Micro Focus
British enterprise software company known for COBOL, application modernization, software delivery, and IT operations products.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Micro Focus was a British multinational enterprise software and information-technology company founded in 1976 by Brian Reynolds in Notting Hill, London. It became one of the most prominent commercial suppliers of COBOL development and runtime technology for microcomputers and later built a much broader portfolio through acquisitions. Its products were aimed at organizations that needed to maintain, modernize, secure, test, and operate large estates of business applications, including systems running on mainframes, Unix, Windows, and distributed infrastructure. The company’s early importance came from CIS COBOL, a standards-compliant COBOL implementation for microcomputers. In 1981, Micro Focus became the first company to receive the Queen’s Award for Industry specifically for the development of a software product. COBOL remained an important part of the company’s identity, but its scope expanded substantially after the business acquired or combined with other software vendors. The 1998 acquisition of Intersolv and the purchase of XDB Systems temporarily placed the business within the Merant structure. Micro Focus was separated from Merant in 2001 and subsequently returned to the public markets through a London Stock Exchange listing in 2005. During the 2000s and 2010s, Micro Focus assembled a wide range of enterprise technologies. Acucorp and Liant added COBOL, PL/I, and related application-development products; NetManage and Attachmate strengthened terminal emulation and connectivity; Borland and Serena expanded application lifecycle management, testing, DevOps, and software delivery; and the Attachmate transaction brought the Novell, NetIQ, and SUSE product families, including ownership of the Unix operating system. In 2017, Micro Focus completed the combination of its business with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s software segment, greatly increasing its scale and customer base. The enlarged portfolio was organized around application delivery, hybrid IT management, security, information governance, mainframe and COBOL modernization, and digital transformation. The company primarily served large enterprises, public-sector bodies, financial institutions, telecommunications providers, and other organizations dependent on long-lived business systems. Its strategy emphasized enabling customers to preserve existing investments while connecting or gradually modernizing established applications rather than replacing every legacy system outright. Micro Focus experienced significant strategic and financial pressure after the HPE software combination. In March 2018, the company warned that revenue would decline sharply; its shares fell substantially and chief executive Chris Hsu resigned. Micro Focus later sold SUSE to EQT for approximately US$2.535 billion and continued to dispose of or consolidate parts of its portfolio. In 2020 it acquired Turkish cybersecurity company ATAR Labs, adding another element to its security offering. OpenText announced an agreement to acquire Micro Focus in August 2022 in a transaction valued at approximately US$6 billion. The transaction received court approval in January 2023 and completed on 31 January 2023. Micro Focus therefore ceased to operate as an independent listed company and became part of OpenText. In 2023, OpenText announced the divestiture of its Application Modernization and Connectivity division to Rocket Software; that transaction completed in May 2024 and included the COBOL business associated with Micro Focus’s original product heritage.
History
Micro Focus was established in 1976 by Brian Reynolds in Notting Hill, London. Its early business centered on bringing COBOL development to microcomputers. The company’s CIS COBOL product was designed as a standards-compliant implementation and earned the Queen’s Award for Industry in 1981, making Micro Focus the first company recognized by that award solely for developing a software product. The business expanded through acquisitions and corporate reorganizations. In 1998 it acquired Intersolv, an applications-enablement company, for approximately US$534 million, and also acquired XDB Systems. The combined operation became associated with Merant. In 2001, the Micro Focus business was separated from Merant with assistance from Golden Gate Capital Partners and resumed its earlier identity. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2005. Micro Focus then broadened its COBOL and enterprise-software capabilities. Acucorp was acquired in 2007, bringing ACUCOBOL-GT. NetManage and Liant Software followed in 2008, adding connectivity, RM/COBOL, and PL/I technologies. In 2009, Micro Focus acquired Borland and the Quality Solutions portion of Compuware, strengthening its application lifecycle management and testing activities. It purchased the Orbix, Orbacus, and Artix product lines from Progress Software in 2013, and acquired Authasas in 2015 for authentication middleware. The 2014 acquisition of The Attachmate Group was a major expansion. It brought the Attachmate, NetIQ, Novell, and SUSE product families into the company and made Micro Focus the owner of Unix. Micro Focus announced the Serena Software acquisition in 2016 and completed it later that year. It also announced a combination with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s software business in 2016; the transaction completed in September 2017 and substantially increased the company’s scale. The enlarged group subsequently faced integration and performance challenges. In March 2018, Micro Focus warned that revenue would fall sharply. Its share price declined heavily and chief executive Chris Hsu resigned. The company sold SUSE to EQT in 2018 and later acquired ATAR Labs in 2020. These actions reflected an effort to simplify the portfolio while retaining businesses associated with application modernization, legacy-system support, security, connectivity, and IT operations. OpenText announced its intention to acquire Micro Focus in August 2022. Following court approval, the acquisition completed on 31 January 2023. Micro Focus’s shares ceased to represent an independent listed company and its operations became part of OpenText. OpenText later announced the sale of its Application Modernization and Connectivity division to Rocket Software. Completion occurred on 1 May 2024, transferring the COBOL-centered business that traced back to Micro Focus’s founding activities.
