WebMethods: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:10, 22 November 2021

Revision as of 00:05, 23 November 2021

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==History==

The company was founded in 1996 by married couple Phillip Merrick (who was chief executive) and Caren Merrick (who usedwas vice president for marketing using the name Caren DeWitt at the time) to use Web standards such as [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP) and (later) [[XML]] to allow software applications to communicate with one another in real time. This type of technology would later be referred to as "[[web service]]s". The company's first product, called the "Web Automation Server" was released in August 1996; this was later superseded by the "[[WebMethods Integration Server]]", which was the company's first product to see significant commercial use.

Initially, the founders used their savings and credit cards to keep the company operating in their house in [[Fairfax, Virginia]].<ref name="businessweek">{{Cite news |title= Phillip Merrick, CEO, Webmethods |url= http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_20/b3681088.htm |work= Business Week |date= May 15, 2000 |url-status= dead |author= David Rocks |archive-date= March 29, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160329213707/http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_20/b3681088.htm }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title= How Caren Merrick started WebMethods in her basement and helped build it to a public company that sold for $546 million |work= Mixergy |author= Andrew Warner |url= https://mixergy.com/interviews/webmethods-with-caren-merrick/ |date= June 8, 2016 |access-date= November 22, 2021 }}</ref>

By 1999 the company had clients such as [[DHL Express]], [[Dell]], [[Dun & Bradstreet]] and [[Hewlett-Packard]], and had completed several rounds of venture capital investment.<ref name="s-1">[http://ipo.nasdaq.com/edgar_conv_html/1999/11/19/15/0000950133-99-003716.html#009 webMethods, Inc. S-1 Registration Statement]</ref>

[[Mayfield Fund]] and FBR Technology Venture Partners (an arm of [[Friedman Billings Ramsey]]) were among investors.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Web Company Helps Computers Do Business With Each Other |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB928361338781494591 |work= Wall Street Journal |date= June 3, 1999 |author= Andrea Petersen }}</ref>

In March 1999 the company entered into a partnership with [[SAP AG]] to create an SAP-focused integration product called the [[SAP Business Connector]]. The company's revenue went from around $500,000 in 1997 to $14 million in 1999 and $202 million in 2001.<ref name="10K">[http://www.secinfo.com/dsvRq.4F9Uk.htm#3ki8 webMethods, Inc. 10-K Filing 3/31/01]</ref>

In February 2000, webMethods had its [[initial public offering]] (IPO) on the [[NASDAQ]] exchange.<ref name="IPO NASDAQ" /> The quick rise of its share price is given as an example of the [[dot-com bubble]].<ref>{{Cite news |title= This IPO market is nothing like late 1990s craziness |work= CNN Business |author= Paul R. La Monica |date= April 1, 2019 |url= https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/01/investing/ipo-one-day-stock-gains/index.html |access-date= November 17, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title= WebMethods Stock Shoots Up in IPO |work= The Washington Post |author= Jerry Knight |date= February 12, 2000 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2000/02/12/webmethods-stock-shoots-up-in-ipo/5a7d6f16-67ac-445f-9b01-07530533c27b/ |access-date= November 22, 2021 }}</ref>

The IPO allowed webMethods to acquire Active Software (based in [[Santa Clara, California]] in October 2000 for an estimated $1.3 billion.<ref name="internetnews">[http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/376351/WebMethods+Acquires+Active+Software.htm "webMethods Acquires Active Software"]</ref><ref name="wmActiveSoftware">{{Cite news |title= webMethods to acquire Active Software for $1.3 billion |url= http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/00/05/22/000522hnwebmethods.html |work= infoworld |date= May 22, 2000 |author= Eugene Grygo |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 8, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071208010535/http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/00/05/22/000522hnwebmethods.html |access-date= November 17, 2021 }}</ref>

Active Software had acquired Alier Inc., TransLink Software Inc. and Premier Software Technologies Inc.