<PAGE>
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                                 UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                            ------------------------

                                   FORM 10-Q

(MARK ONE)

  /X/    QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

                  FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED JULY 31, 1999
                                       OR

  / /    TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

        FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM ______________ TO ______________

                         COMMISSION FILE NO. 000-25285

                            ------------------------

                             SERENA SOFTWARE, INC.

             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                  DELAWARE                             94-2669809
          (State of incorporation)          (IRS Employer Identification No.)

      500 AIRPORT BOULEVARD, 2ND FLOOR, BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA 94010-1904
         (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

                                  650-696-1800
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

                            ------------------------

    Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports
required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such
filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes /X/  No / /

    The number of shares of the registrant's Common Stock, par value $0.001,
outstanding as of July 31, 1999 was 25,368,501.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>
                           FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

    This quarterly report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors described herein and
in other documents. Readers should pay particular attention to the section of
this report entitled "Factors that May Affect Future Results" and should also
carefully review the risk factors described in the other documents we file from
time to time with the SEC.

                                     INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                                PAGE
                                                                                                                -----
<S>         <C>                                                                                              <C>
PART I      FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1      Financial Statements:
            Consolidated Balance Sheets as of July 31, 1999 and January 31, 1999...........................           3
            Consolidated Statements of Income for the Three Months and Six Months Ended July 31, 1999 and
              1998.........................................................................................           4
            Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for The Six Months Ended July 31, 1999 and 1998..........           5
            Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.....................................................           6
Item 2      Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition..........           9
Item 3      Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.....................................          28

PART II     OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1      Legal Proceedings..............................................................................          29
Item 2      Change in Securities and Use of Proceeds.......................................................          29
Item 3      Defaults Upon Senior Securities................................................................          29
Item 4      Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders............................................          29
Item 5      Other Information..............................................................................          30
Item 6      Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K...............................................................          30
            Signatures.....................................................................................          31
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
                         PART I--FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

                     SERENA SOFTWARE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                          CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                                  (UNAUDITED)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                       JULY 31,      JANUARY 31,
                                                                                         1999           1999
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
<S>                                                                                 <C>             <C>
                                      ASSETS
Current assets:
  Cash and cash equivalents.......................................................  $   70,706,206  $  21,468,740
  Short-term investments..........................................................      17,729,760             --
  Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $590,000 and $311,000 at July 31 and
    January 31, 1999, respectively................................................      12,112,404     13,036,551
  Due from principal stockholder..................................................              --        196,188
  Deferred taxes..................................................................       1,119,531      1,119,531
  Prepaid expenses and other current assets.......................................         606,015        565,679
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
    Total current assets..........................................................     102,273,916     36,386,689
Property and equipment, net.......................................................       1,956,242      1,864,535
Due from principal stockholder....................................................              --        420,581
Intangible assets, net............................................................      23,016,938     20,932,685
Other assets......................................................................         134,531         73,431
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
    TOTAL ASSETS..................................................................  $  127,381,627  $  59,677,921
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
                                                                                    --------------  -------------

                       LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
  Accounts payable................................................................  $       96,487  $     401,026
  Income taxes payable............................................................         647,905      1,498,725
  Accrued expenses................................................................       8,377,331      7,142,979
  Deferred revenue................................................................      12,514,770     10,839,084
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
    Total current liabilities.....................................................      21,636,493     19,881,814
Deferred revenue, net of current portion..........................................       2,405,339      1,532,905
Deferred taxes....................................................................         158,152        158,152
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
    Total liabilities.............................................................      24,199,984     21,572,871
                                                                                    --------------  -------------

Commitments and contingencies

Stockholders' equity:
  Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued
    and outstanding
  Common stock, $0.001 par value; 60,000,000 shares authorized; 25,368,501 and
    20,401,126 shares issued and outstanding at July 31 and January 31, 1999,
    respectively..................................................................          25,368         20,401
  Additional paid-in capital......................................................      88,315,378     28,517,972
  Deferred stock-based compensation...............................................        (685,262)    (1,339,030)
  Notes receivable from stockholders..............................................      (3,204,389)    (3,233,374)
  Accumulated other comprehensive losses..........................................          (8,481)       (25,578)
  Retained earnings...............................................................      18,739,029     14,164,659
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
    Total stockholders' equity....................................................     103,181,643     38,105,050
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY....................................  $  127,381,627  $  59,677,921
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
                                                                                    --------------  -------------
</TABLE>

          See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

                                       3
<PAGE>
                     SERENA SOFTWARE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                       CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

        FOR THE THREE MONTHS AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JULY 31, 1999 AND 1998

                                  (UNAUDITED)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                           THREE MONTHS ENDED             SIX MONTHS ENDED
                                                                JULY 31,                      JULY 31,
                                                      ----------------------------  ----------------------------
                                                          1999           1998           1999           1998
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
<S>                                                   <C>            <C>            <C>            <C>
Revenue:
  Software licenses.................................  $   9,549,330  $   5,647,575  $  16,457,937  $   9,988,727
  Maintenance.......................................      6,185,737      4,082,902     11,479,816      7,734,534
  Professional services.............................      2,026,538        545,513      4,044,608      1,192,577
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
    Total revenue...................................     17,761,605     10,275,990     31,982,361     18,915,838
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
Cost of revenue:
  Software licenses.................................        736,665        442,832      1,425,524        693,504
  Maintenance.......................................      1,398,056      1,138,274      2,733,139      2,030,056
  Professional services.............................      1,642,950        495,370      3,199,991      1,092,573
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
    Total cost of revenue...........................      3,777,671      2,076,476      7,358,654      3,816,133
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
    Gross profit....................................     13,983,934      8,199,514     24,623,707     15,099,705
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
Operating expenses:
  Sales and marketing...............................      5,344,766      3,326,167      9,607,581      5,706,700
  Research and development..........................      1,770,237      1,072,844      3,136,594      2,073,228
  General and administrative........................      1,534,068        887,432      2,634,869      1,692,181
  Stock-based compensation..........................        112,351        652,565        427,165      1,558,093
  Amortization of intangible assets.................        475,895             --        978,336             --
  Acquired in-process research and development......        992,341             --        992,341             --
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
    Total operating expenses........................     10,229,658      5,939,048     17,776,886     11,030,202
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
Operating income....................................      3,754,276      2,260,466      6,846,821      4,069,503

Interest and other income, net......................      1,059,792        192,710      1,895,020        343,514
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
  Income before income taxes........................      4,814,068      2,453,176      8,741,841      4,413,017
Income taxes........................................      2,433,918      1,079,397      4,167,469      1,941,730
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
  Net income........................................  $   2,380,150  $   1,373,779  $   4,574,372  $   2,471,287
Translation adjustment..............................          5,646            183        (17,097)        (2,194)
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
  Comprehensive income..............................  $   2,385,796  $   1,373,962  $   4,557,275  $   2,469,093
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
Net income per share:
  Basic.............................................  $        0.10  $        0.09  $        0.19  $        0.16
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
  Diluted...........................................  $        0.09  $        0.08  $        0.18  $        0.15
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
Weighted average shares used in per share
  calculations:
  Basic.............................................     24,598,915     15,713,109     24,034,007     15,638,930
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
  Diluted...........................................     25,927,768     16,469,709     25,409,258     16,360,793
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
                                                      -------------  -------------  -------------  -------------
</TABLE>

          See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

                                       4
<PAGE>
                     SERENA SOFTWARE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                     CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

                FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JULY 31, 1999 AND 1998

                                  (UNAUDITED)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                              SIX MONTHS
                                                                                            ENDED JULY 31,
                                                                                     -----------------------------
                                                                                          1999           1998
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
<S>                                                                                  <C>             <C>
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
  Net income.......................................................................  $    4,574,372  $   2,471,287
  Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
    Depreciation...................................................................         638,176        266,620
    Increase in allowance for bad debts............................................         278,568         54,188
    Accrued interest on notes receivable...........................................         (78,640)            --
    Amortization of deferred stock-based compensation..............................         427,165      1,558,093
    Amortization of intangible assets..............................................         978,336             --
    Acquired in-process research and development...................................         992,341             --
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
      Accounts receivable..........................................................         665,300      2,709,011
      Prepaid expenses and other assets............................................         (91,027)      (219,995)
      Accounts payable.............................................................        (328,599)        72,126
      Income taxes payable.........................................................        (850,736)      (707,934)
      Accrued expenses.............................................................         794,950       (562,596)
      Deferred revenue.............................................................       2,559,523      1,695,157
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
        Net cash provided by operating activities..................................      10,559,729      7,335,957
                                                                                     --------------  -------------

