BitRock

BitRock was established in 2003 in Seville, Spain, by co-founders Daniel Lopez Ridruejo and Erica Brescia. The company specialized in creating tools for software installation and packaging, addressing the complexities of deploying software across multiple operating systems. Brescia, who took on the role of CEO, brought business and sales experience from her time at T-Mobile and Chekiang First Bank, while Lopez provided the technical foundation. Their complementary skill sets were instrumental in the company's development.

A significant milestone for BitRock was the creation of BitRock InstallBuilder, a development tool for building cross-platform installers for desktop and server software. This commercial product allowed developers to create a single installer for various platforms like Windows, Linux, macOS, and Solaris, which supported applications written in numerous languages, including Java, PHP, and C++. The installers were designed to be smaller and faster than Java-based alternatives because they didn't require a Java runtime environment. InstallBuilder also featured an auto-update function to streamline patch management for end-users.

Building on their packaging expertise, BitRock sponsored and launched the Bitnami project, which provided a free library of pre-packaged installers, virtual machines, and software stacks for popular open-source web applications like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla!. The goal of Bitnami was to make open-source software more accessible to a broader audience, including those without deep technical skills, by simplifying the setup process. In February 2010, the company expanded its offerings with Bitnami Cloud Hosting, a service that simplified the deployment of these software stacks on Amazon EC2. The business model evolved to include the Bitnami Enterprise Catalog, a commercial version of the library with added features like vulnerability scanning and automatic updates, and Stacksmith, a tool for creating custom application packages. On May 15, 2019, VMware announced its acquisition of Bitrock, including its two main properties, Bitnami and InstallBuilder, to enhance its multi-cloud strategy.

Keywords: cross-platform installer, software packaging, application deployment, Bitnami, BitRock InstallBuilder, multi-cloud, open source software, software stacks, virtual machines, cloud hosting, Daniel Lopez Ridruejo, Erica Brescia, VMware acquisition, software development tools, application packaging, server software, desktop software, enterprise software, patch management, automated updates