The making of reaxys - Towards unobstructed access to relevant chemistry information

An account is given of the history leading to the launch of the chemical information system Reaxys in 2009, its subsequent development until 2014, and outlook for the future. The path leading from the print form of the two major chemical Handbooks of the 19^th century through the building of online databases of the late 1980s and the client/server system of CrossFire (1993-2009) is discussed with particular emphasis placed on the importance of technological development in creating user needs that in turn require an ongoing overhaul of the same technology to better serve the market. The evolution of the Gmelin and Beilstein Handbooks from property-centered collections of chemical structures into the premium data sources of chemical information in CrossFire in the early years of the 21^st century is one excellent example of this phenomenon, and the subsequent development of CrossFire and its databases to Reaxys is shown as a second inevitable consequence of the same driver. The account closes with a description of some currently evolving trends and the first steps taken in Reaxys to continue this tradition of innovation.