CASH FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
  Purchases of property and equipment..............................................        (638,393)      (184,093)
  Purchases of short-term investments..............................................     (17,729,760)            --
  Issuance of notes due from stockholder...........................................              --       (600,000)
  Payment of notes due from stockholder............................................         599,659         86,805
  Issuance of notes due from other parties.........................................         150,000             --
  Payment of notes due from other parties..........................................        (150,000)            --
  Cash paid in acquisition of Diamond Optimum Systems, Inc.,
    net of cash acquired...........................................................      (1,462,031)            --
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
        Net cash used in investing activities......................................     (19,230,525)      (697,288)
                                                                                     --------------  -------------

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES--ISSUANCE OF COMMON STOCK.....................      57,902,226             --
                                                                                     --------------  -------------

EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES ON CASH............................................           6,036          2,194
                                                                                     --------------  -------------

NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS..........................................      48,949,497      6,640,863
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period...................................      21,468,740      9,024,015
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period.........................................  $   70,706,206  $  15,664,878
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
                                                                                     --------------  -------------

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Income taxes paid..................................................................  $    4,915,592  $   2,676,500
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
                                                                                     --------------  -------------

NONCASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITY:
Common Stock issued in acquisition of
  Diamond Optimum Systems, Inc.....................................................  $    2,234,375  $          --
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
Restricted stock issued in exchange for notes receivable...........................  $           --  $      81,000
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
Restricted stock cancelled with removal of notes receivable........................  $     (107,625) $          --
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
                                                                                     --------------  -------------
</TABLE>

          See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

                                       5
<PAGE>
                     SERENA SOFTWARE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                   NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

                                  (UNAUDITED)

    SERENA Software, Inc. (the "Company") is a leading provider of software
change management, or SCM, products and services for managing and controlling
change throughout the software application lifecycle. Its principal markets are
North America and Europe.

    The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been
prepared on substantially the same basis as the audited consolidated financial
statements, and in the opinion of management include all adjustments, consisting
only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for their fair presentation.
These unaudited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto have
been prepared in accordance with the Instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of
Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all disclosure required by
generally accepted accounting principles and Regulation S-X for annual financial
statements. For these additional disclosures, readers should refer to the
Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 1999.
The interim results presented are not necessarily indicative of results for any
subsequent quarter or for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2000.

(1) NET INCOME PER SHARE

    Basic net income per share is computed using the weighted-average number of
shares of common stock outstanding. Diluted net income per share is computed
using the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding and,
when dilutive, common equivalent shares from restricted stock and options to
purchase common stock using the treasury stock method.

    The following is a reconciliation of the shares used in the computation of
basic and diluted net income per share:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                               THREE MONTHS ENDED           SIX MONTHS ENDED
                                                                    JULY 31,                    JULY 31,
                                                           --------------------------  --------------------------
                                                               1999          1998          1999          1998
                                                           ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
<S>                                                        <C>           <C>           <C>           <C>
Basic net income per share-weighted average number of
  common shares outstanding..............................    24,598,915    15,713,109    24,034,007    15,638,930
Effect of potentially dilutive securities outstanding-
  restricted stock and options...........................     1,328,853       756,600     1,375,251       721,863
                                                           ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Shares used in diluted net income per share
  computation............................................    25,927,768    16,469,709    25,409,258    16,360,793
                                                           ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
                                                           ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
</TABLE>

(2) SEGMENT REPORTING

    In June 1997, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 131, DISCLOSURES ABOUT
SEGMENTS OF AN ENTERPRISE AND RELATED INFORMATION. SFAS No. 131 establishes
standards for the manner in which public companies report information about
operating segments in annual and interim financial statements. It also
establishes standards for related disclosures about products and services,
geographic areas, and major customers. The method for determining what
information to report is based on the way management organizes the operating
segments within the Company for making operating decisions and assessing
financial performance. The Company's chief operating decision-maker is
considered to be the Company's chief executive officer (CEO). The CEO reviews
financial information presented on an entity level basis accompanied by
disaggregated information about revenues by product type and certain information

                                       6
<PAGE>
                     SERENA SOFTWARE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

             NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

                                  (UNAUDITED)

(2) SEGMENT REPORTING (CONTINUED)
about geographic regions for purposes of making operating decisions and
assessing financial performance. The entity level financial information is
identical to the information presented in the accompanying statements of
operations. Therefore, the Company has determined that it operates in a single
operating segment: change management software.

(3) RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

    The FASB recently issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
("SFAS") No. 133, ACCOUNTING FOR DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES.
SFAS No. 133 addresses the accounting for derivative instruments, including
certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts. Under SFAS No. 133,
entities are required to carry all derivative instruments in the balance sheet
at fair value. The accounting for changes in the fair value of a derivative
instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as part of a
hedging relationship and, if so, the reason for holding it. The Company must
adopt SFAS No. 133 in fiscal 2000. The Company does not anticipate that SFAS No.
133 will have an effect on its financial statements.

    In December 1998, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
issued Statement of Position (SOP) 98-9, SOFTWARE REVENUE RECOGNITION, WITH
RESPECT TO CERTAIN ARRANGEMENTS. SOP 98-9 requires recognition of revenue using
the "residual method" in a multiple-element arrangement when vendor specific
objective evidence of fair value does not exist for one or more of the delivered
elements in the arrangement. Under the residual method, the total fair value of
the undelivered elements is deferred and subsequently recognized in accordance
with SOP 97-2. The Company does not expect a material change to its accounting
for revenues as a result of the provisions of SOP 98-9.

(4) ACQUISITION OF DIAMOND OPTIMUM SYSTEMS, INC.

    On June 14, 1999, the Company acquired Diamond Optimum Systems, Inc.
("Diamond"), a provider of enterprise software change management solutions for
NT and UNIX environments. The operations of Diamond will be fully integrated
into the operations of the Company. The acquisition was accounted for using the
purchase method of accounting, and accordingly, the results of operations of
Diamond have been included in the Company's consolidated financial statements
from June 14, 1999. The Company acquired all the assets and assumed all the
liabilities of Diamond in exchange for cash totaling $1.75 million and the
issuance of 175,000 shares of the Company's common stock valued at $12.77 per
share. The transaction was valued at approximately $4.5 million with the
allocation of the total consideration as follows:

<TABLE>
<S>                                                               <C>
Tangible assets.................................................  $ 358,060
Acquired technology.............................................  1,917,276
Acquired in-process research and development....................    992,341
Work-force-in-place.............................................    179,100
Noncompete agreement............................................    227,451
Goodwill........................................................    786,694
                                                                  ---------
  Total consideration...........................................  $4,460,922
                                                                  ---------
                                                                  ---------
</TABLE>

                                       7
<PAGE>
                     SERENA SOFTWARE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

             NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

                                  (UNAUDITED)

(4) ACQUISITION OF DIAMOND OPTIMUM SYSTEMS, INC. (CONTINUED)
    Acquired technology, consisting of current completed technologies at the
date of acquisition valued on the premise of fair market value in continued use
under the discounted cash flow approach, will be amortized over a 5 year period,
the period of time the Company estimates as its economic useful life. Acquired
in-process research and development, consisting of current technologies under
development at the date of acquisition and valued on the premise of fair market
value in continued use under the discounted cash flow approach, will be expensed
immediately in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. See
Note 5 for further discussion of Acquired In-Process Research and Development.
Work-force-in-place, consisting principally of the Diamond development team, was
valued on a replacement cost basis and will be amortized over a six-month
period, the period of time the Company estimates would be required to hire,
train, and achieve full productivity for a replacement work force. The
noncompete agreement was entered into with a Diamond officer and founder who
will continue with the combined company. The noncompete agreement was valued
based on his anticipated salary and benefits for the period of the agreement and
will be amortized over the two-year term of the agreement. Goodwill represents
the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net assets acquired
and will be amortized over 7 years.

    Pro forma financial information giving effect to the acquisition as if it
had occurred at the beginning of the periods presented would not have been
materially different than the Company's operating results.

