Softonic.com is a web portal based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was founded in June 1997 and is owned by Softonic International.
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Type of site | Software hosting service |
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Available in | Arabic, German, English, Spanish, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese |
CEO | Fiona Garvey |
Revenue | $25 to $50 million (USD) per year[citation needed] |
Subsidiaries | |
URL | en |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Not required |
Launched | 1997 |
Current status | Online |
History
editSoftonic started in 1996 as a file-oriented download service called Shareware Intercom,[1] at Intercom Online (Grupo Intercom), a provider of Internet services in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Files came from the "Files Library Intercom BBS" at Intercom Online, using a "5-step semi-automated process".[2] The company also offered monthly CDs of its software library.[3] In 1999, the service was described by El Tiempo as having a "generosity of games, antiviruses, education and the long, seductive et cetera."[4] In 2000, the company became independent under the name Softonic.[5]
In 2004, Softonic was made available in German, and in 2005, English.[6] Initially, the service was oriented only to downloads of DOS and Windows software,[7] but it eventually had software downloads for Mac and mobile platforms.
In 2013, Partners Group acquired 30% of the shares, paying more than 82 million euros.[8][9] At the end of 2014, Softonic announced that a headcount reduction procedure would be carried out as a cost-cutting measure, allegedly due to financial and organizational reasons. In December, the company formalized the dismissal of 156 employees.[10]
Softonic's "Softonic Downloader" was described by their CEO Scott Arpajian as having "facilitated bad behaviour amongst third party vendors which ended up harming the user", with malicious links impersonating the downloader itself. He said that the Downloader "grew revenue but was under the microscope as far as the industry was concerned, in particularly Google", who went on to withdraw its advertising from the site in 2014.[11]
Arpajian said that shutting down the Softonic Downloader was one of the first things he had done when he took over the company in February 2015, and that his intention was to regain the trust of the site's users.[11]
In February 2015, Softonic announced that and Download.com co-founder Scott Arpajian had been appointed as CEO of Softonic, replacing founder Tomás Diago.[12]
In July 2016, Softonic announced a partnership with business software platform Crozdesk.[13]
In May 2017, the company announced that it had hired international executive Sophie Bernard as Vice President of Strategy.[14]
In October 2019, Softonic acquired Ghacks. The site's founder and editor, Martin Brinkmann, along with the writing team, retained editorial control over the content. Softonic assumed responsibility for administrative tasks, including domain management, hosting, advertisements, and partner communications.[15]
In 2020, Softonic launched Revamp, a technology to increase publishers' advertising revenue.[16]
In 2021, Fiona Garvey was appointed as CEO.[17][18]
In 2022, the company grew 34%,[19][17] amounting to over €26 million.[20][21][22]
In 2024, Softonic acquired Appvizer, a business-to-business software recommendation platform. Appvizer is known for its recommendation algorithms and clients like Factorial, Monday.com, and Salesforce.[23][24]
References
edit- ^ "Shareware". Intercom.es. Archived from the original on 2000-10-21.
- ^ "Backstage" (in Spanish). Shareware.Intercom.es. Archived from the original on February 21, 1999.
- ^ "CDROMs Softonic". Softonic.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2000.
- ^ "Enredados (Tangled)" (in Spanish). Spain: El Tiempo. December 19, 1999. (English tr.).
- ^ "About pmiiumima". Softonic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
- ^ "About Softonic". Softonic.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2005.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Shareware.intercom" (in Spanish). shareware.intercom.es. Archived from the original on December 24, 1997.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Partners compra el 30% de Softonic por 82,5 millones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
- ^ Martínez, Jesús (2014-10-28). "Softonic, auge y caída de uno de los 'unicornios' españoles de internet". El Blog Salmón (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-26.
- ^ "Softonic acuerda con la plantilla 156 despidos, frente a los 207 planteados". 18 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Q&A with Softonic's CEO Scott Arpajian: from desktop software juggernaut to 'mobile first' restart". 9 September 2015.
- ^ "Softonic Names Scott Arpajian New CEO".
- ^ "Crozdesk announces partnership with Softonic to help millions of businesses find the right software".
- ^ "Softonic hires Sophie Bernard as Vice President of Strategy".
- ^ Brinkmann, Martin (October 7, 2019). "Ghacks has a new owner, and that is good for everyone". ghacks.net. Softonic. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "How publishers can amplify ad revenues with AMP". Media Makers Meet. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ a b "Visión y trayectoria". Forbes España (in Spanish). 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Fiona Garvey nueva CEO de Softonic - ProgPublicidad". El Programa de la Publicidad (in Spanish). 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Softonic CEO: 'Having a female leader promote other female leaders has driven our success'". www.managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Softonic aumentó sus ingresos un 34% en 2022 gracias a la diversificación de sus productos". eleconomista.es. 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Softonic eleva un 34% sus ingresos hasta los 26,6 millones en 2022". Forbes España (in Spanish). 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Softonic vuelve a despegar". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "La tecnológica Softonic adquiere el medio de comunicación especializado Appvizer". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Softonic entra en el segmento B2B con la compra de la francesa Appvizer". EXPANSION (in Spanish). 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-08-16.