- 2024
COBOL business transferred to Rocket Software
[1]OpenText completed the sale of its Application Modernization and Connectivity division to Rocket Software, including the COBOL business inherited from Micro Focus.
- 2023
OpenText acquisition completed
[1]OpenText completed its acquisition of Micro Focus on 31 January, ending the company’s independent public-company status.
- 2017
HPE software combination completed
[1]Micro Focus completed its combination with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s software business.
- 2014
Attachmate Group acquisition announced
[1]The transaction brought Attachmate, NetIQ, Novell, and SUSE into the group and added Unix ownership.
- 2005
London Stock Exchange listing
[1]Micro Focus became listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- 2001
Micro Focus is separated from Merant
[1]The business was demerged from Merant and returned to the Micro Focus identity.
- 1998
Intersolv and XDB acquisitions
[1]The acquisitions expanded Micro Focus into applications enablement and relational database technology and preceded its association with Merant.
- 1981
Queen’s Award for Industry
[1]Micro Focus received the award for CIS COBOL, becoming the first company to win it specifically for developing a software product.
- 1976
Micro Focus is founded
[1]Brian Reynolds founded Micro Focus in Notting Hill, London, initially focusing on COBOL software for microcomputers.
Products and positioning
Enterprise software provider focused on preserving, connecting, securing, testing, and modernizing mission-critical applications and hybrid IT environments.
COBOL development and runtime · 1976
Micro Focus COBOL
Micro Focus COBOL was the company’s foundational product family. It provided compilers, runtime environments, development tools, and modernization support for COBOL applications running on personal computers, servers, mainframes, and distributed platforms. The portfolio was designed to let organizations maintain long-lived business systems while extending them with contemporary interfaces, deployment models, and integration technologies.
Application modernization
Enterprise Suite
Enterprise Suite was a collection of tools and runtime capabilities for modernizing and deploying large COBOL applications. It supported the migration of established workloads to newer infrastructure and helped organizations expose or integrate legacy business logic with web, service-oriented, and distributed environments. The offering represented Micro Focus’s strategy of evolutionary modernization rather than wholesale replacement.
COBOL development
ACUCOBOL-GT
ACUCOBOL-GT originated at Acucorp and became part of Micro Focus through the 2007 acquisition. It combined a COBOL compiler and runtime with extensions for graphical user interfaces and application management. Its purpose was to help developers extend existing COBOL programs with graphical front ends and deploy them across supported computing environments.
Enterprise connectivity
Attachmate
Attachmate products provided terminal emulation and connectivity between modern desktops or networks and established host systems. After the Attachmate acquisition, these technologies became part of Micro Focus’s broader hybrid-IT portfolio, supporting access to mainframe, Unix, and other legacy environments.
IT operations and security
NetIQ
NetIQ supplied tools for identity, security, systems management, and operational monitoring. Under Micro Focus, the products supported enterprise customers managing complex hybrid environments and provided capabilities complementary to the company’s application delivery and modernization software.
Application lifecycle management
Serena
Serena products expanded Micro Focus’s application lifecycle management and software delivery capabilities. They addressed development governance, release processes, configuration, and the coordination of software changes across enterprise teams. Their addition helped Micro Focus connect legacy application modernization with broader DevOps and delivery workflows.
Software development and testing
Borland
The Borland portfolio added application development, lifecycle management, and testing technologies. Micro Focus used these products to serve development organizations responsible for quality assurance and controlled delivery of enterprise software, complementing its COBOL, mainframe, and modernization offerings.