(5) ACQUIRED IN-PROCESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

    As a result of the Company's acquisition of Diamond on June 14, 1999, the
Company recorded acquired in-process research and development totaling $992,341.
The premise of value was fair market value in continued use.

    Among the assets that were valued by the Company were the Change Management
2.0, the Problem Management and the Enterprise Management products which were
currently under development at the date of acquisition. These technologies
currently under development were valued on the premise of fair market value in
continued use employing a version of the income approach referred to as the
discounted cash flow approach. This methodology is based on discounting to
present value, at an appropriate risk-adjusted discount rate, both the
expenditures to be made to complete the development efforts (excluding the
efforts to be completed on the development efforts underway) and the operating
cash flows which the applications are projected to generate, less a return on
the assets necessary to generate the operating cash flows.

    From these projected revenues, the Company deducted costs of sales,
operating costs (excluding costs associated with the efforts to be completed on
the development efforts underway), royalties and taxes to determine net cash
flows. The Company estimated the percentage of completion of the development
efforts for each application by comparing the estimated costs incurred and
portions of the development accomplished through the acquisition date by the
total estimated cost and total development effort of developing these same
applications. This percentage was calculated for each application and was then
applied to the net cash flows for which each application was projected to
generate. These net cash flows were then discounted to present values using
appropriate risk-adjusted discount rates in order to arrive at discounted fair
values for each application.

                                       8
<PAGE>
                     SERENA SOFTWARE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

             NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

                                  (UNAUDITED)

(5) ACQUIRED IN-PROCESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (CONTINUED)
    In short, the percentage complete and the appropriate risk-adjusted discount
rate for each application were as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
APPLICATION UNDER DEVELOPMENT                               PERCENTAGE COMPLETE  DISCOUNT RATE
----------------------------------------------------------  -------------------  -------------
<S>                                                         <C>                  <C>
Change Management version 2.0.............................          60.00%            25.00%
Project Management........................................          75.00%            25.00%
Enterprise Management.....................................          25.38%            27.50%
</TABLE>

    The rates used to discount the net cash flows to present value was initially
based on the weighted average cost of capital ("WACC"). The Company used
discount rates of 25.0% and 27.5% for valuing the acquired in-process research
and development and 25.0% for the core technologies. These discount rates are
higher than the implied WACC due to the inherent uncertainties surrounding the
successful development of the acquired in-process research and development, the
useful life of such in-process research and development, the profitability
levels of such in-process research and development, and the uncertainty of
technological advances that were unknown at the time.

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND
        FINANCIAL CONDITION

    This section of the Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements based upon
current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, such as our plans,
objectives, expectations and intentions. Our actual results and the timing of
certain events could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set
forth in this section under "Factors That May Affect Future Results" and
elsewhere in, or incorporated by reference into, this report. It is important
that the discussion below be read together with the attached consolidated
financial statements and notes thereto, with the discussion of such risks and
uncertainties and with the audited financial statements and notes thereto, and
the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial
Condition, contained in the Company's Form 10-K for fiscal 1999.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

    References to the dollar and percentage increases or decreases set forth
below in this discussion and analysis of SERENA'S results of operations are
derived from comparisons of SERENA'S consolidated statements of income for the
three and six month periods ended July 31, 1999 to the consolidated statements
of income for the three and six month periods ended July 31, 1998. Historical
results include the results of Optima Software ("OPTIMA") from September 25,
1998, the date our acquisition of OPTIMA was completed, and of Diamond Optimum
Systems, Inc. ("DIAMOND") from June 14, 1999, the date our acquisition of
DIAMOND was completed.

                                       9
<PAGE>
    The following table sets forth our historical results of operations
expressed as a percentage of total revenue. These historical operating results
for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results for the
full fiscal year or any other period.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                  PERCENTAGE OF         PERCENTAGE OF
                                                                     REVENUE               REVENUE
                                                                THREE MONTHS ENDED     SIX MONTHS ENDED
                                                                     JULY 31,              JULY 31,
                                                               --------------------  --------------------
                                                                 1999       1998       1999       1998
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
<S>                                                            <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>
Revenue:
  Software licenses..........................................       53.8%      55.0%      51.5%      52.8%
  Maintenance................................................       34.8%      39.7%      35.9%      40.9%
  Professional services......................................       11.4%       5.3%      12.6%       6.3%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    TOTAL REVENUE............................................      100.0%     100.0%     100.0%     100.0%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Cost of revenue:
  Software licenses..........................................        4.1%       4.3%       4.5%       3.7%
  Maintenance................................................        7.9%      11.1%       8.5%      10.7%
  Professional services......................................        9.3%       4.8%      10.0%       5.8%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    TOTAL COST OF REVENUE....................................       21.3%      20.2%      23.0%      20.2%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    GROSS PROFIT.............................................       78.7%      79.8%      77.0%      79.8%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Operating expenses:
  Sales and marketing........................................       30.1%      32.4%      30.0%      30.2%
  Research and development...................................       10.0%      10.4%       9.8%      11.0%
  General and administrative.................................        8.6%       8.6%       8.3%       8.9%
  Stock-based compensation...................................        0.6%       6.4%       1.3%       8.2%
  Amortization of intangible assets..........................        2.7%    --            3.1%    --
  Acquired in-process research
    And development..........................................        5.6%    --            3.1%    --
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    Total operating expenses.................................       57.6%      57.8%      55.6%      58.3%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
OPERATING INCOME.............................................       21.1%      22.0%      21.4%      21.5%
Interest and other income, net...............................        6.0%       1.9%       5.9%       1.8%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
  Income before income taxes.................................       27.1%      23.9%      27.3%      23.3%
Income taxes.................................................       13.7%      10.5%      13.0%      10.2%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    NET INCOME...............................................       13.4%      13.4%      14.3%      13.1%
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
                                                               ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
</TABLE>

REVENUE

    We derive revenue from software licenses, maintenance and professional
services. Our total revenue increased $7.5 million or 73% to $17.8 million in
the current fiscal quarter ended July 31, 1999 from $10.3 million in the same
quarter a year ago. For the six month period ended July 31, 1999, total revenue
increased $13.1 million or 69% to $32.0 million from $18.9 million in the same
six month period a year ago.

    SOFTWARE LICENSES.  Software licenses revenue as a percentage of total
revenue was 54% and 52% in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six
months ended July 31, 1999, respectively, as compared to 55% and 53% in the same
quarter and six months, respectively, a year ago. Software licenses revenue
increased $3.9 million or 69% to $9.5 million in the current fiscal quarter from
$5.6 million in the same quarter a year ago. For the six month period ended July
31, 1999, software licenses revenue increased $6.5 million or 65% to $16.5
million from $10.0 million in the same six months a

                                       10
<PAGE>
year ago. For both the quarter and six months, the dollar increase is generally
attributed to increased demand for new licenses of FULL.CYCLE MAINFRAME products
as a result of greater customer awareness of and need for third party SCM
solutions and, to a lesser extent, the acquisition of Optima, an increase in
sales force productivity and personnel, and software license price increases. In
particular, sales of our COMPAREX, CHANGE MAN and STARTOOL products grew
significantly. Those products accounted for $8.9 million or 93% and $15.3
million or 93% of total software licenses revenue in the current fiscal quarter
and current fiscal six months, respectively, as compared to $4.4 million or 77%
and $8.1 million or 81% in the same quarter and six months, respectively, a year
ago.

    MAINTENANCE.  Maintenance revenue as a percentage of total revenue was 35%
and 36% in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months,
respectively, ended July 31, 1999 as compared to 40% and 41% in the same quarter
and six months, respectively, a year ago. Maintenance revenue increased $2.1
million or 52% to $6.2 million in the current fiscal quarter from $4.1 million
in the same quarter a year ago. For the six month period ended July 31, 1999,
maintenance revenue increased $3.8 million or 48% to $11.5 million from $7.7
million in the same six months a year ago. For both the quarter and six months,
the dollar increase reflects both growth in software license revenue, as new
licenses generally include one year of maintenance, renewals of maintenance
agreements by existing customers and, to a lesser extent, maintenance price
increases. Maintenance revenue decreased as a percentage of total revenue for
both the current quarter and six months due to the growth in software license
revenue, which is generally recognized upon contract signing and delivery of the
software, whereas maintenance revenue is deferred and amortized over the
contractual term of the arrangement, usually one year.

    PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.  Professional services revenue was 11% and 13% of
total revenue in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months,
respectively, ended July 31, 1999 as compared to 5% and 6% in the same quarter
and six months, respectively, a year ago. Professional services revenue
increased $1.5 million or 271% to $2.0 million in the current fiscal quarter
from $0.5 million in the same quarter a year ago. For the six month period ended
July 31, 1999, professional services revenue increased $2.8 million or 239% to
$4.0 million from $1.2 million in the same six months a year ago. For both the
quarter and six months, the dollar increase is attributable to greater
consulting opportunities resulting from our larger installed customer base and
our expanded consulting service capabilities resulting from the acquisition of
Optima.

COST OF REVENUE

    Cost of revenue, which consists of cost of software licenses, cost of
maintenance and cost of professional services, was $3.8 million or 21% and $7.4
million or 23% of total revenue in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal
six months, respectively, as compared to $2.1 million or 20% and $3.8 million or
20% in the same quarter and six months, respectively, a year ago. For both the
quarter and six months, the increase, both in dollar terms and in percentage of
total revenue terms, is due primarily to increased expenses associated with
professional services revenue and maintenance revenue, including personnel
additions and the acquisition of Optima to support professional services and
maintenance revenue growth, and the increase in software sublicense fees.

    SOFTWARE LICENSES.  Cost of software licenses consists principally of
sublicense fees associated with our STARTOOL, STARWARP and DETECT+RESOLVE
MAINFRAME products. Cost of software licenses as a percentage of total software
licenses revenue was unchanged at 8% for both the current fiscal quarter and the
same quarter a year ago. For the current six months ended July 31, 1999 as
compared to the same period a year ago, cost of software licenses as a
percentage of total software licenses revenue increased to 9% from 7%. Cost of
software licenses increased $0.3 million to $0.7 million and $0.7 million to
$1.4 million in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months,
respectively, from $0.4 and $0.7 million in the same quarter and six months,
respectively, a year ago.

                                       11
<PAGE>
These increases, both in dollar terms and as a percentage of total software
licenses revenue in the six month periods, are attributable to increases in
royalty bearing software licenses--predominantly STARTOOL AND DETECT+RESOLVE
MAINFRAME--as a percentage of total software licenses revenue.

    MAINTENANCE.  Cost of maintenance consists primarily of salaries, bonuses
and other costs associated with our customer support organizations, and to a
lesser extent, sublicense fees associated with our STARTOOL, STARWARP AND
DETECT+RESOLVE MAINFRAME PRODUCTS. Cost of maintenance as a percentage of total
maintenance revenue was 23% and 24% in the current fiscal quarter and current
fiscal six months, respectively, as compared to 28% and 26% in the same quarter
and six months, respectively, a year ago. Cost of maintenance increased $0.3
million or 23% to $1.4 million and $0.7 million or 35% to $2.7 million in the
current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months, respectively, from $1.1
million and $2.0 million in the same quarter and six months, respectively, a
year ago. For both the quarter and six months, the dollar increase is
predominately due to increased expenses associated with our customer support
organization including personnel additions needed to support the maintenance
revenue growth and more recently, increases in sublicense fees. Sublicense fees
are paid to owners of third party products for providing maintenance
enhancements and code fixes.

    PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.  Cost of professional services consists of salaries,
bonuses and other costs associated with supporting our professional services
organization. Cost of professional services as a percentage of total
professional services revenue was 81% and 79% in the current fiscal quarter and
current fiscal six months, respectively, as compared to 91% and 92% in the same
quarter and six months, respectively, a year ago. Cost of professional services
increased $1.1 million or 232% to $1.6 million and $2.1 million or 193% to $3.2
million in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months,
respectively, from $0.5 million and $1.1 million in the same quarter and six
months, respectively, a year ago. For both the quarter and six months, the
dollar increase is predominately due to increased expenses associated with the
acquisition of Optima which significantly increased our professional services
organization, and personnel additions and other infrastructure costs needed to
support the professional services revenue growth.

OPERATING EXPENSES

    SALES AND MARKETING.  Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of
salaries, commissions and bonuses, payroll taxes, and employee benefits as well
as travel, entertainment and marketing expenses. Sales and marketing expenses as
a percentage of total revenue was 30% in both the current fiscal quarter and
current fiscal six months as compared to 32% and 30% in the same quarter and six
months, respectively, a year ago. Sales and marketing expenses increased $2.0
million or 61% to $5.3 million and $3.9 million or 68% to $9.6 million in the
current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months, respectively, from $3.3
million and $5.7 million in the same quarter and six months, respectively, a
year ago. For both the quarter and six months, the dollar increase is due
primarily to our expansion of our direct sales and marketing organization, and
to a lesser extent, the development of our telesales efforts. As a percentage of
total revenue, there was a slight decrease in the current quarter as compared to
the same period a year ago and it remained relatively unchanged when comparing
the current six month period to the same period a year ago. In absolute dollar
terms, we expect sales and marketing expenses to increase as we continue to hire
additional sales and marketing personnel and undertake additional marketing
programs.

    RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.  Research and development expenses consist
primarily of salaries, bonuses, payroll taxes, and employee benefits and costs
attributable to research and development activities. Research and development
expenses as a percentage of total revenue was 10% in both the current fiscal
quarter and the same period a year ago and was also 10% in the current fiscal
six months

                                       12
<PAGE>
period as compared to 11% in the same six months of a year ago. Research and
development expenses increased $0.7 million or 65% to $1.8 million and $1.0
million or 51% to $3.1 million in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal
six months, respectively, from $1.1 million and $2.1 million in the same quarter
and six months, respectively, a year ago. For both the quarter and six months,
the dollar increase is primarily due to salary, bonus, payroll tax, and employee
benefit costs associated with the expansion of our research and development
efforts to enhance existing products and develop our new FULL.CYCLE distributed
systems and SERNET products. We expect research and development expenses to
increase as we continue to hire additional research and development personnel to
develop our FULL.CYCLE distributed systems product suite and our SERNET
products.

    GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE.  General and administrative expenses consist
primarily of salaries, bonuses, payroll taxes, and benefits and certain
non-allocable administrative costs, including legal and accounting fees and bad
debts. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of total revenue
remained relatively unchanged at 9% for all periods presented, the current
fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months as well as the same periods from a
year ago. General and administrative expenses increased $0.6 million or 73% to
$1.5 million and $0.9 million or 56% to $2.6 million in the current fiscal
quarter and current fiscal six months, respectively, from $0.9 million and $1.7
million in the same quarter and six months, respectively, a year ago. For both
the quarter and six months, the dollar increase is primarily due to salary,
bonus, payroll tax and employee benefit costs associated with the expansion of
our administrative infrastructure in order to support our increased sales,
marketing, professional services and maintenance activities. We expect general
and administrative expenses to continue to increase in dollar terms as we expand
our infrastructure and incur additional costs as a result of being a public
company.

    STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION.  In total, SERENA recorded aggregate deferred
stock-based compensation of $4.6 million in connection with the issuance of
restricted stock and grants of options to purchase common stock. Deferred
stock-based compensation is generally being amortized over the 36 to 48 month
vesting periods of the related awards. This amortization is being recorded in a
manner consistent with FASB Interpretation No. 28. Of the total deferred
stock-based compensation, $0.1 million and $0.4 million was amortized in the
current fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months, respectively, as compared
to $0.7 million and $1.6 million in the same quarter and six months,
respectively, from a year ago. We expect the stock-based compensation charge
will continue to trend downward quarter over quarter as the related awards vest
or are forfeited. As of July 31, 1999, SERENA had $0.6 million in unamortized
stock-based compensation, all of which is expected to be fully amortized before
the end of fiscal 2003.

    AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS.  In the third quarter of fiscal 1999,
SERENA recorded intangible assets of $21.7 million in connection with the
acquisition of Optima in September, 1998. In the current fiscal quarter, we also
recorded additional intangible assets of $3.1 million in connection with the
acquisition of Diamond in June, 1999. Combined, intangible assets are being
amortized over periods of one year or less on $0.7 million, two to seven years
on $2.9 million and fifteen years on the remaining $21.2 million. Of the total
intangible assets, $0.5 million and $1.0 million was amortized in the current
fiscal quarter and current fiscal six months, respectively, ended July 31, 1999.
We expect to amortize an additional $1.2 million in the remaining two quarters
of fiscal 2000, $2.0 million in fiscal 2001 and $1.9 million in fiscal 2002. The
intangible assets will be fully amortized by the end of fiscal 2014.

