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Versata
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware
Founded1989
FounderKevin Fletcher Tweedy
Naren Bakshi
Headquarters
Austin, Texas
,
United States
Key people
Randall Jacops, president and chief executive officer
ParentTrilogy, Inc.
Websitewww.versata.com

Versata is a business-rules based application development environment running in Java EE. It is a subsidiary of Trilogy, Inc.

History

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Early years (1991–2000)

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This company was founded in 1991 with the name Image Innovations; Naren Bakshi was co-founder and president, and they sold a development tool set named Image Application WorkBench that worked with Plexus Software's imaging platform.[1]

In 1997, the company name changed to Vision Software.[2] They sold a small suite of software: Vision Builder for accelerated coding;[3] and Vision StoryBoard Pro for creating software documentation.[4] In 1998, their flagship product was a Java development tool named Vision JADE.[5]

In January 2000, the company changed names again, this time to Versata, and their E-Business Automation System had three components: Versata Logic Server to host business rules written in Java, Versata Studio for developing the business rules, and Versata Connectors for connecting the logic server to IBM database servers.[6]

Public company (2000–2006)

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They went public in March 2000 during the dot-com bubble, raising about $94 million and reaching a market capitalization of over $2.5 billion despite reporting just $13 million in revenue and a $21 million loss in the prior year.[6][7]

In November 2000, Versata expanded into the business workflow area with the acquisition of Verve, Inc. and its workflow management system by the same name.[8]

From early 2001 through mid-2003, Versata's revenues were in quarter-over-quarter decline until Alan Baratz took over as CEO. Five consecutive quarters of growth followed until early 2005, when revenues once again took a downward plunge. In mid-2005, the company was notified by NASDAQ that it no longer met NASDAQ's requirements for continued listing, related to maintenance of a minimum amount of shareholder's equity, market value, or net income. Rather than continue to focus on these requirements, the company decided to move to the OTC (also known as the Pink Sheets) in order to remain publicly traded.

Private subsidiary of Trilogy, Inc.

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In January 2006, Austin-based Trilogy, Inc. acquired the company and took it private.[9] Trilogy then proceeded to merge portions of Trilogy, specifically, Trilogy Technology Group, into Versata and began acquiring further companies, reorganizing dramatically and offshoring most technical positions to its office in Bangalore, India[dubious – discuss].

From 2006 to 2008, Versata continued to make acquisitions mostly in US. Most of the employees in the acquired companies were laid -off with the majority work being offshored to its India office in Bangalore[dubious – discuss].

In early 2009, Versata made another major overhaul of its business model when it asked all its employees in India to work as contractors through oDesk for a gDev which is an entity incorporated by Trilogy to manage its outsourcing activities. The only employees left in Versata were the ones in US.[10][11][12]

A jury in the Eastern District of Texas awarded Versata Software $139m following its decision that SAP infringed two of Versata's patents - U.S. Patent No. 6,553,350 and U.S. Patent No. 5,878,400. Sam Baxter, Ted Stevenson, Scott Cole and Steve Pollinger of McKool Smith represented Versata on this case. iRunway India Private Limited and NTrak LLC were the technical consultants and provided end-to-end litigation support to McKool Smith.[13][14] The case has been rumbling on for a couple of years now, hinging on Versata-owned patents that cover mechanisms for pricing products. In January 2011, the judge in the case set aside the damages award, and ordered a new trial on damages.[15]

In June, 2010, Versata filed an antitrust complaint against SAP AG. It alleges that SAP illegally excluded Versata from selling to vast majority of large ERP customers.[16] [17]

Acquisitions

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As a subsidiary of Trilogy, Inc., Versata Enterprises acquired numerous companies:

Versata Enterprises Acquisitions
Date (YYYY-MM) Acquired company Notable products Current ESW business unit
2006-07 Artemis International Solutions Artemis (software)[18] Aurea Software (rebranded Aurea Planning Solutions); Artemis Finland is under IgniteTech since 2019
2007-08 Gensym[19] G2 development platform IgniteTech since 2015
2007-09 Nextance[20] Contract Insight and Nextance Author contract management solutions; Nextance Intellectual Property Optimization Suite Versata
2008-02 NUVO Network Management[21] Network management services
2008-03 TenFold[22] EnterpriseTenFold SOA, a service-oriented architecture-enabled development platform IgniteTech
2008-05 Clear Technology[23] ClearPATH and Tranzax insurance case-handling software
2008-05 Evolutionary Technologies International (ETI) ETI•EXTRACT suite of data integration products[24] IgniteTech since 2015 (folded into Acorn)
2009-02 AlterPoint[25] NetworkAuthority network management software IgniteTech since 2019
2009-08 Everest Software[26] Everest suite of e-commerce business management software IgniteTech since 2019
2010-01 PurchasingNet[27] eProcurement and ePayables IgniteTech since 2019
2010-09 Metatomix[28] Metatomix data integration platform Versata
2013-06 Ignite Technologies[29] IgniteLIVE, Media Portal, and Ignite CDS for digital media publishing and delivery IgniteTech
2013-09 Latis Networks dba StillSecure[30] Safe Access network access control appliance Versata
2015-10 Quantum Retail Technology[31] Q supply chain and inventory software Versata
2015-12 Compressus[32] Compressus MEDxConnect patient data software Versata
2016-03 EPM Live from Upland Software[33] EPM Live IgniteTech since 2019
2018-05a Symphony Commerce[34] Commerce-as-a-service provider Versata

a Symphony Commerce was acquired by Quantum Retail, which is owned by Versata.

