-21^
  24. Progress Announces Acquisition of Chef Progress, 2020-09-08, retrieved 2020-09-08^
  25. The Fourth Chapter of Chef Has Arrived: Progress to Purchase Chef Chef Blog, 2020-09-08, retrieved 2020-09-08^
  26. Progress snags software automation platform Chef for $220M TechCrunch, September 8, 2020, retrieved 2020-09-29^
  27. Yogesh Gupta. Progress To Acquire Kemp Progress, 2021-09-23, retrieved 2020-11-05^
  28. Progress Completes Acquisition of Kemp Progress, 2021-11-01, retrieved 2020-11-05^
  29. Yogesh Gupta. Progress to Acquire NoSQL Database Pioneer, MarkLogic Progress, 2023-01-03, retrieved 2023-01-20^
  30. Progress Completes Acquisition of ShareFile Progress, retrieved 2024-11-01^
  31. Chris Mellor. Progress snaps up Nuclia for agentic RAG tech Blocks and Files, 2025-07-03, retrieved 2025-07-31^
  32. Progress ups front-end & back-end developer tools - CW Developer Network www.computerweekly.com^
  33. Adrian Bridgwater. Progress Teaches Chatbots To Talk Forbes, March 20, 2018, retrieved 4 September 2018^
  34. Progress: Pennsylvania automates IT processes and modernizes human services systems www.americancityandcounty.com^
  35. Progress Adds Support for React and Vue in Newest Release of Kendo UI September 15, 2018, retrieved 4 September 2018^
  36. Adrian Bridgewater. Progress Goes on Louder on React, Xamarin & Fluent – themed design ComputerWeekly, February 9, 2018, retrieved 4 September 2018^
  37. Progress Test Studio: Automated Testing Made Easy Telerik.com^
  38. Progress Releases New DataDirect Connector for Apache Cassandra December 12, 2016^
  39. Deploying Progress DataDirect Hybrid Data Pipeline on Amazon Lightsail - DZone Big Data dzone.com^
  40. Progress OpenEdge 11.7 Delivers New Capabilities to Strengthen Mission-Critical Business Applications Database Trends and Applications, 6 April 2017^
  41. Dan Goodin. Mass exploitation of critical MOVEit flaw is ransacking orgs big and small Ars Technica, June 5, 2023, retrieved June 15, 2023^
  42. Zach Simas. Unpacking the MOVEit Breach: Statistics and Analysis Emsisoft, 2023-07-18, retrieved 2023-11-23^
  43. CISA Service. CL0P Ransomware Gang Exploits CVE-2023-34362 MOVEit Vulnerability CISA.gov, 2023-06-07, retrieved 2023-11-22^
  44. Clop ransomware gang obtained personal data of 45,000 New York City students in MOVEit hack Engadget, June 25, 2023, retrieved 2023-07-24^
  45. Sean Lyngaas. Russian-speaking cyber gang claims credit for hack of BBC and British Airways employee data CNN, 2023-06-07, retrieved 2023-07-05^
  46. Carly Page. Ransomware gang lists first victims of MOVEit mass-hacks, including US banks and universities TechCrunch, 2023-06-15, retrieved 2023-07-24^
  47. <ref name=TelerikAcq> Progress Software Buys Telerik for $262.5M As Buying Spree Continues October 22, 2014^
  48. Progress Software buys a new front-end for its PaaS play June 12, 2013^
  49. Progress Software Corporation to Acquire NEON Systems Creating Unparalleled Data Connectivity Leader Finanzen.net, December 20, 2005, retrieved September 3, 2014^
  50. Progress Software Corporation - Annual Report 2024 retrieved December 30, 2025^
  51. Timothy Prickett Morgan. Red Hat snaps up open source SOAer FuseSource The Register, June 28, 2012, retrieved September 3, 2014^