Tarma Software Research

What Tarma Software Research does

Tarma Software Research Ltd is a privately held UK software developer founded in 1990 that builds Windows installer authoring tools and ancillary developer utilities. Its flagship product is InstallMate 11, a professional installer platform that generates installers for Windows desktop and server platforms (XP through Server 2025) across x86, x64, and arm64, with a differentiated fully-isolated per-user installation mode and royalty-free licensing. The company's portfolio also includes Tarma Preloader Utilities (self-extracting executables for privileged deployment), FGet (command-line downloader), GiveAccess (permission management), Uninstall CLI tool, Password Generator (using Microsoft Crypto API), an InstallMate Software Updater, and adjacent embedded-systems documentation (fischertechnik TXT 4.0 controller). All products are built on C++ and Win32 APIs, reflecting decades of deep Windows platform expertise maintained by founder David Adams through an extensive technical blog.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer model: licenses are sold via tarma.com's integrated e-commerce shop at fixed per-developer perpetual prices (InstallMate 11 at GBP 149, TPUtils at GBP 35), with free trials and free tools alongside paid offerings. Customer segments are software developers/publishers (primary), enterprise IT administrators needing privileged deployment, and security-conscious users. Distribution and marketing are entirely organic and direct — the website, the technical blog (active since 1995), SEO, and social sharing buttons serve as the company's top-of-funnel channels, with the e-commerce shop closing conversion. Tarma also offers consultancy services for installer development. No third-party resellers, app-store listings, channel partners, external investors, or acquisitions are present in the data, and the company appears to be a founder-owned micro-entity with no disclosed headcount.

Name

Tarma Software Research

Legal name

Tarma Software Research Ltd

Website

https://tarma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Tarma Software Research Ltd is a UK-based developer of Windows installer authoring software (notably InstallMate 11), serving software developers, enterprise IT administrators, and security-conscious users via direct online license sales and consultancy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Development Tools

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Release Engineering & Environment Management (BPAEAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Platform Engineering & Internal Developer Platforms (IDP) (BPAEAKAC)

Keywords

• Windows installer software
• Software deployment tools
• C++ development tools
• Windows packaging solutions
• Developer utility software

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses and Tool Sales: Tarma Software Research generates revenue primarily through direct software license sales. Products include InstallMate 11 (professional license at GBP 149 per developer) and Tarma Preloader Utilities (at GBP 35 per developer). Customers purchase licenses via the company's e-commerce shop on tarma.com. The company also offers free trials and free tools alongside paid products, with distribution via direct download from the website. Royalty-free distribution of resulting self-extracting archives is permitted with TPUtils.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tarma Software Research develops and sells Windows installer authoring software, primarily InstallMate 11, which creates professional software installers for Windows 32-bit and 64-bit desktop and server platforms. The company also offers a suite of developer utilities (FGet, GiveAccess, Tarma Preloader Utilities, Uninstall, Password Generator) and provides consultancy services for installer development. Products are sold via one-time per-developer licenses through the company's website.

Product overview

Tarma Software Research offers a suite of Windows software development and deployment tools. The core product is InstallMate 11, a professional software installer for Windows platforms. The product portfolio includes current tools (FGet file downloader, GiveAccess permission tool, Tarma Preloader Utilities, Uninstall command-line tool, Password Generator, InstallMate Software Updater) and archived products (AutoRun, HTML Cleaner, Tarma Setup, WinSizer). Previous installer products include InstallMate 7, Tarma Installer 5, ExpertInstall 3, and QuickInstall 2. The company also provides technical documentation including fischertechnik TXT 4.0 Controller programming materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• InstallMate: Professional software installer for Windows platforms supporting 32-bit, 64-bit, and ARM64 editions from Windows XP through Server 2025.

Products and services

• InstallMate 11 Professional Windows software installer authoring tool that creates installers for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows desktop and server platforms (Windows XP through Server 2025), with native support for x86, x64, and arm64 editions. Sold to software developers and publishers at GBP 149 per developer professional license.
• FGet Command-line file downloader supporting HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and FILE protocols, designed for use in installer scripts and developer automation.
• GiveAccess Utility program to set access permissions of files, folders, or registry keys, used by software developers and IT administrators for permission management.
• Tarma Preloader Utilities Converts executable programs to compressed, self-extracting archives with optional embedded administrator passwords, enabling deployment in locked-down Windows environments. Sold at GBP 35 per developer.
• Uninstall Command-line tool to uninstall programs without using Add/Remove Programs control panel, suitable for batch operations and installer scripts.
• Password Generator Windows program that generates cryptographically strong passwords in multiple formats (Letters+Digits, Base64, S/Key, Hexadecimal, Custom) with adjustable strength (40-256 bits), using Microsoft's CryptGenRandom() Crypto API.
• InstallMate Software Updater Software updater tool designed to work with InstallMate installers, enabling applications to update themselves to newer versions.
• Consultancy Services for Installer Development Professional consultancy services for installer development, offered alongside the company's software products for clients needing custom installer solutions.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Setup Factory: Setup Factory by Indigo Rose is a commercial Windows installer builder aimed at small-to-mid software developers. It competes with InstallMate in the same price tier for developers who want a GUI-driven installer authoring experience.
• NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System): NSIS is a free, open-source professional Windows installer system originally created for Winamp. It competes head-on with InstallMate for developers building Windows installers, differentiated by scripting flexibility versus Tarma's GUI-driven approach.
• CreateInstall: CreateInstall is a lightweight commercial Windows installer creation tool. It targets the same small developer and ISV market as Tarma's InstallMate, offering a similar profile of fast, customizable installers for Windows applications.
• WiX Toolset: WiX is a free, open-source toolkit for building Windows Installer (MSI) packages. It is the de facto standard for developers integrating installer authoring into build pipelines, and competes with Tarma for technically sophisticated Windows developers and enterprise teams.
• Inno Setup: Inno Setup is a widely used free, open-source Windows installer authoring tool. It targets the same developer audience as Tarma's InstallMate but competes on price (free) and a large community ecosystem, pressuring Tarma's paid product on cost.
• Advanced Installer: Advanced Installer is a commercial Windows installer authoring tool aimed at the same professional developer and IT deployment audience as InstallMate. It offers both free and paid editions and competes on similar ground — fast, customizable MSI/EXE installers for Windows desktop and server.
• Actual Installer: Actual Installer is a commercial Windows installer authoring tool for software developers, offering a comparable feature set (GUI-based installation creation, packaging, and distribution) at a similar low price tier to InstallMate.
• InstallShield (Flexera): InstallShield, owned by Flexera, is the historically dominant commercial Windows installer authoring tool. It competes directly with Tarma's InstallMate for professional Windows software developers and ISVs needing robust installation packaging, though it operates at significantly larger enterprise scale and price points.

Broad incumbents

• MSIX Packaging Tool (Microsoft): Microsoft's MSIX Packaging Tool is the platform-vendor-blessed modern packaging format for Windows desktop and Store applications. As Microsoft pushes MSIX adoption, it directly competes with traditional EXE/MSI installer authoring tools like InstallMate for new Windows application distribution.

Emerging players

• Squirrel (Squirrel.Windows): Squirrel is an open-source installation and update framework for Windows desktop apps, popular with Electron-based and modern cross-platform developers. It represents the emerging paradigm that is partially displacing traditional installer authoring tools like Tarma's InstallMate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/share?url=http%3a%2f%2ftarma.com%2f
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3a%2f%2ftarma.com%2f
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=http%3a%2f%2ftarma.com%2f

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Tarma Software Research