Progress Software

Progress Software Corporation is an American enterprise software company headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. The company supplies development platforms, application infrastructure, data-management technologies, integration tools, observability products, file-transfer systems, user-interface components, and other software used by organizations to create and operate business applications. Its portfolio serves both developers and IT operations teams, with products spanning application development, data connectivity, content management, application performance and network monitoring, DevOps automation, managed file transfer, cybersecurity-related infrastructure, and digital experience. The business began in 1981 under the name Data Language Corporation. It was founded by several MIT graduates, including Joseph W. Alsop, Clyde Kessel, and Chip Ziering. The company’s early focus was a development environment and database-oriented application platform intended to make business software easier to build and deploy across different computing systems. In 1984, Data Language released the first commercial version of PROGRESS Application Development Environment for Unix. A version for MS-DOS followed in 1985, extending the product to personal-computer environments. By 1987, the company had expanded PROGRESS to computer networks and systems including Digital Equipment Corporation’s VAX/VMS platform and CTOS/BTOS. That year it adopted the name Progress Software Corporation, aligning the corporate identity with its principal product. Progress’s historical significance comes from its role in the development of fourth-generation and low-code-oriented business application technologies. OpenEdge, the successor platform associated with the original PROGRESS product family, combines application-development capabilities with database and deployment functions. It has been used by independent software vendors and businesses to maintain and modernize long-lived transactional applications. Rather than relying only on a single application suite, Progress has broadened its portfolio through organic development and acquisitions, adding products aimed at web development, testing, content management, data connectivity, observability, networking, automation, and secure file exchange. Its product family has included Telerik and Kendo UI for software-interface development; Test Studio for application testing; Sitefinity for content management and digital experience; Fiddler for web debugging and traffic inspection; DataDirect for data connectivity; Corticon for business rules and decision automation; and MarkLogic for data management. The company has also offered or owned technologies such as Kemp LoadMaster for application delivery and load balancing, Flowmon for network monitoring, Chef and Opsani/Opsmith-related capabilities for DevOps automation, and Podio for work and collaboration management. In the secure file-transfer area, Progress has marketed MOVEit, WS_FTP, ShareFile-related offerings, and related automation products such as Automate MFT. Portfolio composition can change as the company acquires, integrates, renames, or divests products. Progress operates internationally and has maintained offices in multiple countries. Its customers include enterprises, public-sector organizations, software vendors, and technology teams that require dependable application infrastructure, data movement, integration, monitoring, and development tools. The company’s positioning is primarily business-to-business: it sells software that often sits underneath or alongside customer-facing applications rather than functioning as a mass-market consumer brand. The company also became closely associated with the 2023 MOVEit Transfer vulnerability and the resulting global data-theft campaign. The incident affected organizations that used vulnerable versions of the file-transfer software, including companies and government bodies. The event highlighted the systemic…

Progress Software originated in 1981 as Data Language Corporation, established by MIT graduates including Joseph W. Alsop, Clyde Kessel, and Chip Ziering. Its initial objective was to create software that allowed organizations to develop business applications more efficiently across multiple computer environments. The company’s first commercial product was the PROGRESS Application Development Environment for Unix, released in 1984. A version for MS-DOS followed in 1985, broadening the platform’s reach beyond Unix installations. During the second half of the 1980s, the product was adapted for networked computing and additional enterprise platforms. By 1987, PROGRESS supported computer networks as well as VAX/VMS and CTOS/BTOS environments. In the same year, Data Language Corporation changed its name to Progress Software Corporation, reflecting the growing importance of its principal software platform. The original PROGRESS technology developed into the OpenEdge family, an application-development and database platform used for business systems and independent software products. Progress built its long-term position around the needs of enterprise developers and software vendors that required application infrastructure capable of supporting transactional workloads, database access, deployment, and modernization of established systems. Over time, Progress expanded beyond its original development platform. Its portfolio came to include data-connectivity products such as DataDirect, web and interface-development tools under Telerik and Kendo UI, testing software such as Test Studio, web-debugging technology through Fiddler, content-management capabilities through Sitefinity, and business-rules technology through Corticon. The company also added products in data management, monitoring, networking, DevOps, collaboration, and secure file transfer. Products associated with this broader portfolio have included MarkLogic, Kemp LoadMaster, Flowmon, Chef, Podio, MOVEit, WS_FTP, and Automate MFT. Some products have been acquired, integrated, renamed, or otherwise repositioned over the company’s history. Progress’s modern business is therefore a collection of enterprise software franchises rather than a single application. Its products are used to build applications, connect systems and databases, automate delivery processes, monitor infrastructure, manage content, exchange files, and support operational or developer workflows. The company serves customers internationally and has maintained offices in numerous countries while retaining its corporate headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts. A major event in the company’s recent history was the 2023 exploitation of a vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer. The vulnerability enabled unauthorized access to data held by organizations using affected versions of the file-transfer product. Public reporting identified more than 2,500 impacted organizations by October 2023, with affected entities including businesses and public-sector institutions. The incident placed Progress and its customers at the center of a global cybersecurity response involving patches, investigations, notifications, litigation, and regulatory scrutiny. Despite the incident’s importance, Progress continues to operate as an enterprise software company whose principal strategy is to provide tools for developing, integrating, securing, and managing business applications and data.

