ESM Software was incorporated in 1991 by its founder, Dr. Scott McCormick. TAPP, the flagship product of the company, started as a personal thermodynamic data base. The incentive to develop TAPP as a commercial product came during Dr. McCormick's tenture at the Amoco Research Center and GE Aircraft Engines where a trip to and from the corporate library could require 40 minutes just to look up on data point.