1987

TechGnosis forms as a consulting firm for Macintosh to VAX connectivity, and develops new software that would later become DataDirect's SequeLink product.

1988

Pioneer Software forms as an Oracle consulting group. Pioneer recognizes the need for a common interface to multiple data stores. (Note that ODBC did not exist in 1988).

1990

Pioneer creates Q+E Database Editor, a GUI query tool that can directly access multiple databases.

1991

Microsoft licenses Q+E for Excel 2, 3, 4 to enable data connectivity.

Pioneer launches OEM business strategy to help ISVs leverage database interoperability tools. Pioneer joins SQL Access Group.

1992

Microsoft works with Pioneer's Q+E API which becomes the ODBC 1.0 specification. Pioneer renames itself to Q+E Software.

1993

Q+E Software is the first non-Microsoft vendor to ship ODBC drivers at ODBC 1.0 specification level.

1994

INTERSOLV acquires Q+E Software and Q+E products are renamed to DataDirect.

1995

INTERSOLV acquires TechGnosis for SequeLink server-based data connectivity middleware spanning all enterprise databases and platforms.

INTERSOLV DataDirect partners with Microsoft to develop OLE DB standard, expanding the ODBC API to a new component architecture to access non-relational data.

1996

DataDirect partners with Sun to co-develop Java connectivity standard that becomes JDBC.

DataDirect develops and ships JDBC/ODBC Bridge for Sun to jumpstart Java acceptance. Bridge ships with original JDK.

1997

DataDirect is first vendor to release ODBC 3.0 drivers across multiple platforms. DataDirect ships new Java connectivity product - SequeLink Java Edition - as the industry's first Type 3 JDBC offering.

1998

DataDirect ships industry's first OLE DB connectivity solutions: Connect OLE DB, SequeLink OLE DB Edition, and Reflector.

Micro Focus and INTERSOLV merge under the Micro Focus Group plc. DataDirect releases industry's first JDBC 2.0 drivers.

1999

The company renames itself to MERANT, Inc. DataDirect remains a solid business unit within MERANT.

2000

DataDirect is branded by Sun as the industry's JDBC reference implementation for the J2EE platform.

DataDirect releases Type 4 JDBC drivers, completing the most robust family of JDBC drivers from Type1 - Type 4.

2001

DataDirect is the only JDBC vendor to sit on the Expert Panel for the development of the JDBC 3.0 spec.

DataDirect releases the industry's first and only suite of wire-protocol ODBC drivers, revolutionizing the ODBC architecture for speed and simplified administration.

DataDirect business unit spins off from MERANT to form privately-held, independent software vendor, called DataDirect Technologies.

2002

DataDirect Technologies becomes independent full J2EE Licensee from Sun. In addition:

DataDirect Technologies releases industry's first JDBC 3.0 drivers.

DataDirect Technologies releases industry's first suite of ADO.NET providers with 100% Managed code.

2003

DataDirect Technologies releases the industry's only complete set of components allowing Java applications to easily exchange data between XML and relational formats across all major databases, Connect for SQL/XML.

DataDirect Technologies is the first vendor to implement Windows Authentication for pure Java access to Microsoft SQL Server.

DataDirect Technologies introduces first wire protocol ODBC drivers for 64-bit applications, Connect 64 for ODBC.

DataDirect Technologies is acquired by Progress Software Company and continues operations as an independent business unit with the Progress family of companies.

2004

DataDirect Technologies wins the Omega NorthFace ScoreBoard Award for Exemplary Service for the third straight year.

DataDirect Technologies' launches Developer Center with Forums.

DataDirect Technologies releases new versions of Connect products, including 100% managed code providers for ADO.NET, support for Oracle 10g, and performance improvements.

DataDirect Technologies announces development of DataDirect XQuery, an embeddable, standards-based product that enables Java developers to access both relational and XML. data sources using a single query.

2005

DataDirect Technologies announces the release of DataDirect XQuery, the first embeddable component for XQuery that is modeled after the XQuery API for Java (XQJ).

DataDirect Technologies wins Omega NorthFace Scoreboard Award for the fourth consecutive year for exemplary customer service.

DataDirect Technologies launches the DataDirect Connect XE Product Line to support Teradata data warehouse technology, enabling users to make faster and more informed business decisions.

DataDirect Technologies releases new versions of its Connect product line for ODBC, JDBC, and ADO.NET, which offer new Performance Wizards for customized configuration, enabling software developers to build high-performance applications while speeding development, integration and deployment.

2006

Progress Software Corporation acquires NEON Systems, merging NEON with the DataDirect Technologies operating unit to extend data connectivity leadership and add mainframe integration for service-oriented architecture (SOA) and real-time event stream processing.

DataDirect Technologies releases version 3.0 of its DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET product, meeting and exceeding the latest specifications for ADO.NET 2.0, including support for the Common Programming Model and robust integration with Visual Studio 2005.

DataDirect Technologies wins fifth consecutive Omega NorthFace ScoreBoard™ Award for exemplary customer service and technical support.

DataDirect Technologies continues its XQuery leadership with the launch of DataDirect XQuery 2.0, which supports large XML documents, streaming XML technology, enhanced query optimization and support for legacy data sources.

Progress Software Corporation acquires OpenAccess Software, Inc., merging OpenAccess with the DataDirect Technologies operating unit to extend DataDirect's standards-based data access to specialized data sources and applications. OpenAccess Software, Inc. was a provider of development toolkits for rapid development of ODBC and JDBC drivers as well as ADO.NET and OLE DB providers.

2007

DataDirect Technologies announces new capabilities within its industry leading Shadow mainframe integration suite for optimizing Web services security, testing and development across a broad range of mainframe databases, business logic and screen-based applications.

DataDirect Technologies announces that its DataDirect XQuery product supports the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) XQuery 1.0, the industry standard for accessing XML data.

DataDirect Technologies extends its leadership in XML data integration with launch of new XML Converters.

DataDirect Technologies announces major new security features for its family of drivers for ODBC, JDBC, and data providers for ADO.NET to secure database access and protection of information assets across the enterprise.

DataDirect Technologies leads the commercial XQuery market with the launch of DataDirect XQuery 3.0, offering full update support for relational data, easy integration for Web services, and additional enhancements for performance and scalability.

DataDirect Technologies is named to SD Times 100 List and Winner of Database Management Systems Category.

DataDirect Technologies' DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET data providers were named a winner of the Editor's Choice Awards in the development tools category by Penton Media's SQL Server Magazine.

DataDirect Technologies introduces the DataDirect Connect64 for SSIS product, offering support for every phase of the SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) application life cycle for Sybase, Oracle, and DB2.

DataDirect Technologies wins sixth consecutive Omega NorthFace ScoreBoard Award for exemplary customer service and technical support.