MathSoft

MathSoft was a mathematical and technical software company founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1984 by Allen Razdow and David Blohm. Its products addressed the needs of students, engineers, scientists, educators, and other professionals who needed to express, document, calculate, and communicate mathematical work in software. The company became best known for Mathcad, a technical calculation application designed around the visual presentation of equations in a form resembling conventional mathematical notation. Mathcad differentiated itself from many programming-oriented engineering tools by allowing users to enter equations, text, units, computed results, and graphs within a worksheet-style environment. This made calculations easier to read and review than code-based numerical programs, while still supporting the numerical and graphical work required in engineering and technical disciplines. Mathcad was used for calculations, design documentation, analysis, and the communication of engineering assumptions and results. Alongside Mathcad, MathSoft developed StudyWorks, a group of interactive mathematics and science education products aimed at middle-school and high-school students. These products extended the company’s activity beyond professional engineering software into educational technology. MathSoft also developed enterprise-oriented capabilities for managing and distributing technical calculations, including the Mathcad Calculation Server. The company promoted calculation management as a way to structure, document, share, and govern engineering calculations across an organization. MathSoft underwent a major corporate restructuring in 2001. Its Engineering & Education Products Division was sold to its own management team and continued as a privately held company under the name MathSoft Engineering and Education, Inc. The remaining MathSoft business, which retained the statistical software activities, shut down its FreeScholarships.com division and changed its corporate name to Insightful Corporation. Insightful subsequently developed statistical and data-analysis products including S-Plus and StatServer. This separation effectively divided the MathSoft name and product heritage between a professional engineering-software business and a statistical-software successor. MathSoft Engineering and Education continued developing and selling Mathcad and the Mathcad Calculation Server after the 2001 transaction. In April 2006, Parametric Technology Corporation acquired MathSoft Engineering and Education for approximately $62 million. At the time, the business was reported to have approximately $20 million in annual revenue, 130 employees, and operations in seven countries. Mathcad subsequently continued as a product of PTC. MathSoft therefore no longer operates as an independent company, but its principal product legacy survives through the continuing development and marketing of Mathcad under PTC.

MathSoft was established in 1984 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Allen Razdow and David Blohm. From its beginning, the company focused on software that applied computing to mathematics, science, engineering, and education. Its central product became Mathcad, a technical calculation application that let users write equations in a natural mathematical style and connect those expressions directly to numerical results, units, and graphs. The worksheet-oriented approach was intended to make technical calculations both executable and understandable, particularly for engineers and other professionals who needed to preserve the reasoning behind a result. The company also pursued the education market through StudyWorks, a series of interactive mathematics and science products for middle-school and high-school students. This gave MathSoft a portfolio spanning professional engineering tools and educational software. Over time, the Mathcad line expanded beyond individual desktop calculation into organizational use. MathSoft developed the Mathcad Calculation Server, an enterprise product for sharing and managing technical calculations, and promoted calculation management as a discipline involving the structured design, documentation, distribution, and governance of engineering work. A significant change occurred in 2001, when MathSoft reorganized its businesses. The Engineering & Education Products Division was sold to its own management team and became the privately held MathSoft Engineering and Education, Inc. That company retained responsibility for Mathcad and related engineering and education offerings. The remaining MathSoft corporation kept its statistical software activities, discontinued its FreeScholarships.com division, and changed its name to Insightful Corporation. Insightful went on to develop statistical and data-analysis products including the S-Plus statistical analysis platform and StatServer. The restructuring thus ended MathSoft as a unified operating company while preserving different parts of its technology portfolio in separate corporate entities. MathSoft Engineering and Education continued operating as a specialist engineering-software company after the separation. Its principal commercial focus remained Mathcad, supported by server and calculation-management capabilities. The products were aimed at making calculations more accessible across engineering organizations, including teams that needed to review, reuse, and control technical computations rather than keep them as isolated files or undocumented personal work. In April 2006, Parametric Technology Corporation acquired MathSoft Engineering and Education for approximately $62 million. Contemporary descriptions of the transaction characterized the acquired business as having approximately $20 million in annual revenue, 130 employees, and operations in seven countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. After the acquisition, Mathcad continued as a PTC product. MathSoft’s independent corporate identity consequently became defunct, but its most important product brand and its approach to engineering calculation remained active within PTC’s software portfolio.