Controversies
2011
ViewNow licensing dispute
Micro Focus alleged that the New South Wales Police Force and other public agencies had installed more copies of its ViewNow software than their licenses permitted. The agencies disputed the interpretation of their licensing rights, including whether a site license allowed unlimited installations. The dispute proceeded through litigation and an audit before being settled out of court in 2012 for undisclosed amounts.
Brand decisions
2022
Agree to acquisition by OpenTextM&ABackground
Micro Focus had faced integration and performance challenges after its expansion through acquisitions and the HPE software combination.
Action taken
The company agreed to be acquired by OpenText, subject to shareholder, regulatory, and court processes.
Aftermath
The transaction completed in January 2023, ending Micro Focus’s independent corporate and stock-market presence.
Announced transaction value. Approximately US$6 billion (2022)
2018
Sell the SUSE businessStrategyBackground
Following the HPE software combination and a severe revenue warning, Micro Focus moved to refocus its portfolio.
Action taken
The company agreed to sell SUSE to EQT.
Aftermath
SUSE became independent under EQT ownership, while Micro Focus concentrated more heavily on application modernization, connectivity, security, and IT management.
Sale consideration. US$2.535 billion (2018)
2016
Combine with Hewlett Packard Enterprise softwareM&ABackground
Micro Focus pursued scale and a larger enterprise customer base by combining with HPE’s software segment.
Action taken
The parties announced the transaction in September 2016 and completed it on 1 September 2017.
Aftermath
The combination substantially enlarged Micro Focus’s product portfolio and organizational complexity.
2014
Acquire The Attachmate GroupM&ABackground
Micro Focus sought to broaden its enterprise software portfolio beyond COBOL and application tools.
Action taken
It announced a share-based acquisition of The Attachmate Group, bringing Attachmate, NetIQ, Novell, and SUSE into the combined company.
Aftermath
The transaction made Micro Focus a much broader infrastructure and enterprise-software provider and gave it ownership of Unix.
Announced transaction value. US$1.2 billion (2014)
Recent events
Reported
Micro Focus acquired Debricked[3]
Micro Focus acquired Swedish cybersecurity platform Debricked, which became part of Micro Focus’s CyberRes security division.
Reported
Smarsh completes acquisition of Digital Safe product line[4]
Smarsh announced that it had completed its acquisition of the Digital Safe product line from Micro Focus following regulatory approval.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Tarsus Distribution concludes CyberRes distribution agreement with Micro Focus[5]
Tarsus Distribution concluded a distribution agreement with Micro Focus’ CyberRes for CyberRes software solutions. The article says the agreement allows CyberRes to provide its security solutions and services to a broader market.
Reported
Smarsh announces planned acquisition of Digital Safe portfolio[6]
Smarsh announced that it will acquire Micro Focus's Digital Safe archiving and risk management portfolio, subject to customary regulatory approvals, which were expected in the first quarter of 2022.
Reported
Wipro and Micro Focus launch legacy modernisation lab with AWS[7]
Wipro partnered with Micro Focus to launch a Legacy Migration and Modernisation Lab in collaboration with Amazon Web Services. The lab is hosted at Wipro's AWS Launchpad in Parramatta, Australia, and is intended for companies in Australia and New Zealand.
Reported
Micro Focus chairman Kevin Loosemore to step down; Greg Lock to replace him[8]
Micro Focus chairman Kevin Loosemore announced that he would step down. Greg Lock will replace him as chairman.
Reported
Jury verdict favors Express Scripts in Micro Focus licensing dispute[9]
A federal jury rejected Micro Focus’s arguments in its software-license dispute with Express Scripts, and the article says the jury construed the ambiguous terms against Micro Focus and found Express Scripts’ interpretation most reasonable.
Sources10 sources
- 1Micro Focusen.wikipedia.org
- 2Micro Focus official websitemicrofocus.com
- 3Micro Focus收购Debrickedarcticstartup.com
- 4Smarsh完成对Digital Safe产品线的收购finanznachrichten.de
- 5Tarsus Distribution与Micro Focus旗下CyberRes达成分销协议it-online.co.za
- 6Smarsh 宣布计划收购 Digital Safe 产品组合prnewswire.com
- 7Wipro与Micro Focus携手AWS推出遗留系统现代化实验室equitybulls.com
- 8Micro Focus董事长Kevin Loosemore将卸任，Greg Lock接任information-age.com
- 9陪审团在Micro Focus许可纠纷中裁定支持Express Scriptsmondaq.com
- 10Wipro partners with Micro Focusbusiness-standard.com
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