What Serena Software does

Serena Software is a US-based enterprise software company founded in 1980 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, that historically developed Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and DevOps automation technologies for large organizations. Its core products include Serena Dimensions CM, an enterprise-class configuration and change management solution, and Serena Release Manager, which orchestrates release and deployment workflows; the company's differentiator was interoperability and integration with complex, legacy enterprise IT estates, including audit and compliance use cases. The company generated revenue through enterprise software licenses and maintenance/subscription contracts, targeting a horizontal segment of large enterprises with centralized software change governance and DevOps orchestration needs.

Following its acquisition by Micro Focus and Micro Focus's 2023 acquisition by OpenText, Serena Software now operates as a wholly-owned unit within OpenText's DevOps Cloud portfolio and is no longer an independent, publicly traded entity (its prior NASDAQ ticker SRNA is delisted). Headcount is reported in the 501-1,000 range. Go-to-market has shifted to OpenText's enterprise direct sales, cloud marketplace, and channel partner network, with subscription-based, quote-driven annual pricing. Strategic context is shaped by a long M&A history (TeamShare in 2003 for $18 million, Merant in 2004, Pacific Edge Software in 2006, and Projity in 2008) that built the original product portfolio. As of the input data, no independent AI capability, customer logos, or revenue disclosures are available for Serena as a standalone entity.

Name

Serena Software

Website

https://serena.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Serena Software, founded in 1980 and now part of OpenText, provides enterprise Application Lifecycle Management and DevOps automation tools, including Serena Dimensions CM and Release Manager, for large organizations managing complex software change and release workflows.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Platforms (HDAEAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

iBPMS (Intelligent BPM Suites) & Process Automation Suites (HDAEAHAG)

Keywords

• Application lifecycle management
• DevOps automation software
• Release management tools
• Software change management
• Enterprise ALM solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Serena Software historically generated revenue through perpetual software licenses and annual maintenance/subscription contracts for its ALM and DevOps product suite. Following integration into OpenText, products are now offered through OpenText's cloud and subscription pricing models.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Serena Software provides enterprise Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and DevOps automation software for large organizations. Its product suite includes Serena Dimensions CM for configuration and change management and Serena Release Manager for release and deployment orchestration, designed to coordinate complex software delivery, IT management, and business processes across heterogeneous enterprise environments. Following the Micro Focus and OpenText acquisitions, these products are now sold as part of OpenText's DevOps Cloud portfolio.

Product overview

Serena Software was a software company acquired by Micro Focus, which was subsequently acquired by OpenText in 2023. The source data does not contain specific information about Serena Software's individual product offerings, portfolio architecture, or how its products fit together as a platform. The data only confirms the acquisition as part of Micro Focus's acquisition history prior to the OpenText acquisition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Serena Dimensions CM Enterprise-class configuration management and change management solution that provides centralized software change governance, audit trails, and cross-platform support for large organizations running complex software development and deployment workflows.
• Serena Release Manager Release and deployment management product for enterprise DevOps workflows, providing automated release orchestration across complex IT environments to coordinate software delivery at scale.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OpenTextcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023In 2023, OpenText acquired Micro Focus, which had previously acquired Serena Software. Serena products now operate as part of OpenText's DevOps Cloud portfolio, enhancing OpenText's enterprise software delivery capabilities.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• ServiceNow App Engine: ServiceNow offers workflow, DevOps, and IT service management platforms that overlap with release orchestration and enterprise change management where Serena competes. As a broader enterprise platform, it is a broad incumbent rather than a pure ALM specialist.
• Microsoft Azure DevOps: Azure DevOps provides a complete ALM suite including Boards, Repos, Pipelines, and Test Plans, competing with Serena Dimensions CM and Release Manager as part of Microsoft's broader enterprise cloud platform.
• BMC Software (Helix/Remedy): BMC offers enterprise IT service management and DevOps tooling through its Helix platform, overlapping with Serena's IT process automation and change management capabilities for large enterprises.

Direct peers

• GitLab: GitLab is a leading DevOps platform combining source code management, CI/CD, and security scanning. It directly competes with Serena's ALM and release automation capabilities for enterprise software delivery teams.
• Atlassian: Atlassian provides Jira, Bitbucket, and related ALM/DevOps tools directly competing with Serena Dimensions CM and Release Manager in enterprise software development and lifecycle management workflows.
• JFrog: JFrog provides artifact management, DevSecOps, and software supply chain security tooling. It overlaps with Serena's release management and deployment orchestration use cases for enterprise CI/CD pipelines.
• PTC Codebeamer: Codebeamer by PTC is an Application Lifecycle Management and requirements management platform serving complex engineering and enterprise software organizations, directly comparable to Serena's ALM product positioning.
• GitHub (Microsoft): GitHub offers Git-based source control, Actions for CI/CD, and project management tooling, competing with Serena Dimensions CM and the broader enterprise ALM market with strong cloud-native positioning.
• CloudBees: CloudBees is an enterprise DevOps and CI/CD platform built on Jenkins, targeting large organizations with complex release pipelines—directly comparable to Serena Release Manager in scope and customer profile.
• Digital.ai: Digital.ai (formerly CollabNet VersionOne) provides enterprise DevOps, agile planning, and release orchestration tools, with product overlap to Serena's release management and ALM capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SerenaSoftware
• Facebookfacebook.com/serena.software
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/serena-software

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Serena Software