Y Soft is founded in Brno, Czech Republic  on August 31. Vaclav and Martin and a couple of others began this journey as part of a student project at Masaryk University. After a few failed projects, the company received a key order for an appliation that enabled someone to authenticate at a printer using a card reader. Thereafter, all development focused in this area.

 

Introduction of SmartQ, software designed to control the printing and copying process; the predecessor of YSoft SAFEQ.

SmartQ was, at the time, the only system that enabled businesses to charge for print services. 

Now our application renamed as YSoft SAFEQ and has a logo that would be known for years to come. 

The next external terminal, Terminal Professional, had an integrated proximity card reader and a large touch screen. Well, at the time we thought it was pretty large.

 

Now multifunction devices (MFDs) were available with open APIs; our first embedded terminal was released.

Still, we were selling a lot of external terminals. It was time to install an official production line. 

Our success was getting known in the Czech Republic. Vaclav received the Ernst & Young "Emerging Entreprenuer of the Year" award.

Those that know the underlying tech behind YSoft SAFEQ will remember this one: The Remote Server (RS) is launched; a predecessor to what became the Offline Remote Spooler (ORS).

In other words, SAFEQ provided businesss that had offices around the world with one centralized print management system that could report on print activity at any office. 

Our first USB Card Reader is announced. Now that our software was integrated into print devices a standalone card reader was needed.

Y Soft expanded to Japan, Israel and Dallas, Texas.

Our office in Texas, is in a suburb of Dallas called Grapevine. Did you know that Grapevine TX was at one time a sister city to Brno? There is a large population of Czechs living in the area (not all are YSofters.)

YSoft SAFEQ Terminal Ultralight and now Professional Terminal is in color!

Hardware remains a crucial part of our business. Even in 2020, it represents appromixately 25% of our overall revenue. Turns out, there is more hardware in our future.

The next generation of color external terminals. 

Vaclav receives a few more awards: Technology Entrepreneur in the Czech Republic and Entrepreneur of the Year for the South Moravian region. (Brno is located in this region.)

 

An office in Miami, Florida helps establish relationships with partners in Central and South America. 

As the number of customers increase, a significant investment is made in expanding Quality Assurance. 

YSoft SAFEQ 4 is introduced with revolutionary features such as Print Roaming, Private Cloud and Mobile Printing.

We move into our new Brno headquarters. The building's exterior is the result of a student design competition. Both the exterior and interior is designed to foster creativity and a satisfying work environment.

We acquired Equitrac Systems of Australia which is now YSoft Australia; and established an office in Dubai.

With these new offices, we are the first to provide print management solutions and customer support in all time zones.

YSoft SAFEQ 5 was released with a lot of new features and enhancements.

Our portfolio expands into 3D printing through a majority stake in be3D, a 3D printer start-up.

Y Soft Ventures is established.

Y Soft is the first to offer print management as a subscription service for all major multifunction devices. This pay as you go model also applies to support and services.

Mobile printing from laptops, tablets and smartphones is now supported for iOS and Android.

 

YSoft SAFEQ 6 is introduced at a large partner event in Prague.

No longer a single application, YSoft SAFEQ is now a platform to include document capture and 3D print management in addition to 2D print management.  

3D print management is part of the newly announced BE3D eDee, a 3D print solution for Education. 

YSoft Labs is formed to work on experimental innovations.

Opening of our new R&D center in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Y Soft China Ltd opens in the Shanghai District Technology Development Center to support the world's second largest market. 

Because our hardware business is growing, we need more space. The manufacturing and logistics team move into their own new building, a bicycle ride away from headquarters. This allows for more volume production and the space to test out new innovations from YSoft Labs.

Y Soft expands expands support for additional OEMs and invests in robotics to innovate our quality assurance testing. Turns out man and machine can work well alongside each other. No one knew the important role these robots would soon play in just two short years from now.

Y Soft finalized the full acquisition of BE3D and 3D printers are now manufactured under our own manufacturing roof. 

The U.S. Embassy in Prague bestowed the Centennial Award to Vaclav for fostering close economic ties between the U.S. and Czech Republic. Y Soft also formalized its Corporate Social Responsibility program affirming its commitment to think globally and act locally with a special focus on activities that support a transparent and competitive business environment.



 

YSoft SAFEQ had been used in the private cloud for some time now. Public cloud hosting for print management is now the number one need. We outlined our Cloud First strategy for cloud-based print management and partners begin testing our first cloud solution.

BE3D Academy launches in November. The online resource provides everything educators need to teach complex STEAM subjects in the class with exciting projects. Like the robots in 2018, who knew that this resource would have an impact in just a few short months... 

YSoft SAFEQ Cloud, a family of cloud-based print management services and YSoft OMNI Series are introduced. YSoft OMNI Bridge becomes the Edge device platform for multiple Y Soft cloud products. 

Months prior, the world is hit with COVID. Everyone is working from home including YSofters. Robots to the rescue! R&D development goes on by controlling the robots remotely. Teachers are using BE3D Academy as a resource to provide online teaching to students.

Y Soft 3D prints over 42,000 face shields for medical first responders around the world.

The story continues…