The software field guide 25 companies 71 products
Who builds the software you use every day?
SoftwareLore profiles the world’s most influential software: what each product does, when it launched, and the companies and founders who built it.
PopularJiraFigmaSteamFirefoxOracle DatabaseNotionCanvaDiscord
- Companies profiled
- 25
- Software profiles
- 71
- Founders
- 67
- Years of history, 1972–2026
- 54
The periodic table of software companies
Every company on SoftwareLore, numbered by founding date and colored by what it builds. Select a tile to read the full profile.
- Data & AI
- Business Software
- Design & Engineering
- Collaboration
- Developer Tools
- Security & Infrastructure
- Games
- Internet & Community
- 01 1972 SAP Business Software
- 02 1977 Oracle Data & AI
- 03 1982 Autodesk Design & Engineering
- 04 1983 Intuit Business Software
- 05 1991 Epic Games Games
- 06 1996 Zoho Business Software
- 07 1996 Valve Games
- 08 2000 JetBrains Developer Tools
- 09 2002 Atlassian Collaboration
- 10 2003 Palantir Data & AI
- 11 2004 ServiceNow Business Software
- 12 2005 Automattic Internet & Community
- 13 2005 Mozilla Internet & Community
- 14 2006 HubSpot Business Software
- 15 2007 MongoDB Data & AI
- 16 2007 Dropbox Collaboration
- 17 2009 Cloudflare Security & Infrastructure
- 18 2011 CrowdStrike Security & Infrastructure
- 19 2012 Canva Design & Engineering
- 20 2012 Figma Design & Engineering
- 21 2012 Discord Internet & Community
- 22 2012 Snowflake Data & AI
- 23 2013 Databricks Data & AI
- 24 2013 Notion Collaboration
- 25 2014 GitLab Developer Tools
Software by category
From design tools to databases, each category page explains what the software does and who competes in it.
-
05
Design & Creative
Interface design, graphic design, illustration and visual collaboration tools.
Affinity · Canva · FigJam · Figma
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05
3D, CAD & Engineering
Computer-aided design, building information modeling, 3D animation and product engineering.
AutoCAD · Autodesk Fusion · Autodesk Maya · Revit
-
13
Productivity & Collaboration
Workspaces, wikis, file sharing, e-signatures and async video for teams.
Confluence · DocSend · Dropbox · Dropbox Sign
-
04
Project Management
Tools to plan, track and ship work, from kanban boards to agile issue trackers.
Jira · Trello · GitLab · Notion
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16
Developer Tools
IDEs, programming languages, source control, DevOps platforms and serverless runtimes.
Bitbucket · Cloudflare Workers · GitLab · GitLab Duo
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07
Databases
Relational, in-memory and document databases that store and serve application data.
MongoDB · MongoDB Atlas · MySQL · Oracle Database
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15
Data & AI Platforms
Cloud data warehouses, lakehouses, analytics engines and enterprise AI platforms.
Apache Spark · Databricks Data Intelligence Platform · MLflow · Palantir AIP
-
06
Cloud & Infrastructure
Cloud computing, content delivery and the network services the internet runs on.
Cloudflare CDN · Oracle Cloud Infrastructure · 1.1.1.1 · Cloudflare One
-
05
Cybersecurity
Endpoint protection, zero trust networking, threat intelligence and privacy tools.
1.1.1.1 · Cloudflare One · CrowdStrike Falcon · Cloudflare CDN
-
09
ERP, HR & Operations
ERP suites, HR platforms and IT service management for running an organization.
NetSuite · SAP S/4HANA · SAP SuccessFactors · ServiceNow AI Platform
-
05
CRM & Marketing
Customer relationship management, marketing automation and email marketing.
HubSpot Marketing Hub · HubSpot Smart CRM · Mailchimp · Zoho CRM
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07
Finance, Accounting & Tax
Bookkeeping, tax preparation, expense management and personal finance.
Credit Karma · QuickBooks · SAP Concur · TurboTax
-
06
Games & Game Engines
Game engines, PC gaming storefronts and the multiplayer games that define them.
Counter-Strike 2 · Dota 2 · Epic Games Store · Fortnite
-
05
Communication & Community
Chat, voice, email and online community platforms.
Discord · Thunderbird · Tumblr · Zoho Mail
-
04
Browsers & Web Publishing
Web browsers, content management systems and e-commerce for the open web.
Firefox · WooCommerce · WordPress · Tumblr
Every software profile, and who makes it
C
D
S
Five decades of software companies
From SAP’s founding in 1972 to GitLab in 2014, see how the software industry took shape.
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
A reference guide, not a ranking
SoftwareLore explains where software comes from. Every profile is built from sources you can check, dated so you know how current it is, and free of paid placements, affiliate links and sponsored rankings.
Questions about SoftwareLore
What is SoftwareLore?
SoftwareLore is an independent reference site that profiles influential software products and the companies behind them. Each profile explains what the software does, when it was released and how it is priced, along with who founded the company that makes it, who runs it today and how it has changed over time.
How is SoftwareLore different from a software review site?
SoftwareLore does not rank products, sell leads or accept payment for coverage. Profiles focus on verifiable facts such as release dates, founders, ownership and business models, so readers can understand where a product comes from before comparing it with the alternatives listed on each page.
How are SoftwareLore profiles researched?
Profiles are compiled from primary sources such as company websites, investor relations materials and official announcements, and cross-checked against established reference works and reputable news coverage. Every profile lists its sources and shows the date it was last reviewed.
Why are companies numbered like elements?
The company index is laid out like a periodic table. Each company receives a number based on its founding date, starting with the oldest, and a two-letter symbol. Tiles are colored by sector, so companies that build similar kinds of software are easy to spot.