WhereIsAtlas · Software

Borland

The company behind Turbo Pascal and Delphi, which beat Lotus in court over Quattro Pro, renamed itself Inprise and back, and finished as a product line inside OpenText

Defunct — Borland Software Corporation was an American software company founded in 1983 and best known for Turbo Pascal, Sidekick, Quattro Pro and Delphi. It was one of the "Big Four" of personal computer software in the 1980s, alongside Lotus, Ashton-Tate and Microsoft. Its spreadsheet business went to Novell in 1994, its developer tools went to Embarcadero Technologies in 2008, and the remaining company was bought by Micro Focus for $75 million in 2009. On 5 April 2015 Borland ceased to exist when Micro Focus completed the integration of the Attachmate Group and folded its products into the wider portfolio. Micro Focus itself was acquired by OpenText in 2023, which is where the Borland products now sit. Delphi, the product Borland launched in 1995, is still sold by Embarcadero.

Borland began as two companies on two continents. Borland Ltd. was founded in Denmark in August 1981 by three Danish developers — Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen and Mogens Glad — to write software for the CP/M operating system. Selling into the United States required an American company, so in 1983 they formed one in California with Philippe Kahn, a French-born engineer who had just moved to Silicon Valley, as chairman, president and chief executive [1].

The company's first product was Turbo Pascal in 1983, written by Anders Hejlsberg, who had developed the compiler sold in Scandinavia as Compas Pascal and later became the architect of Microsoft's C# language. Sidekick followed in 1984, an early terminate-and-stay-resident utility for MS-DOS that put a calculator, notebook and calendar on screen without leaving the current program [1].

Borland grew quickly enough to be taken public on London's Unlisted Securities Market in 1986, with a first American flotation in 1989 and a second offering in 1991. Fiscal 1987 revenue was $29.2 million with pretax earnings of $4.7 million, and by then the company was competing directly with Lotus and Ashton-Tate [1]. Forrester Research grouped Borland, Lotus, Ashton-Tate and Microsoft as the "Big Four" of personal computer software [1].

The 1990s were a long expansion followed by a longer contraction. Borland bought Ashton-Tate in September 1991 in an all-stock deal, acquiring the dBASE and InterBase databases. The merger is generally judged to have gone badly: dBASE had no Windows version ready, most product lines were discontinued, and the consolidation of support and development offices was costly. Microsoft bought the dBASE clone FoxPro in 1992 and shipped Access, undercutting Borland's prices [1].

The most consequential decision of the decade was a product Borland launched in 1989. Quattro Pro, the spreadsheet begun by Adam Bosworth and his team, put Borland in direct competition with Lotus 1-2-3 — and in 1990 Lotus sued. A dispute about menus became the software copyright case of the era (see the article below), and it ended in January 1996 with a 4–4 Supreme Court tie that left the First Circuit's ruling in Borland's favour standing but set no national precedent [1][2].

In October 1994 Borland sold Quattro Pro, along with rights to sell up to a million copies of Paradox, to Novell for $140 million in cash, repositioning itself around its own development tools and the InterBase database engine [1]. Novell's own entry in this registry records the figure as $145 million; contemporaneous accounts differ, and the usable fact is the direction of travel rather than the exact total. Novell had bought WordPerfect earlier the same year and was assembling an applications business to rival Microsoft's; that gamble failed, and WordPerfect and Quattro Pro were sold on to Corel in 1996.

Philippe Kahn resigned as chairman, chief executive and president in January 1995 after twelve years, having disagreed with the board about the company's direction. He remained a director until November 1996. The company he left still had one great product in it: Delphi 1, the rapid application development environment, shipped in 1995 under Hejlsberg's leadership, and Delphi is the reason the Borland name is still recognised today [1].

What followed was a decade of reorganisation. In April 1998 Borland International announced it had become Inprise Corporation, a name devised by a branding consultancy to suggest "integrating the enterprise". The change went badly: many customers concluded that Borland had gone out of business. In November 2000 the company announced it would revert, and on 2 January 2001 it completed the return to Borland Software Corporation, with its Nasdaq symbol changing from INPR back to BORL [1].

Borland then made one last attempt at scale in application life-cycle management, and the attempt is what broke the company up. On 8 February 2006 it announced the divestiture of its integrated development environment division — Delphi, JBuilder, InterBase and the rest — and on 14 November 2006 it placed those products in a wholly owned subsidiary called CodeGear. On 7 May 2008 it announced the sale of CodeGear to Embarcadero Technologies for an expected $23 million, plus $7 million in CodeGear receivables it retained. The acquisition closed on 30 June 2008 for approximately $24.5 million [1][3].

