Aelita Software

About Aelita Software

Aelita Software Corporation was a provider of enterprise network management software for Microsoft Windows environments. The company was founded in 1997 by Ratmir Timashev and his friend Andrei Baronov. Timashev, who was born in Ufa, Russia in 1966, had graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1990 before moving to the United States in 1992 to attend Ohio State University, from which he graduated with a Master's in Chemical Physics in 1996. While a student, he and Baronov started an e-commerce business selling computer parts online. This venture led to the creation of tools for Windows NT administrators, which quickly surpassed the e-commerce sales and prompted the formation of Aelita Software.

The company specialized in solutions for migration, security analysis, directory management, systems monitoring, and configuration recovery on Microsoft platforms like Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Active Directory, and Exchange. Its product suite included tools such as the Aelita Domain Migration Wizard, Aelita Exchange Migration Wizard, and InTrust. Aelita's business model was centered on selling software licenses to enterprise clients, helping them manage complex Microsoft infrastructures, improve security, and ensure system availability. The firm grew rapidly, achieving double-digit growth year-over-year. In 2002, with revenues at $18 million, the company accepted a $10 million venture capital investment from Insight Venture Partners to help scale the business.

By 2004, Aelita had grown to $30 million in sales and had approximately 400 employees and 3,000 customers. In March 2004, Quest Software acquired Aelita for approximately $115 million. The acquisition was a strategic move for Quest to deepen its portfolio in Microsoft infrastructure management. Aelita's products were integrated into Quest's Windows Management business unit, which was subsequently led by Timashev. Many of Aelita's management team, including Timashev and Baronov, later went on to found Veeam Software in 2006.