1. 2023MOVEit Transfer exploitation

   A vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer is exploited in a broad data-theft campaign affecting organizations worldwide.

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2. 1987Company adopts the Progress Software name

   The company changes its name from Data Language Corporation to Progress Software Corporation and reports support for networks, VAX/VMS, and CTOS/BTOS systems.

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3. 1985MS-DOS version released

   The PROGRESS platform is extended to MS-DOS, expanding its availability across computing environments.

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4. 1984First commercial PROGRESS release

   Data Language introduces the first commercial version of the PROGRESS Application Development Environment for Unix.

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5. 1981Data Language Corporation is founded

   Joseph W. Alsop, Clyde Kessel, Chip Ziering, and other MIT graduates establish the company that would become Progress Software.

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A business-to-business enterprise software provider focused on application development, data connectivity, integration, observability, automation, secure file transfer, and application infrastructure.

• OpenEdgeApplication development and database platform

  OpenEdge is the modern product family descended from Progress’s original PROGRESS platform. It provides tools for building, deploying, and managing business applications, together with database and application-server capabilities. The platform is particularly associated with transactional business systems and independent software vendors that maintain long-lived applications while adding newer interfaces, integrations, and deployment models.

• MOVEitManaged file transfer

  MOVEit is a managed file-transfer platform designed to control, automate, audit, and secure the exchange of files between people, applications, and organizations. It is used for recurring operational transfers and sensitive business data flows. The product became the subject of a major cybersecurity incident in 2023 after a vulnerability in affected versions was exploited by attackers.

• Telerik and Kendo UIDeveloper UI and web-development tools

  Telerik and Kendo UI provide interface components, frameworks, and development tools for creating web, desktop, and cross-platform application experiences. They are aimed at professional developers who need reusable controls, data visualization, grids, forms, and other building blocks for enterprise software interfaces.

• DataDirectData connectivity

  DataDirect is Progress’s data-connectivity portfolio. Its technologies help applications connect to relational databases, cloud data services, and other data sources through drivers and integration components. The products are intended to simplify access to heterogeneous data environments used by enterprise applications and analytics systems.

• MarkLogicData platform

  MarkLogic is a data-platform technology designed to manage complex, varied, and highly connected information. It has been used for applications that require flexible data models, search, metadata handling, and governance across large information collections. Within Progress’s portfolio, it extends the company’s reach from application tooling into enterprise data management.

• SitefinityContent management and digital experience

  Sitefinity is a content-management and digital-experience platform for organizations that publish websites, manage structured content, and deliver digital experiences. It is positioned for business and marketing teams while providing the integration and extensibility expected in enterprise web environments.

• FiddlerWeb debugging and application diagnostics

  Fiddler is a web-debugging proxy and application-traffic inspection tool. Developers and quality teams use it to observe, record, and troubleshoot HTTP and HTTPS communication, helping diagnose performance, connectivity, and application behavior problems during development and testing.

• CorticonBusiness rules and decision automation

  Corticon provides business-rules and decision-automation capabilities. It enables organizations to express operational policies separately from core application code, allowing business decisions to be changed, governed, and executed more systematically in enterprise workflows.

• Kemp LoadMasterApplication delivery and load balancing

  Kemp LoadMaster is an application-delivery and load-balancing product family. It helps distribute traffic across application servers, improve availability, and support resilient delivery of business services across data-center and cloud environments.

• Test StudioSoftware testing

  Test Studio is a software test-automation product intended to help teams validate web and application behavior. It supports repeatable testing activities and is part of Progress’s broader developer-tool portfolio.

• 2023Emergency response to MOVEit vulnerabilityOther

  A vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer was exploited in a large-scale campaign against organizations using the file-transfer software.

  What changed. Progress disclosed the vulnerability, issued remediation guidance and software fixes, and supported affected customers in investigating and responding to potential exploitation.

  Aftermath. The incident led to widespread customer notifications, forensic reviews, litigation, and regulatory attention, while making secure managed file transfer a prominent cybersecurity concern.

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• 2023MOVEit Transfer data-breach campaignControversy

  Attackers exploited a vulnerability in affected versions of Progress’s MOVEit Transfer software to access data held by numerous customer organizations. Public reporting identified more than 2,500 affected organizations by October 2023, including private companies and public institutions. The incident generated extensive customer response activity, investigations, litigation, and regulatory consequences.

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1. Progress Software
2. Progress Software official website