The rump was too small to stay independent. On 6 May 2009 Borland announced it would be acquired by the British firm Micro Focus International for $75 million, at $1.50 a share; shareholders approved on 22 July 2009 and the deal closed that month. Borland was estimated to have about 750 employees at the time, against a 2008 revenue of $172 million [1][4].

Borland's corporate life ended quietly. On 5 April 2015 Micro Focus announced it had completed the integration of the Attachmate Group, whose merger had closed in November 2014, and that the Borland products would form part of the Micro Focus portfolio. In 2023 Micro Focus itself was acquired by the Canadian company OpenText, which absorbed the Borland portfolio into its application delivery management division [1].

The two halves of Borland then had very different afterlives. The tools business, sold to Embarcadero in 2008, became part of Idera, Inc. in October 2015, and Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio are still developed and sold under the Embarcadero name [3].

One claim worth stating precisely. Borland is often remembered as a company that "lost" to Microsoft, and in the desktop applications market that is broadly right — Ashton-Tate's dBASE and the Quattro Pro spreadsheet both faded, and Microsoft Office became the standard. But Borland won its most famous legal fight outright. The Supreme Court's tie in 1996 left the First Circuit's holding in place: the Lotus menu command hierarchy was an uncopyrightable "method of operation" [2].

Timeline

  1. Aug 1981 — Borland Ltd. is founded in Denmark: Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen and Mogens Glad set up the company to write CP/M software. (Denmark)
  2. 1983 — The American company: Borland Inc. is formed in California, with Philippe Kahn as chairman, president and chief executive. (California)
  3. 1983 — Turbo Pascal: The company's first product ships; it was written by Anders Hejlsberg.
  4. 1984 — Sidekick: An early terminate-and-stay-resident utility for MS-DOS puts a calculator, notebook and calendar on screen.
  5. 1986 — Listed in London: The company joins the Unlisted Securities Market, followed by a first US flotation in 1989. (London)
  6. 1989 — Quattro Pro: The spreadsheet that puts Borland in direct competition with Lotus 1-2-3 is launched.
  7. 2 Jul 1990 — Lotus sues: Lotus Development files a copyright claim in the District of Massachusetts over the Quattro Pro menu structure. (Boston)
  8. Sep 1991 — Ashton-Tate: Borland buys Ashton-Tate in an all-stock deal, taking on dBASE and InterBase.
  9. Oct 1994 — Quattro Pro goes to Novell: Borland sells the spreadsheet, and rights to a million copies of Paradox, to Novell for $140 million in cash.
  10. Jan 1995 — Kahn leaves: Philippe Kahn resigns as chairman, chief executive and president after twelve years.
  11. 1995 — Delphi 1: The rapid application development environment ships under Anders Hejlsberg.
  12. 16 Jan 1996 — The Supreme Court divides: The court affirms the First Circuit's ruling for Borland by an equally divided vote, leaving no national precedent. (Washington, D.C.)
  13. Apr 1998 — The name becomes Inprise: Borland International announces its new name; many customers assume the company has closed.
  14. 2 Jan 2001 — The name comes back: The company completes its return to Borland Software Corporation, and its Nasdaq symbol returns to BORL.
  15. 14 Nov 2006 — CodeGear: The developer tools group, including Delphi and JBuilder, becomes a wholly owned subsidiary.
  16. 30 Jun 2008 — Delphi changes hands: Embarcadero Technologies closes its purchase of CodeGear.
  17. Jul 2009 — Micro Focus buys Borland: Micro Focus acquires the company for $75 million, or $1.50 a share.
  18. 5 Apr 2015 — Borland ceases to exist: Micro Focus completes the Attachmate integration, folding the Borland products into its own portfolio.
  19. Oct 2015 — Embarcadero joins Idera: The owner of Delphi becomes a division of Idera, Inc.
  20. 2023 — OpenText: OpenText acquires Micro Focus and absorbs what remains of the Borland portfolio.