    ACQUIRED IN-PROCESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.  In connection with SERENA's
acquisition of Diamond in the current fiscal quarter, we took a one-time charge
of $1.0 million in recording acquired in-process research and development. See
notes 4 and 5 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

                                       13
<PAGE>
INTEREST AND OTHER INCOME, NET

    Interest and other income, net increased $0.9 million to $1.1 million and
$1.6 million to $1.9 million in the current fiscal quarter and current fiscal
six months, respectively, from $0.2 million and $0.3 million in the same quarter
and six months, respectively, a year ago. For both the quarter and six months,
the dollar increase in interest and other income, net is predominantly due to
the increase in cash and cash equivalent balances and short-term investments
resulting from the Company's initial public offering in the first quarter of
fiscal 2000 which generated $57.9 million in net proceeds to the Company, and to
a lesser extent, from increases in cash and cash equivalent balances period over
period resulting from cash generated by operations.

INCOME TAXES

    Income taxes were $2.4 million and $4.2 million in the current fiscal
quarter and current fiscal six months, respectively, ended July 31, 1999 as
compared to $1.1 million and $1.9 million in the same quarter and six months,
respectively, of a year ago. As a percentage of pretax income, income taxes were
51% and 48% in the current fiscal quarter and fiscal six months, respectively,
as compared to 44% in both the same quarter and six month periods a year ago.
SERENA's effective income tax rate has increased when compared to the same
quarter and six months a year ago predominantly due to the fact that total
nondeductible charges in the current fiscal year, including the $1.0 million one
time charge for acquired in-process research and development, are greater when
compared to the same periods from a year ago. SERENA's effective income tax rate
has historically benefited from the United States research and experimentation
tax credit and tax benefits generated from export sales made from the United
States. To a lesser extent, SERENA has also experienced higher marginal tax
rates resulting from substantially higher pretax profits year over year.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

    From our inception in 1980 until the closing of our initial public offering
of our common stock in February 1999, we financed our operations and met our
capital expenditure requirements through cash flows from operations. In the
first quarter of fiscal 2000, we completed our initial public offering of common
stock resulting in net proceeds to SERENA of $57.9 million. Net cash provided by
operating activities rose to $10.6 million in the current fiscal six months
ended July 31, 1999 from $7.3 million in the same period a year ago. Our
principal investing activities during the current fiscal six months ended July
31, 1999 were the purchase of $17.7 million of short-term investments and the
acquisition of Diamond where the Company exchanged $1.75 million in cash and
issued 175,000 shares of its common stock valued at $12.77 per share for all the
assets and assumed liabilities of Diamond. At July 31, 1999, SERENA had $70.7
million in cash and cash equivalents and another $17.7 million in short-term
investments.

    At July 31, 1999, we had working capital of $80.6 million and trade accounts
receivable, net of allowances, of $12.1 million. Our total current and long term
deferred revenues were $14.9 million. In addition, we did not have any material
commitments for capital expenditures and did not have any revolving credit
agreement or other term loan agreements with any bank or other financial
institution.

    We believe that the net proceeds from our initial public offering and cash
flows from operations (including prepaid maintenance fees) will satisfy our
working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next
twelve months.

YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE

    Many computer systems and software products are coded to accept only two
digit entries in the date code field. These date code fields will need to accept
four digit entries to distinguish 21st century

                                       14
<PAGE>
dates from 20th century dates. As a result, many companies' software and
computer systems may need to be upgraded or replaced in order to comply with
such Year 2000 requirements.

    In the ordinary course of our business, we test and evaluate our software
products. We believe that our software products are generally Year 2000
compliant, meaning that the use or occurrence of dates on or after January 1,
2000 will not materially affect the performance of such software products or the
ability of such products to correctly create, store, process and output
information of data involving dates. However, we may learn that certain of our
software products do not contain all necessary software routines and codes
necessary for the accurate calculation, display, storage and manipulation of
data involving dates. In addition, in certain cases, we have warranted that the
use or occurrence of dates on or after January 1, 2000 will not adversely affect
the performance of our products with respect to four digit date dependent data
or the ability to create, store, process and output information related to such
data. If any of our licensees experience Year 2000 problems as a result of their
use of our software products, those licensees could assert claims for damages.
Our standard licensing agreement provides that if our products do not perform to
their specifications, we will correct such problems or issue replacement
software. If these corrective measures fail, we may refund the license fee
associated with the non-performing product. Our standard software license
agreement limits our liability to the amount of the license fee paid, if the
license has been in effect for less than one year, or for the amount of the
license's annual maintenance renewal fee, if the license is more than one year
old. To date we have not received any Year 2000 related claims on our software
products.

    Although SERENA does not have a formal plan to address Year 2000 issues,
management is currently addressing Year 2000 problems as they relate to our
internal operating systems. We anticipate that our review of Year 2000 issues
and any remediation efforts will continue throughout calendar 1999. Our Year
2000 review of our internal operating systems is concentrated on our internal
accounting and customer service systems, the systems we believe are most
important to our business. We have found our internal accounting software to be
Year 2000 compliant. We are still reviewing our customer service internal
operating systems. If any Year 2000 issues are uncovered with respect to the
customer service systems or our other internal systems, we believe these
problems will be able to be resolved without material difficulty or cost as
replacement systems are available on commercially reasonable terms.

    In view of our Year 2000 review and remediation efforts to date, and the
limited activities that remain to be completed, we do not consider contingency
planning to be necessary at this time. To date costs related to Year 2000 issues
have not been material, and we do not believe such costs will be material in the
future.

    We have sought assurances from the suppliers of all third party equipment
and software that we believe are critical to our business that their products
are Year 2000 compliant. While SERENA has received several assurances as to the
Year 2000 compliance of these third party products, we generally do not have any
contractual rights with the third party providers should these equipment or
software fail due to Year 2000 issues. If this third party equipment or software
does not operate properly with regard to the Year 2000, we may incur unexpected
expenses to remedy any problems. These expenses could potentially include
purchasing replacement hardware and software.

    In addition, the purchasing patterns of our customers and potential
customers may be affected by Year 2000 issues. Many companies are spending
significant resources to correct their current software systems for Year 2000
compliance. While sales of certain of our products, in particular STARTOOL,
STARWARP and COMPAREX, have benefited from increased customer spending on Year
2000 readiness, we believe sales of our CHANGE MAN product have been and will
continue to be adversely affected by customer focus on Year 2000 issues.
Customers with limited IT budgets who face material Year 2000 issues are
spending their limited resources remediating these Year 2000 problems instead of
investing in more general IT products such as CHANGE MAN. Market acceptance of
SERENA's

                                       15
<PAGE>
products to address general IT business needs as well as resolution of specific
business issues such as Year 2000 readiness is critical to our business and
future success.

    For risks concerning SERENA related to Year 2000 see "Factors That May
Affect Future Results"--"Potential Year 2000 Problems with Our Software or Our
Internal Operating Systems Could Adversely Affect Our Business" and "Reduced
Customer Focus and Spending on Year 2000 Remediation and EMU Conversion Could
Adversely Affect the Sales of Certain of Our Products; Customer Use of Our
Products for Year 2000 and EMU Issues May Not Lead to Increased Sales of Our
Other Products."

FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT FUTURE RESULTS

    THIS REPORT ON FORM 10-Q, INCLUDING THIS MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND
ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS, CONTAINS
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND OTHER PROSPECTIVE INFORMATION RELATING TO FUTURE
EVENTS. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION ARE SUBJECT TO
CERTAIN RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT COULD CAUSE RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY
FROM HISTORICAL RESULTS OR ANTICIPATED RESULTS, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:

THERE ARE MANY FACTORS, INCLUDING SOME BEYOND OUR CONTROL, THAT MAY CAUSE
FLUCTUATIONS IN OUR QUARTERLY OPERATING RESULTS

    Our quarterly operating results have varied greatly in the past and may vary
greatly in the future depending upon a number of factors described below and
elsewhere in this "Factors That May Affect Future Results" section of this
quarterly report, including many that are beyond our control. As a result, we
believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our financial results are not
necessarily meaningful, and you should not rely on them as an indication of our
future performance. Factors that may materially affect our quarterly operating
results include the following, as well as others discussed in this Form 10-Q:

    - The size, timing and contractual terms of large orders for our software
      products

    - The budgeting cycles of our customers and potential customers and their
      willingness to invest in new SCM solutions or upgrade their existing
      solutions

    - Market demand for our software products and services, including our
      distributed systems products that are currently under development

    - Our ability to develop and introduce on a timely basis and to market new
      and enhanced versions of our software, including our distributed systems
      products that are currently under development

    - Seasonal trends in customer purchasing patterns

    - Activities by our competitors, including releases of new software
      products, changes in pricing policies and acquisitions or strategic
      partnership activities

    - Any downturn in our customers' businesses, in the domestic economy or in
      international economies where our customers do substantial business

    - Changes in the mix of software products and services sold by us, including
      the mix between higher margin software products and lower margin
      maintenance and services and the percentage of software products sold
      which require us to pay a sublicense fee to a third party

    - Our ability to hire, integrate and retain technical, sales, marketing and
      professional services personnel

    - Risks associated with our planned international expansion, including
      longer sale cycles and currency fluctuations

                                       16
<PAGE>
    - Changes in our pricing policies resulting from competitive pressures or
      other factors

    - Cancellation of maintenance agreements by customers or any significant
      decrease in the percentage of customers who renew their maintenance
      agreements with us

    - Software defects and other product quality problems

    Our software license revenue in any quarter depends on orders booked and
shipped in the last month, weeks or days of that quarter. At the end of each
quarter, we typically have either minimal or no backlog of orders for the
subsequent quarter. If a large number of orders or several large orders do not
occur or are deferred, our revenue in that quarter could be substantially
reduced. This would materially adversely affect our operating results and could
impair our business in future periods. Because we do not know when, or if, our
potential customers will place orders and finalize contracts, we cannot
accurately predict our revenue and operating results for future quarters.

    Historically, a majority of our revenue has been attributable to the
licenses of our FULL.CYCLE MAINFRAME software products. Changes in the mix of
software products and services sold by us, including the mix between higher
margin software products and lower margin maintenance and services, could
materially affect our operating results for future quarters as could the
percentage of software products sold which require us to pay a sublicense fee to
a third party.

SEASONAL TRENDS IN SALES OF OUR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS MAY AFFECT OUR QUARTERLY
OPERATING RESULTS

    We have experienced and expect to continue to experience seasonality in
sales of our software products. These seasonal trends materially affect our
quarter-to-quarter operating results. Revenue and operating results in our
quarter ending January 31 are typically higher relative to our other quarters,
because many customers make purchase decisions based on their calendar year-end
budgeting requirements. In addition, our January quarter tends to reflect the
effect of the incentive compensation structure for our sales organization, which
is based on satisfaction of fiscal year-end quotas. As a result, we have
historically experienced a substantial decline in revenue in the first quarter
of each fiscal year relative to the preceding quarter. We are also currently
attempting to expand our presence in international markets, particularly in
Europe. We expect our quarter ending October 31 to reflect the effects of summer
slowing of international business activity and spending activity generally
associated with that time of year, particularly in Europe. To the extent that
our revenue in Europe or other parts of the world increase in future periods, we
expect our period-to-period revenues to reflect any seasonal buying patterns in
these markets.

WE EXPECT THAT OUR OPERATING EXPENSES WILL INCREASE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE FUTURE
AND THESE INCREASED EXPENSES MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR FUTURE OPERATING RESULTS
AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

    Although SERENA has been profitable in recent years, we may not remain
profitable on a quarterly or annual basis in the future. We anticipate that our
expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we:

    - Increase our sales and marketing activities, including expanding our
      United States and international direct sales forces and extending our
      telesales efforts

    - Develop our technology, including our FULL.CYCLE suite of SCM products for
      distributed systems

    - Broaden our professional services offerings and delivery capabilities

    - Expand our distribution channels

    - Pursue strategic relationships and acquisitions

                                       17
<PAGE>
    With these additional expenses, in order to maintain our current levels of
profitability, we will be required to increase our revenue correspondingly. Any
failure to significantly increase our revenue as we implement our product,
service and distribution strategies would materially adversely affect our
business, quarterly and annual operating results and financial condition.
Although our revenue has grown in recent years, we do not believe that we will
maintain this rate of revenue growth. In addition, we may not experience any
revenue growth in the future, and our revenue could in fact decline. Our efforts
to expand our software product suites, sales and marketing activities, direct
and indirect distribution channels and professional service offerings and to
pursue strategic relationships or acquisitions may not succeed or may prove more
expensive than we currently anticipate. As a result, we cannot predict our
future operating results with any degree of certainty.

OUR FUTURE REVENUE IS SUBSTANTIALLY DEPENDENT UPON OUR INSTALLED CUSTOMERS
RENEWING MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS FOR OUR PRODUCTS AND LICENSING ADDITIONAL SERENA
SCM PRODUCTS; OUR FUTURE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE REVENUE IS
DEPENDENT ON FUTURE SALES OF OUR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

    We depend on our installed customer base for future revenues from
maintenance renewal fees and licenses of additional SCM products. If our
customers do not purchase additional products or cancel or fail to renew their
maintenance agreements, this could materially adversely affect our business and
future quarterly and annual operating results. The terms of our standard license
arrangements provide for a one-time license fee and a prepayment of one year of
software maintenance and support fees. The maintenance agreements are renewable
annually at the option of the customers and there are no minimum payment
obligations or obligations to license additional software. Therefore, our
current customers may not necessarily generate significant maintenance revenue
in future periods. In addition, our customers may not necessarily purchase
additional products, upgrades or professional services. Our professional service
revenue and maintenance revenue are also dependent upon the continued use of
these services by our installed customer base. Any downturn in our software
license revenue would have a negative impact on the growth of our professional
service revenue and maintenance revenue in future quarters.

WE HAVE RELIED AND EXPECT TO CONTINUE TO RELY ON SALES OF OUR FULL.CYCLE
MAINFRAME PRODUCTS FOR OUR REVENUE

    Historically, all of our software license revenue has resulted from the sale
of our FULL.CYCLE MAINFRAME products. Any factors adversely affecting the
pricing of, demand for or market acceptance of our FULL.CYCLE MAINFRAME
products, such as competition or technological change, could materially
adversely affect our business and quarterly and annual operating results. In
particular, CHANGE MAN and COMPAREX, two of our FULL.CYCLE MAINFRAME products,
have been responsible for a substantial majority of our revenue. We expect that
these products will continue to account for a large portion of our software
license revenue for the foreseeable future. Our future operating results depend
on the continued market acceptance of our FULL.CYCLE MAINFRAME products,
including future enhancements.

IF THE SCM MARKET DOES NOT EVOLVE AS WE ANTICIPATE, OUR BUSINESS WILL BE
ADVERSELY AFFECTED

    If we fail to properly assess and address the SCM market or if our products
and services fail to achieve market acceptance for any reason, our business and
quarterly and annual operating results would be materially adversely affected.

    The SCM market is in an early stage of development. IT organizations have
traditionally addressed SCM needs internally and have only recently become aware
of the benefits of third-party SCM solutions as their SCM requirements have
become more complex. Since the market for our products is still evolving, it is
difficult to assess the competitive environment or the size of the market that
may

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develop. Our future financial performance will depend in large part on the
continued growth in the number of businesses adopting third-party SCM products
and the expansion of their use on a company-wide basis. The SCM market for
third-party products may grow more slowly than we anticipate. In addition,
technologies, customer requirements and industry standards may change rapidly.
If we cannot improve or augment our products as rapidly as existing
technologies, customer requirements and industry standards evolve, our products
or services could become obsolete. The introduction of new or technologically
superior products by competitors could also make our products less competitive
or obsolete. As a result of any of these factors, our position in existing
markets or potential markets could be eroded.

