Rollbase

Rollbase originated as a platform as a service (PaaS) company, founded in 2007 by Matt Robinson and Pavel Vorobiev in Saratoga, California. The venture's primary offering was a low-code development platform designed for the rapid creation of Software as a Service (SaaS) business applications. The system targeted business users, IT professionals, and web developers, enabling them to build applications through a web browser using point-and-click, drag-and-drop tools, which significantly minimized the need for traditional programming.

The company's trajectory saw a significant milestone in June 2013 when it was acquired by Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS) for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition was a strategic move for Progress to bolster its own PaaS ambitions, branded as "Progress Pacific". Rollbase's technology became a core component, providing the front-end, browser-based, drag-and-drop interface for building applications that could be deployed across public clouds, private infrastructure, or hybrid environments. Under Progress, the platform was integrated with other Progress products like DataDirect and Corticon to allow developers to build sophisticated applications capable of drawing data from various cloud and on-premise sources. The business model focused on licensing the platform to independent software vendors (ISVs) and enterprises, allowing them to accelerate their transition to the cloud and develop custom business applications efficiently.

The platform allows for the creation of an application's foundation, including objects, fields, and relationships, much like a database, either from scratch or by importing existing data models. From this foundation, Rollbase automatically generates application pages for essential functions like creating, viewing, updating, and deleting records without requiring a single line of code. Further customization is possible through a drag-and-drop page editor and the implementation of business logic using triggers. A key feature is its ability to create responsive applications that function seamlessly on both desktop and mobile devices from a single design environment. In a later development, Rollbase's journey continued when it was acquired from Progress by BC in the Cloud in May 2019, which then rebranded to Infinite Blue.

Keywords: low-code platform, no-code development, PaaS, rapid application development, SaaS development, business application builder, Progress Software, Infinite Blue, application platform as a service, drag and drop interface, model-driven development, ISV enablement, cloud application platform, enterprise applications, mobile application development, data integration, business process automation, hybrid cloud deployment, Matt Robinson, Pavel Vorobiev