Quick facts

Founded
1983 in California as Borland International (a Danish predecessor, Borland Ltd., dates to August 1981)
Founders
Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn
First product
Turbo Pascal, 1983, written by Anders Hejlsberg
Also known for
Sidekick (1984), Quattro Pro (1989), Delphi (1995)
"Big Four"
Borland, Lotus, Ashton-Tate and Microsoft, per Forrester Research
Revenue, fiscal 1987
$29.2 million, with pretax earnings of $4.7 million
Ashton-Tate
bought in September 1991 in an all-stock transaction
Quattro Pro
sold to Novell in October 1994 for $140 million in cash (some accounts say $145 million)
The lawsuit
Lotus filed on 2 July 1990; the Supreme Court affirmed for Borland by an equally divided court on 16 January 1996
Name change
Inprise Corporation from April 1998, reverted to Borland Software Corporation on 2 January 2001
Developer tools
moved to CodeGear in November 2006
CodeGear sale
announced 7 May 2008 to Embarcadero Technologies, closed 30 June 2008 for about $24.5 million
Micro Focus
bought Borland for $75 million, completed July 2009
Defunct
5 April 2015, when Micro Focus completed the Attachmate integration
Current owner of the portfolio
OpenText, which bought Micro Focus in 2023
Delphi today
still sold by Embarcadero, a division of Idera since 2015

Lineage — where the name went

A software house that started in a Danish flat and ended as a product line inside OpenText: the tools it built, the spreadsheet it lost, and the two companies that carried Delphi away.

  1. 1983 — Philippe Kahn founded Borland Software Corporation (with Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen and Mogens Glad)
  2. 1983 — Niels Jensen founded Borland Software Corporation (one of the three Danish co-founders)
  3. Philippe Kahn served under Borland Software Corporation (chairman, president and chief executive until January 1995)
  4. 1983 — Anders Hejlsberg created Turbo Pascal (the compiler Borland bought and sold as its first product)
  5. 1983 — Borland Software Corporation created Turbo Pascal (the company's first product)
  6. 1984 — Borland Software Corporation created Sidekick (an early DOS terminate-and-stay-resident utility)
  7. 1989 — Borland Software Corporation created Quattro Pro (the spreadsheet that provoked the case)
  8. 1990 — Lotus Development created Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland International (filed on 2 July 1990 in the District of Massachusetts)
  9. 1996 — Borland Software Corporation defeated Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland International (the Supreme Court affirmed by an equally divided court)
  10. 1996 — Borland Software Corporation defeated Lotus Development (the case left the First Circuit's ruling for Borland standing)
  11. 1994 — Borland Software Corporation sold Quattro Pro (sold to Novell with rights to a million copies of Paradox)
  12. 1994 — Novell acquired Quattro Pro (reported at $140 million in cash by Borland's own history)
  13. 1995 — Borland Software Corporation created Delphi (the RAD environment built under Anders Hejlsberg)
  14. 1995 — Anders Hejlsberg created Delphi (led the project before leaving for Microsoft)
  15. 1998 — Borland Software Corporation rebranded as Inprise Corporation (announced in April 1998; the name reverted in January 2001)
  16. 2006 — Borland Software Corporation spun off CodeGear (the tools division became a wholly owned subsidiary)
  17. 2008 — Embarcadero Technologies acquired CodeGear (closed 30 June 2008 for about $24.5 million)
  18. 2008 — Embarcadero Technologies acquired Delphi (the product line that came with CodeGear)
  19. 2009 — Micro Focus acquired Borland Software Corporation ($75 million, completed in July 2009)
  20. 2015 — Idera, Inc. acquired Embarcadero Technologies (announced in October 2015)
  21. 2023 — Micro Focus merged into OpenText (Micro Focus and its portfolio were absorbed by OpenText)

Entities in this tree: Borland Software Corporation (company, 1983); Philippe Kahn (person); Niels Jensen (person); Turbo Pascal (product, 1983); Anders Hejlsberg (person); Sidekick (product, 1984); Quattro Pro (product, 1989); Lotus Development (company); Novell (company); Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland International (event, 1996); Delphi (product, 1995); Inprise Corporation (company, 1998); CodeGear (company, 2006); Embarcadero Technologies (company); Idera, Inc. (company); Micro Focus (company); OpenText (company)

Sources

  1. Borland — Wikipedia (2026-09-20) ↩
  2. Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland International, Inc. — Wikipedia (2026-09-20) ↩
  3. Embarcadero Technologies — Wikipedia (2026-09-20) ↩
  4. Micro Focus buys Borland Software for $75 million — InfoWorld (2026-09-20) ↩
  5. Lotus Development — Wikipedia (2026-09-20)
  6. Novell — Wikipedia (2026-09-20)

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