References

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  1. ^ Booker, Ellis (June 1, 1992). "4GL development tool targets images". Computerworld. p. 61. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  2. ^ "U.S. Trademark Serial No. 74616757". United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO. 1994-12-30. Retrieved 2025-04-13.
    View Documents tab’s Trademark Documents to view correspondence that indicates first use on July 1, 1996.
  3. ^ O'Brien, Bob (April 22, 1996). "Vision Builder May Start Fires". InfoWorld. Archived from the original on May 11, 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  4. ^ Chandak, Ramesh; Chandak, Purshottam (1997). Web Programming With Microsoft Tools 6 in 1. Indianapolis: Que Corporation. pp. 176–177. ISBN 0-7897-1215-6. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  5. ^ Grehan, Rick (June 1998). "Javatalk: Rapid Java Development". Byte Magazine. pp. 109–110. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b Zeichick, Alan (May 1, 2000). "IBM Extends VisualAge for E-Business". SD Times. p. 19. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  7. ^ "IPO Report: AsiaInfo Holdings, Versata lead the post-Palm pack". MarketWatch. March 3, 2000. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025.
  8. ^ Rubinstein, David (December 15, 2001). "Versata Looks to Rule in J2EE Environments". SD Times. No. 44. p. 12. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Sale of Versata, Inc. Finalized" (Press release). January 23, 2006. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  10. ^ "gDev". codesion.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-19. Retrieved 2010-07-15. Outsourcing
  11. ^ "gDev". www.gdev.com/. Outsourcing 2.0
  12. ^ "gDev profile on oDesk". www.odesk.com/. oDesk's Largest Provider of Job Openings
  13. ^ "Providing backroom support- iRunway". The Economic Times. 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2011-05-04. as technical consultants, they helped a firm win the fourth-largest patent jury verdict in the US
  14. ^ "Versata Wins $138 Million Patent Infringement Suit Against SAP America". IPToday. 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2011-05-04. The jury found that SAP infringed on U.S. Patent No. 6,553,350 B2, issued in 2003, and U.S. Patent No. 5,878,400
  15. ^ "Versata wins patent case against SAP". TheRegister. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-08-27. Versata saps $139m out of SAP.
  16. ^ "Versata makes antitrust complaint against SAP". Financial Times. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-06-30. one of the first "dominance" complaints in the IT sector against a European company.
  17. ^ "VERSATA FILES EU COMPLAINT AGAINST SAP FOR ABUSING DOMINANCE". Versata Inc. 2010-06-29. Archived from the original on 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2010-07-15. Versata seeks remedies so it can compete on the merits of its products
  18. ^ Hoover's Guide to the Top Texas Companies 2009. Austin, Texas: Hoover. 2008. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-57311-131-7. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Gensym Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Privately Held Versata" (Press release). August 13, 2007. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008.
  20. ^ "Versata Acquires Privately Held Nextance". Bloomberg. September 18, 2007. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012.
  21. ^ "UPDATE: NUVO acquired for $17.65M". Ottawa Business Journal. December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016.
  22. ^ "TenFold Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Privately Held Versata" (Press release). March 24, 2008. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025.
  23. ^ O'Donnell, Anthony (May 13, 2008). "Versata Acquires Clear Technology". InformationWeek. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  24. ^ "Versata buys Evolutionary Technologies International". Austin Business Journal. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  25. ^ Dubie, Denise (February 25, 2009). "Versata Enterprises acquires AlterPoint". Network World. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009.
  26. ^ "Versata Enterprises Acquires Everest Software" (Press release). August 7, 2009. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010.
  27. ^ "Versata Enterprises Acquires PurchasingNet, Inc" (Press release). January 14, 2010. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010.
  28. ^ "Versata Enterprises Acquires Metatomix, Inc" (Press release). September 7, 2010. Archived from the original on November 4, 2010.
  29. ^ "M&A Deal Summary: Versata Enterprises Acquires Ignite Technologies". Mergr. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  30. ^ Orans, Lawrence (December 12, 2013). "Magic Quadrant for Network Access Control" (PDF). Gartner. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  31. ^ "Quantum Retail Acquired by Versata" (Press release). October 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 13, 2025.
  32. ^ "Versata Enterprises Acquires Compressus". FinSMEs. December 28, 2015. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  33. ^ "Versata Acquires EPM Live From Upload Software" (Press release). March 14, 2016. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  34. ^ "Quantum Retail Technology, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Symphony Commerce" (Press release). May 17, 2018. Archived from the original on December 5, 2024.
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