Pervasive Software

Pervasive Software

Company type	Public (until 2013)
Industry	Software
Predecessor	SoftCraft
Founded	1982
Fate	Acquired by Actian Corporation in 2013
Headquarters	Austin , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Ron R. Harris (CEO), Nancy R. Woodward (Chairman), Douglas Woodward (Founder)
Products	Pervasive Data Integrator, Pervasive Data Profiler, Pervasive PSQL, DataRush
Parent	Actian Corporation (from 2013)

Pervasive Software specialized in developing software solutions such as database management systems and extract, transform and load (ETL) tools. Its principal offerings included Pervasive Data Integrator, Pervasive Data Profiler, and the Pervasive PSQL relational database management system, all designed to facilitate seamless integration among enterprise data, third-party applications, and custom-built software.

Based in Austin, Texas, the company distributed its products worldwide through a network of partners. It ventured into the cloud computing sector with its DataSolutions and DataCloud services, capitalizing on a long-established partnership with salesforce.com. In April 2013, it became part of Actian Corp. through acquisition.

History

Established in 1982 under the name SoftCraft, the company initially focused on developing the Btrieve database system. It was acquired by Novell in 1987 before spinning off as Btrieve Technologies in 1994. Two years later, it adopted the name Pervasive Software. The firm went public in 1997, raising $18.6 million during its initial public offering, with shares traded on Nasdaq under the ticker PVSW. Ron R. Harris held the CEO position, while founders Nancy R. Woodward (chairman) and Douglas Woodward were instrumental in leadership.

In 1999, Pervasive launched version 7 of Pervasive.SQL (later renamed PSQL), introducing a relational database system compliant with ACID principles.

Key acquisitions shaped its growth: in 1998, it acquired EveryWare Development, a Canadian company specializing in web tools, thereby adding Tango web development and Bolero website analytics software to its lineup. In 2003, Pervasive purchased Data Junction Corporation for about $51.7 million; this firm was known for data and application integration tools which were rebranded as Pervasive Data Integrator. The 2009 acquisition of Channelinx expanded its offerings into business-to-business data interchange services, operating under the name Pervasive Business Xchange.

By 2011, Pervasive introduced version 5 of DataRush, enhancing big data processing by integrating with the MapReduce framework used by Apache Hadoop.

The company was acquired by Actian Corporation in 2013 for $161.9 million after initial bids beginning at $154 million in 2012, representing a premium over its market valuation. This acquisition bolstered Actian’s capabilities within data management and integration sectors.

Pervasive’s strategy centered on providing embeddable data management solutions across various industries via global channels and partnerships, achieving consistent revenue growth—reporting $47.2 million for fiscal year 2010—and maintaining a strong position in data integration technology.

PSQL

Pervasive PSQL (also referred to as Pervasive.PSQL or simply PSQL, originally named Btrieve) is a database management system designed specifically for embedded applications. It is available in four editions tailored to different organizational requirements:

• PSQL Client is intended for client-server network environments when paired with PSQL Server or PSQL Vx Server.
• PSQL Workgroup caters to small teams of up to five users and supports both single- and multi-engine configurations.
• PSQL Server targets enterprise-scale deployments capable of supporting from ten up to thousands of simultaneous users across client-server and web-based applications.
• PSQL Vx Server is engineered for virtualized infrastructures running on hypervisors, delivering features such as high availability, fault tolerance, live migration capabilities, and cloud computing compatibility.

DataRush

DataRush is a dataflow parallel programming framework built on Java, aimed at optimizing big data analytics by leveraging multi-core processors and symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems. Introduced in 2006 and released commercially in 2009, DataRush facilitates scalable parallel computation to meet enterprise requirements for effective data processing and analysis.