Ipswitch, Inc.

American IT management software developer
  • Michael Grossi, CEO[1]
  • Kevin Bisson, CFO[2]
Products
  • iMacros
  • IMail Server
  • Log Management Suite
  • MessageWay
  • MOVEit
  • WhatsUp Gold
  • WS_FTP
Number of employees
300+ (2016[3])Websiteipswitch.com

Ipswitch is an IT management software developer for small and medium sized businesses.[4] The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts[5] and has operations in Atlanta (Alpharetta) and Augusta, Georgia,[6] American Fork, Utah, Madison, Wisconsin and Galway, Ireland.[7] Ipswitch sells its products directly, as well as through distributors, resellers and OEMs in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.[7] Since 2019, Ipswitch is part of Progress Software.

History

Ipswitch's offices in Alpharetta, Georgia

Roger Greene founded Ipswitch in 1991 out of his apartment without any venture capital funding or bank financing. The company became profitable in its second year. The first product Ipswitch produced was a gateway that allowed the Novell Inc. IPX networking protocol to connect with the Internet Protocol.[8] In 1994, Ipswitch launched the IMail server, the first product available on the e-commerce site, Open Market.[9] In the mid-1990s, the company was a value-added reseller of the Spyglass Mosaic browser.[10] In 1996, the company released the beta version of WhatsUp Gold, a commercial version of an earlier shareware product, WS_Ping,[11] as well as purchasing the rights to WS_FTP.

In 2008, Ipswitch acquired the Wisconsin-based software producer Standard Networks Inc. and its product MOVEit.[12] Shortly after the acquisition, Ipswitch split its operations into three divisions, secure file transfers, network management, and messaging and collaboration.[13] The company acquired Salt Lake City-based Hourglass Technologies in 2009.[14] The following year, the company acquired the compliance system and system log analysis software producer, Dorian Software.[15] In December 2012, Ipswitch acquired the Waldorf, Germany-based performance testing company iOpus known for its product, iMacros, a web-browser extension.[16] In 2015, Ipswitch merged its network monitoring and file transfer divisions and created the PartnerSynergy program.[7] Ipswitch opened a support and operations center in Galway, Ireland in March 2016.[17] On 28 March 2019, Ipswitch signed an agreement with Progress Software Corporation, whereby Progress will acquire Ipswitch.[18] The completion of the purchase for $225 million was announced by Progress on May 1, 2019.[19]

Philanthropy

The company commits 5 percent of its profits to a variety of community investment programs, designed to support the interests of its employees.[6] In 2010, Ipswitch Inc.’s network management division claimed that the company achieved over 5,000 downloads of its WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s Toolkit in the first month of its release. Through a partnership with Trees for Life International, they planted over 5,000 trees, one for each download.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ipswitch Names Michael Grossi New Chief Executive Officer". Feb 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Wicked Local: Lexington (11 August 2017). "Lexington Ipswitch announces new VP, chief financial officer".
  3. ^ "US Tech Firm Ipswitch to Create 60 Galway Jobs". RTE News. March 15, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  4. ^ "Company overview of Ipswitch, Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  5. ^ Reddan, Fiona (March 15, 2016). "Ipswitch to Create 60 Jobs in Galway". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Bushnell, Davis (October 4, 2007). "Software Firm Hits $1 Million in Charitable Gifts". Boston.com. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Horton, Christine (March 30, 2015). "Ipswitch Merges Divisions to Create One Organisation". Channel Pro. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  8. ^ Brown, Rodney H. (September 22, 2009). "Roger Greene Bootstrapped Ipswitch, sans bank funding". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  9. ^ "IMail Server Timeline". Ipswitch. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  10. ^ Ayre, Rick; Mace, Thomas (12 March 1996). "Just Browsing". PC Mag. Ziff Davis. p. 142.
  11. ^ Andres, Steven; Kenyon, Brian; Pack Birkholz, Erik (May 5, 2004). Security Sage's Guide to Hardening the Network Infrastructure. Syngress. ISBN 9780080480831. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  12. ^ "Standard Networks Acquired by Ipswitch Unit". Milwaukee Business Journal. February 19, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  13. ^ "Ipswitch makes another tech acquisition:iOpus Software". Boston Business Journal. April 24, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  14. ^ Seiffert, Don (January 28, 2013). "Ipswitch to Boost Headcount by 30 Percent". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  15. ^ Dubie, Denise (January 26, 2010). "WhatsUp Gold buys Windows security management vendor". Networkworld. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  16. ^ Frick, Walter (April 24, 2012). "Ipswitch Continues Its Growth by Acquisition Strategy With Purchase of iOpus Software". BostInno. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  17. ^ Reddan, Fiona (March 15, 2016). "Ipswitch to Create 60 Jobs in Galway". Irish Times. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  18. ^ Dignan, Larry (March 28, 2019). "Progress acquires Ipswitch for $225 million, tops first quarter targets". ZDNet.
  19. ^ "Progress Completes Acquisition of Ipswitch, Inc". Progress Software Corporation. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  20. ^ Sharma, Anil (August 6, 2010). "Ipswitch Network Management's WhatsUp Gold Engineer's Toolkit Surpasses 5,000 Downloads". infoTech. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  21. ^ "Standard Networks acquired by Ipswitch unit". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved 21 Apr 2014.

42°28′5.4″N 71°15′44.3″W / 42.468167°N 71.262306°W / 42.468167; -71.262306