OUR BUSINESS IS DEPENDENT ON THE CONTINUED MARKET FOR IBM AND IBM-COMPATIBLE
MAINFRAMES

    We are substantially dependent upon the continued use and acceptance of IBM
and IBM-compatible mainframes and the growth of this market. If the role of the
mainframe does not increase as we anticipate, or if it in any way decreases,
this would materially adversely affect our business, future quarterly and annual
operating results and financial condition. Additionally, if there is a wide
acceptance of other platforms or if new platforms emerge that provide enhanced
enterprise server capabilities, our business and future operating results may be
materially adversely affected. Substantially all of our software license revenue
to date has been attributable to sales of our FULL.CYCLE MAINFRAME products. We
expect that, for the foreseeable future, substantially all of our software
license revenue will continue to come from sales of our mainframe products. As a
result, future sales of our existing products and associated maintenance revenue
and professional service revenue will depend on continued use of mainframes.
Recently there has been a trend away from the use of centralized mainframes in
enterprise computing environments to more decentralized client/server networks.
Although some IT organizations are using mainframes as large enterprise servers,
this practice is relatively new and still emerging and may not continue.

OUR INTRODUCTION OF SERENA SCM PRODUCTS FOR DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS MAY NOT BE
SUCCESSFUL

    We are currently developing our FULL.CYCLE distributed systems product suite
which is designed to operate on distributed systems. If we do not successfully
develop, market, sell and support our FULL.CYCLE distributed systems products,
this would materially adversely affect our business and our future quarterly and
annual operating results. Historically, all of our products have been designed
for the mainframe platform, and substantially all of our software license
revenue, maintenance revenue and professional services revenue to date have been
attributable to licenses for these mainframe products. We do not have experience
developing, marketing, selling or supporting distributed systems products.
Developing, marketing and selling our distributed systems products will require
significant resources that we may not have. Our sales and marketing
organizations have historically focused exclusively on sales of our products for
the mainframe and have limited experience marketing and selling distributed
systems products. Additionally, we do not have any experience in providing
support services for distributed systems products. Competition for experienced
software engineers, sales personnel and support staff is intense and if we fail
to attract qualified personnel this would impair our ability to support our
FULL.CYCLE distributed systems products. Many of our competitors have
substantially greater experience providing distributed systems compatible
software products than we do, and many also have significantly greater financial
and organizational resources.

WE MAY EXPERIENCE DELAYS IN DEVELOPING OUR PRODUCTS WHICH COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT
OUR BUSINESS

    If we are unable, for technological or other reasons, to develop and
introduce new and improved products in a timely manner, this could materially
adversely affect our business and future quarterly and annual operating results.
We have experienced product development delays in new version and update
releases in the past and may experience similar or more significant product
delays in the future.

                                       19
<PAGE>
To date, none of these delays has materially affected our business. Difficulties
in product development could delay or prevent the successful introduction or
marketing of new or improved products or the delivery of new versions of our
products to our customers. In particular, we may experience delays in
introducing our FULL.CYCLE product suite for distributed systems. While we
anticipate releasing initial versions of our FULL.CYCLE distributed systems
products, other than DETECT+RESOLVE which we released in December 1998, and
eCHANGE MAN which we released in June 1999, before the end of calendar 1999, any
delay in releasing our new distributed systems products or enhancements, for
whatever reason, would impair our revenue growth.

WE HAVE EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN OUR BUSINESS IN RECENT PERIODS AND OUR
ABILITY TO MANAGE THIS GROWTH AND ANY FUTURE GROWTH WILL AFFECT OUR BUSINESS

    Our ability to compete effectively and to manage our recent growth, any
future growth and our future quarterly and annual operating results will depend
in part on our ability to implement and expand operational, customer support and
financial control systems and to train and manage our employees. We may not be
able to augment or improve existing systems and controls or implement new
systems and controls in response to future growth, if any. Any failure to manage
growth could materially adversely affect our business. Since the beginning of
fiscal 1998 we have significantly expanded our sales, marketing and professional
service activities. This expansion included our September 1998 acquisition of
Optima which significantly increased the size of our sales, marketing and
professional service organizations. This growth has resulted, and any future
growth will result, in new and increased responsibilities for management
personnel.

WE WILL NEED TO EXPAND OUR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS IN ORDER TO EXPAND OUR BUSINESS
AND A NUMBER OF FACTORS MAY HINDER OUR ABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL

    If we fail to significantly expand our direct sales and telesales force, our
ability to sell our products into new markets and to increase our product
penetration into our existing markets will be impaired. Failure to expand our
distribution channels through any of these means could materially adversely
affect our business and our future quarterly and annual operating results. In
addition, our ability to achieve revenue growth in future periods will be
heavily dependent on our success in recruiting and training sufficient direct
sales personnel. We are planning to significantly expand our direct sales
efforts in North America and Europe and while we are investing, and plan to
continue to invest, substantial resources on this expansion, we have at times
experienced, and expect to continue to experience, difficulty in recruiting and
retaining qualified direct sales personnel. In addition to expanding our direct
sales efforts, we are also currently investing, and we intend to continue to
invest, substantial resources in selling our products through telesales
personnel. We also intend to extend our distribution channels by partnering with
leading helpdesk management, software distribution application and system
framework providers and may also attempt to develop additional sales and
marketing channels through system integrators, original equipment manufacturers
and other partners.

WE WILL NEED TO EXPAND OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ORGANIZATION IN ORDER TO EXPAND
OUR BUSINESS AND A NUMBER OF FACTORS MAY HINDER OUR ABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH THIS
GOAL

    Our existing professional services and customer support organizations may
not be sufficient to manage any future growth in our business. The failure to
expand our professional services and customer support organizations or to
integrate Optima's professional services personnel into our professional
services organization could materially adversely affect our business. While we
intend to significantly expand our professional services and customer support
organizations, including providing these services for both distributed systems
and mainframe applications and systems, we may not be able to do so. Competition
for additional qualified technical personnel to perform these services is
intense.

                                       20
<PAGE>
    We believe that providing high quality consulting, training, customer
support and education is essential to maintaining our competitive position. If
we are unable to provide comprehensive consulting and support services to our
existing and prospective customers, this may materially adversely affect our
business and ability to sell our products. Consulting services and customer
support are critical to our future success because the market for third party
SCM solutions is still evolving, and many organizations have limited experience
using third party SCM solutions. Customers have only recently begun to look to
third party providers for SCM solutions as the complexity of computer networks
and number of applications has increased.

WE INTEND TO EXPAND OUR INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND MAY ENCOUNTER A NUMBER OF
PROBLEMS IN DOING SO; THERE ARE ALSO A NUMBER OF FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS THAT COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS

    EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS.  We intend to expand the scope of our
international operations and currently have subsidiaries in the United Kingdom
and in Germany. If we are unable to expand our international operations
successfully and in a timely manner, this could materially adversely affect our
business and quarterly and annual operating results. Our continued growth and
profitability will require continued expansion of our international operations,
particularly in Europe. In addition, in calendar 1999, we intend to open
additional international offices, including at least one additional European
office. We have only limited experience in marketing, selling and supporting our
products internationally. Additionally, we do not have any experience in
developing foreign language versions of our products. Such development may be
more difficult or take longer than we anticipate. We may not be able to
successfully market, sell, deliver and support our products internationally.

    RISKS OF INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS.  Our international revenue is
attributable principally to our European operations. Our international
operations are, and any expanded international operations will be, subject to a
variety of risks associated with conducting business internationally that could
materially adversely affect our business and future quarterly and annual
operating results, including the following:

    - Difficulties in staffing and managing international operations

    - Problems in collecting accounts receivable

    - Longer payment cycles

    - Fluctuations in currency exchange rates

    - Seasonal reductions in business activity during the summer months in
      Europe and certain other parts of the world

    - Recessionary environments in foreign economies

    - Increases in tariffs, duties, price controls or other restrictions on
      foreign currencies or trade barriers imposed by foreign countries

FLUCTUATIONS IN THE VALUE OF FOREIGN CURRENCIES COULD RESULT IN CURRENCY
TRANSACTION LOSSES FOR SERENA

    A majority of our international business is conducted in foreign currencies,
principally the British pound. Fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies
relative to the U.S. dollar have caused and will continue to cause currency
transaction gains and losses. We cannot predict the effect of exchange rate
fluctuations upon future quarterly and annual operating results. We may
experience currency losses in the future. To date, we have not adopted a hedging
program to protect SERENA from risks associated with foreign currency
fluctuations.

