However, the true breakthrough came with (first introduced around v2014.1 ). Originally a separate product line, DevExtreme was a pure HTML/JavaScript library targeting Angular, Knockout, and plain JS. It featured a DataGrid that could handle 100,000+ rows client-side—a staggering feat at the time. By v2015.2 , DevExpress began merging its WebForms and MVC toolkits under a unified branding, recognizing that developers needed hybrid solutions. The Modern Era: .NET Core, Cross-Platform, and Blazor (2016–2021) The announcement of .NET Core and the gradual death of the full .NET Framework forced a massive rewrite. Version v17.1 (2017) marked the first stable release with .NET Core support for reporting and document processing. But the real story was Blazor .
More importantly, this era saw the maturation of the control. Following Microsoft Office 2007’s lead, DevExpress’s Ribbon became the gold standard for enterprise desktop applications. Versions v2009.2 through v2011.2 refined the Ribbon, adding backstage views, galleries, and touch support. Meanwhile, the ill-fated Silverlight got its own suite—a bet that ultimately failed, but which forced DevExpress to master cross-platform XAML compilation techniques that would serve them later. The Web Renaissance: ASP.NET MVC and HTML/JavaScript (2012–2016) The industry was shifting away from heavy server controls. By v2012.2 , DevExpress responded with the ASP.NET MVC Extensions . Instead of generating HTML on the server, these extensions leveraged jQuery and client-side rendering. Version v2013.1 introduced the ASP.NET Card View and Chart Controls with full touch support, acknowledging the rise of tablets in the enterprise.
Second, it reveals the tension between productivity and control. DevExpress components are powerful but opaque. Every major version introduces breaking changes, and the infamous "DevExpress version hell" (where upgrading requires re-licensing and fixing dozens of obscure property mappings) is a rite of passage. Yet developers return because the alternative—hand-rolling a virtualizing, filtering, editing, exporting grid—is simply not feasible in a business environment.
When Microsoft demoed Blazor in 2018—a framework for running C# in the browser via WebAssembly—few took it seriously. DevExpress did. By (late 2019), they released experimental Blazor components. Version v20.1 made them production-ready: a DataGrid , Scheduler , and Charts that ran on both Blazor Server and WebAssembly. This was a bet on the future, and it paid off. By v21.2 , the Blazor suite included over 50 components, from Ribbons to File Managers, all written in C#.
In the end, the version history of DevExpress is a mirror of enterprise .NET itself: messy, pragmatic, surprisingly durable, and always trying to catch up to the next wave. As long as Microsoft builds frameworks, DevExpress will be there—not with the most elegant code, but with the most complete toolbox.