Great Plains Software

Accounting software company (1981–2001)

Great Plains Software, Inc.

Company type| Public

Traded as

| Nasdaq: GPSI[1]
Industry| Information technology
Founded| 1981; 44 years ago (1981)
Founder| Joseph Larson
Defunct| 2001 (2001)
Fate| Acquired by Microsoft
Headquarters|

Fargo, North Dakota

Area served

| United States

Key people

* Doug Burgum (president)
* Joseph Larson (director)

Number of employees

| 2,200

Great Plains Software, Inc. was an accounting software company located in Fargo, North Dakota, whose products focused on small to medium-sized businesses.[2] It was founded in 1981,[3] went public in 1997,[4] and was sold to Microsoft in 2001.[3][5][6] Prior to its acquisition, it had 2,200 employees.[2]

## History

[edit]

The company was founded in 1981 by Joseph Larson, who also served as the company's first president.[7] Doug Burgum, who later went on to become a future Governor of North Dakota and United States Secretary of the Interior, joined the company in March 1983 as a shareholder.[7] Burgum provided seed capital for the company; he bought out its other investors in early 1984 and became its new president.[8] Larson continued to serve as a company director until its acquisition.[7]

The company grew to about 170 employees by 1987,[9] and had around 290 employees by 1989.[10] It earned about $300 million in annual sales and had its IPO in 1997, after using the Internet to help it expand beyond North Dakota.[11] In 1999 the company acquired Match Data Systems, a development team in the Philippines.[12] In 2000, after several layoffs, it announced its acquisition by Microsoft for $1.1 billion.[13] The purchase was completed in 2001.[3]

Its products were rebranded "Microsoft Dynamics GP" in 2005,[6][14] part of Microsoft Dynamics 365 as of 2016.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "SEC docs".
2. ^ a b Eccher, Marino (June 1, 2011). "Part 1 of 7: Rising to the Challenge: History of Great Plains Software before merger". Fargo Forum. Forum Communications Company. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
3. ^ a b c "TECHNOLOGY; Great Plains Software Purchased by Microsoft". New York Times. Dec 22, 2000. p. Section C, Page 4 of the National edition. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
4. ^ Eccher, Marino (June 1, 2011). "Profile: Doug Burgum: Entrepreneur and philanthropist". Fargo Forum. Forum Communications Company. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
5. ^ Eccher, Marino (June 2, 2011). "Part 2 of 7: Two worlds collide: The merger of Great Plains and Microsoft". Fargo Forum. Forum Communications Company. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
6. ^ a b "Why Microsoft bought Great Plains Software". techrepublic.com. January 11, 2001. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
7. ^ a b c "N.D. software firm sold to investors". Star Tribune. March 23, 1984. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
8. ^ Gretchen Heim Olson. "Spring 2006: Doug Burgum's Prairie Fire 20 Years and Blazing". North Dakota Horizons. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016.
9. ^ Meyer, Jeff (September 4, 1987). "Great Plains Software takes great pains to protect ideals". Star Tribune. Associated Press.
10. ^ "Local resident joins software firm". Journal Gazette. August 21, 1989.
11. ^ Rich Karlgaard (September 16, 2002). "Microsoft Is Plain Crazy". Forbes.
12. ^ "Software firm has new service". The Bismarck Tribune. Associated Press. April 16, 1999.
13. ^ "Microsoft buys Great Plains Software". Associated Press. Florida Today. December 22, 2000. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
14. ^ "Great Plains Historical Timeline". msdn.com. Archived from the original on Jun 23, 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (archived snapshot, as of August 2000)

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People|

| Founders|

* Bill Gates
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* Satya Nadella (Chairman and CEO)
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* Satya Nadella (CEO)
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Estates|

* Microsoft campus
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Campaigns|

* "Where do you want to go today?" (1994)
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* 6Wunderkinder
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* VXtreme
* WebTV Networks
* Winternals Software
* Xamarin
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* AppNexus
* Yammer
* Yupi
* ZeniMax Media

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