Versata promised that companies could build software by writing down their business rules, such as how to price an item or approve an order. Its tools then produced the working program. Businesses were rushing to put their operations onto the web, and programmers were scarce. Versata, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, went public in March 2000, at the peak of the market.

Rules Apart From Code

Versata bet that business rules could be separated from code, which would let companies build and change applications faster. Its tools ran on popular Java application servers. The approach appealed to large companies with complex logic, and its software handled order processing, pricing and similar tasks. Sales depended on big projects, and those slowed sharply when tech budgets were cut.

Absorbed by Trilogy

Versata priced its IPO at $24 a share in March 2000 and listed on Nasdaq. Its shares traded well above the offer price at first, then fell steeply as the market crashed. The company cut staff and shrank for several years. In 2006 Trilogy, the Austin software company, acquired Versata. Under Trilogy, the Versata name became an umbrella for many acquired software products.

Cover: Sol Justitiae (The Judge), Albrecht Dürer. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for the judge with sun and scales (business rules).