Rocket Software
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Andy Youniss, Johan Magnusson Gedda |
| Headquarters | Waltham, Massachusetts , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Milan Shetti (CEO) |
| Products | Software solutions for IBM Z, IBM Power Systems, embedded database environments; predictive analytics; AI; machine learning; mobile and web applications |
| Owner | Bain Capital (controlling interest since 2018) |
| Website | rocketsoftware |
Rocket Software is a privately owned software development company established in 1990. The firm specializes in creating software solutions for IBM Z, IBM Power Systems, and embedded database environments. Its offerings include predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning features, as well as mobile and web-based applications. Rocket’s product portfolio supports a variety of platforms such as mainframe, IBM z/OS, IBM i, UNIX, and Windows, enabling access to non-SQL data through standard SQL queries. The company serves diverse sectors including finance, banking, healthcare, government, insurance, aerospace, automotive manufacturing, and retail.
Since 1994, Rocket has maintained a strategic alliance with IBM, beginning with licensing the Rocket QMF tools. In 2018, private equity firm Bain Capital acquired a controlling interest in the company. Rocket Software’s headquarters are located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States.
History
Rocket Software was founded in Boston in 1990 by entrepreneurs Andy Youniss and Johan Magnusson Gedda with an initial focus on IBM DB2 tools. Over more than thirty years, the company has grown both organically and through acquisitions such as Zephyr, Shadow, Aldon, D3, ASG Technologies (2021), Zumasys database products (2021), Uniface (2021), BOS (2022), Key Resources (2023), and OpenText’s Application Modernization and Connectivity (AMC) division in 2024.
The 2018 investment by Bain Capital valued Rocket at close to $2 billion. Since November 2021, Milan Shetti has served as CEO following founder Andy Youniss’s tenure. Under Shetti’s leadership, the company has accelerated growth through targeted acquisitions that expanded its capabilities in enterprise information management, mainframe security, data integration, and application modernization.
The acquisition of AMC for $2.28 billion finalized in May 2024 increased Rocket’s revenue by 60% and grew its customer base to more than 12,500 organizations globally. Leveraging its extensive product range and worldwide presence, Rocket continues to strengthen its position across critical industries.
In June 2022, Rocket launched version 4.3.0 of ASG-Enterprise Orchestrator (AEO), a DevOps value stream orchestration platform designed to accelerate innovation delivery. The company’s business approach focuses on integrating acquired technologies to provide comprehensive enterprise solutions that offer a competitive edge.
Reception
Since 2013, Rocket has been regularly listed in Database Trends and Applications magazine’s annual “DBTA 100,” which highlights influential companies in the data sector.
In 2017, former CEO Andy Youniss was honored with the New England Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and received a Leadership Award from Boston nonprofit Lovin' Spoonfuls, recognizing his strategic vision and leadership accomplishments.
That same year, Rocket earned the Ellucian Growth Partner of the Year award for its support of Ellucian’s migration to cloud services and SaaS licensing models, demonstrating Rocket’s contribution to digital transformation initiatives within higher education IT.
In 2020, Rocket was included among Inc.’s list of America’s 1,000 Largest and Most Inspiring Private Companies, reflecting notable growth and market impact.
In 2023, Rocket received a Bronze Merit Award for Technology in Software and Apps and was named Insider Threat Detection Platform of the Year at the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards, underscoring its strength in cybersecurity innovation.
In 2024, the company won the Intellyx Digital Innovator Award and was once again featured in DBTA’s Top 100 Companies That Matter Most in Data list, confirming its sustained innovation leadership and significant market presence.
External links
- Rocket Software on GitHub
- Articles with short description
- Software firms located in Massachusetts
- IT consulting companies in the United States
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- United States software companies
- Companies founded in Massachusetts in 1990
- Software firms founded in 1990
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- American companies established in 1990
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