• 2006

  MathSoft Engineering and Education is acquired by PTC

  [1]Mathsoften.wikipedia.org

  Parametric Technology Corporation acquired MathSoft Engineering and Education for approximately $62 million, bringing Mathcad into the PTC portfolio.

• 2001

  Engineering and education division is separated

  [1]Mathsoften.wikipedia.org

  The Engineering & Education Products Division was sold to its management team and continued as MathSoft Engineering and Education, Inc.

• 2001

  Remaining corporation becomes Insightful Corporation

  [1]Mathsoften.wikipedia.org

  The remaining MathSoft business retained statistical software, closed its FreeScholarships.com division, and adopted the name Insightful Corporation.

• 1984

  MathSoft is founded in Cambridge

  [1]Mathsoften.wikipedia.org

  Allen Razdow and David Blohm founded MathSoft in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to develop mathematical and technical software for education and professional use.

• 1984

  Mathcad becomes the principal professional product

  [1]Mathsoften.wikipedia.org

  MathSoft developed Mathcad as a worksheet-based technical calculation application using readable mathematical notation, computed results, and graphs.

MathSoft positioned its software around readable mathematical notation, integrated calculation and visualization, engineering documentation, and the structured sharing and management of technical calculations. Its best-known professional offering was intended to bridge handwritten engineering mathematics and conventional computer-based numerical tools.

• Technical calculation software

  Mathcad

  Mathcad was MathSoft’s flagship technical calculation application. It allowed users to enter equations in a visual form resembling conventional mathematical notation and connect those equations with text, units, computed results, and graphs. The product was designed for engineers, scientists, students, and other technical professionals who needed both numerical capability and readable documentation. Its worksheet model helped users preserve the relationship between assumptions, formulas, and results, distinguishing it from tools centered primarily on programming or opaque numerical output. Mathcad later continued as a product under Parametric Technology Corporation and PTC.

• Engineering calculation management software

  Mathcad Calculation Server

  The Mathcad Calculation Server was an enterprise-oriented offering for sharing and managing technical calculations across an organization. It extended Mathcad’s individual worksheet model toward collaborative and governed engineering use, supporting the company’s broader concept of calculation management. MathSoft presented calculation management as a structured practice for designing, documenting, distributing, and controlling engineering calculations rather than treating them as isolated desktop files.

• Mathematics and science education software

  StudyWorks

  StudyWorks was a series of interactive mathematics and science education packages developed for middle-school and high-school students. The line represented MathSoft’s education-focused business and complemented its professional engineering products. It used interactive software to support learning in mathematical and scientific subjects, although the available reference material does not specify the individual editions, distribution history, or later product status.

• 2006

  Sell MathSoft Engineering and Education to PTCM&A

  Background

  MathSoft Engineering and Education remained focused on Mathcad and calculation-management software after the 2001 separation.

  Action taken

  Parametric Technology Corporation acquired the company for approximately $62 million.

  Aftermath

  Mathcad continued as a PTC product, ending MathSoft Engineering and Education’s independent corporate ownership.

  Acquisition price. $62 million (April 2006)

  Source

• 2001

  Separate the Engineering & Education Products DivisionStrategy

  Background

  MathSoft reorganized its activities by separating the engineering and education business from the remaining corporation, which retained statistical software operations.

  Action taken

  The division was sold to its own management team and became the privately held MathSoft Engineering and Education, Inc. The remaining corporation closed FreeScholarships.com and renamed itself Insightful Corporation.

  Aftermath

  MathSoft Engineering and Education continued developing Mathcad and related products, while Insightful pursued statistical and data-analysis software under the S-Plus and StatServer brands.

  Source

• 2006

  Parametric Technology Corporation acquires MathSoft Engineering and Education[1]Mathsoften.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Parametric Technology Corporation acquired MathSoft Engineering and Education for approximately $62 million. Mathcad and related technical-calculation products subsequently became part of PTC’s product portfolio.

• 2001

  MathSoft restructures and separates its engineering and education business[1]Mathsoften.wikipedia.org

  Other

  MathSoft sold its Engineering & Education Products Division to the division’s management team. The separated business became MathSoft Engineering and Education, while the remaining MathSoft corporation retained the statistical software business, closed FreeScholarships.com, and adopted the name Insightful Corporation.

1. 1Mathsoften.wikipedia.org