How it All Began, Who We are and Where We're Going

Having been involved in computers and technology at a young age (first computer: Commodore PET when the Commodore PET was THE computer to have), it was only fitting that one day Nessoft’s founder Pete Ness would be running his own software company. Since junior high he has loved to tinker with software, but it was not until faced with a serious crisis (difficulty connecting to an online Quake game) that he put his skills to more serious use. Out of this need, Nessoft was born.

In 1997, Pete wrote what we now call PingPlotter so that he could send his ISP graphical data of where the problems were within their network. As a subscriber to one of the first cable Internet rollouts, he was having chronic connection issues, but could not get the cable company to even admit these network problems existed, much less fix them. To prove both the problems and their origin, Pete wrote PingPlotter. What was needed was an innovative way to not only traceroute, but to combine whois, traceroute and ping graphically. He also needed the ability to save off the proof. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Out of this need came PingPlotter. Initially free, it wasn’t long before feature requests started rolling in, and PingPlotter started gaining features and requiring more development time. In 1998, PingPlotter was released as Shareware to help offset the rising time, development and hosting costs. PingPlotter was (and still is) unique in its ability to graphically show in an easy and intuitive manner where a problem lies along a network connection’s path.

Today Nessoft, LLC is no longer a one-man show, though Pete is the backbone, lead developer and in general overall driving force behind the company. Whereas PingPlotter had a few thousand downloads its first month of availability, it now has tens of thousands monthly. MultiPing (introduced in December 2003) and PingPlotter Pro (introduced December 2005) have further expanded the capabilities of Nessoft products.

One thing that has not been lost, and will continue to be Nessoft's primary focus, is the customer. One way that we demonstrate this is in how we answer support requests. We constantly strive to understand the *real* question that is asked, and help get to the root of any problem rather than answering a question "just enough" to be able to close a support case. Even as we grow, Nessoft, LLC takes pride in remaining a grassroots company in our hearts. We listen carefully to our customers, striving to understand and serve their changing needs. We never forget who keeps us in business.

Nessoft, LLC is a company dedicated to providing robust, easy-to-use, quality software to computer users worldwide. Throughout the company, there is an emphasis and dedication to innovation and superior customer service. We are proud of our company and its customer-driven culture. We are excited about the future.