                                       21
<PAGE>
SERENA IS SUBJECT TO INTENSE COMPETITION IN THE SCM INDUSTRY AND WE EXPECT TO
FACE INCREASED COMPETITION IN THE FUTURE, INCLUDING COMPETITION IN THE SCM FOR
DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS MARKET

    We may not be able to compete successfully against current and/or future
competitors and such inability would materially adversely affect our business,
quarterly and annual operating results and financial condition. The market for
our products is highly competitive and diverse. Moreover, the technology for SCM
products may change rapidly. New products are frequently introduced, and
existing products are continually enhanced. Competition may also result in
changes in pricing policies by SERENA or our competitors which could materially
adversely affect our business and future quarterly and annual operating results.
Competitors vary in size and in the scope and breadth of the products and
services that they offer. Many of our current and potential competitors have
greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do. As a
result, they may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies
and changes in customer requirements. They may also be able to devote greater
resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can.

    EXISTING COMPETITION.  We currently face competition from a number of
sources, including:

    - Customers' internal IT departments

    - Providers of SCM products that compete directly with CHANGE MAN and
      COMPAREX such as Computer Associates, IBM and smaller private companies

    - Providers of SCM application development programmer productivity and
      system management products such as Compuware, IBM and smaller private
      companies

    FUTURE COMPETITION.  We may face competition in the future from established
companies who have not previously entered the mainframe SCM market or from
emerging software companies. Barriers to entry in the software market are
relatively low. Increased competition may materially adversely affect our
business and future quarterly and annual operating results due to price
reductions, reduced gross margins and reduction in market share. Established
companies may not only develop their own mainframe SCM solutions, but they may
also acquire or establish cooperative relationships with our current
competitors, including cooperative relationships between large, established
companies and smaller private companies. Because larger companies have
significant financial and organizational resources available, they may be able
to quickly penetrate the mainframe SCM market through acquisitions or strategic
relationships and may be able to leverage the technology and expertise of
smaller companies and develop successful SCM products for the mainframe. We
expect that the software industry, in general, and providers of SCM solutions,
in particular, will continue to consolidate. It is possible that new competitors
or alliances among competitors may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market
share.

    BUNDLING OR COMPATIBILITY RISKS.  Our ability to sell our products also
depends, in part, on the compatibility of our products with other third party
products, particularly those provided by IBM.

    Developers of these third party products may change their products so that
they will no longer be compatible with our products. These third party
developers may also decide to bundle their products with other SCM products for
promotional purposes. If that were to happen, our business and future quarterly
and annual operating results may be materially adversely affected as we may be
priced out of the market or no longer be able to offer commercially viable
products.

    COMPETITION IN THE SCM FOR DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS MARKET.  We anticipate that
we will also face significant competition as we develop, market and sell our
FULL.CYCLE distributed systems products. If we are unable to successfully
penetrate the SCM for distributed systems market, our business and future
quarterly and annual operating results will be materially adversely affected. We
have little experience in developing, selling, marketing or supporting
distributed systems products since predominantly all of our products to date
have been designed to support the mainframe. Penetrating

                                       22
<PAGE>
the existing distributed systems SCM market will be difficult. Competitors in
the distributed systems market include Computer Associates, Rational, Continuus,
Mercury Interactive, Merant, Microsoft, Novadigm, Novell and other smaller
private companies.

REDUCED CUSTOMER FOCUS AND SPENDING ON YEAR 2000 REMEDIATION AND EMU CONVERSION
COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE SALES OF CERTAIN OF OUR PRODUCTS; CUSTOMER USE OF OUR
PRODUCTS FOR YEAR 2000 AND EMU ISSUES MAY NOT LEAD TO INCREASED SALES OF OUR
OTHER PRODUCTS

    Our business may be adversely affected if customers focus less on Year 2000
remediation and European Monetary Unit, or EMU, conversion issues and sales of
our STARWARP and COMPAREX products decline as a result. We have derived a
portion of our recent software license revenue and professional services revenue
from products designed to help customers resolve SCM problems for specific
business issues such as those related to Year 2000 remediation and EMU
conversion. Our STARWARP product is our primary Year 2000 and EMU readiness
product. Certain customers have also licensed COMPAREX to assist them in testing
Year 2000 remediations and EMU conversions. Market acceptance of our products
and services will depend, in large part, on whether customers use our products
as part of their overall IT management strategy in addition to using them to
resolve SCM problems related to specific business issues. Market acceptance of
our products to address general IT business needs as well as to resolve specific
business issues, such as Year 2000 remediation or EMU conversion, is critical to
our business and future success. If customers do not expand their use of our
products, implement new software products introduced by us or do not use our
related maintenance and support services to address their general IT business
requirements as well as specific issues, this will materially adversely affect
our business and our ability to sell our products.

ANY DELAYS IN OUR NORMALLY LENGTHY SALES CYCLES COULD RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT
FLUCTUATIONS IN OUR QUARTERLY OPERATING RESULTS

    Our sales cycle typically takes six to 18 months to complete and varies from
product to product. Any delay in the sales cycle of a large license or a number
of smaller licenses could result in significant fluctuations in our quarterly
operating results. The length of the sales cycle may vary depending on a number
of factors over which we may have little or no control, including the size of a
potential transaction and the level of competition that we encounter in our
selling activities. Additionally, the emerging market for SCM products and
services contributes to the lengthy sales process in that during the sales cycle
we often have to teach potential customers about the use and benefits of our
products. In certain circumstances, we license our software to customers on a
trial basis to assist the customers in their evaluation of our products. Our
sales cycle can be further extended for product sales made through third party
distributors.

CERTAIN OF OUR PRODUCTS ARE LICENSED FROM THIRD PARTIES OR ARE JOINTLY-OWNED
WITH THIRD PARTIES; OUR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN THESE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THIRD
PARTIES COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS

    STARTOOL AND STARWARP.  We license our STARTOOL and STARWARP products on an
exclusive worldwide basis from A. Bruce Leland, one of our employees. The
termination of our licenses for the STARTOOL or STARWARP products would
materially adversely affect our business and quarterly and annual operating
results. Mr. Leland holds all proprietary rights with respect to the STARTOOL
and STARWARP technology, including any derivative works or enhancements of the
existing STARTOOL and STARWARP products. Our licenses for these products are
terminable by Mr. Leland upon 30 days notice in the event certain conditions
occur, including our failure to pay sublicense fees to Mr. Leland on a timely
basis or any other material breach by us of the license agreement. Should the
licenses for the STARTOOL and STARWARP products terminate, we may not be able to
replace these products which could materially adversely affect our business and
future quarterly and annual operating results.

                                       23
<PAGE>
    DETECT+RESOLVE MAINFRAME.  We share ownership rights in our DETECT+RESOLVE
MAINFRAME technology for mainframe platforms with High Power Software. Although
we have historically had primary responsibility for marketing, licensing and
supporting DETECT+RESOLVE MAINFRAME, High Power Software has the ability to
jointly direct these efforts. If in the future we are unable to reach agreement
with High Power Software on the direction or evolution of the product, our
ability to market or promote the product may be compromised. This could have a
material adverse effect on our business and future quarterly and annual
operating results.

OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CERTAIN KEY PERSONNEL ARE CRITICAL TO OUR BUSINESS
AND SUCH OFFICERS AND KEY PERSONNEL MAY NOT REMAIN WITH SERENA IN THE FUTURE

    Our success will depend to a significant extent on the continued service of
our senior executives and certain other key employees, including certain sales,
consulting, technical and marketing personnel. If we lost the services of one or
more of our executives or key employees, including if one or more of our
executives or key employees decided to join a competitor or otherwise compete
directly or indirectly with SERENA, this could materially adversely affect our
business. In particular, we have historically relied on the experience and
dedication of our product authors. With the exception of Douglas D. Troxel,
SERENA's founder, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of SERENA's board of
directors, the employment of all of our senior and key employees, including key
product authors, is at will. Mr. Troxel's employment is on a year-to-year basis.
In addition, we do not maintain key man life insurance on our employees and have
no plans to do so.

WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN THE PERSONNEL WE NEED

    Our future success will likely depend in large part on our ability to
attract and retain additional experienced sales, technical, marketing and
management personnel. In addition, we will need to attract and retain sufficient
numbers of qualified software engineers, as well as sales and marketing and
support personnel, and successfully develop, market and support our FULL.CYCLE
distributed systems product suite which is currently in development. Competition
for such personnel in the computer software industry is intense, and in the past
we have experienced difficulty in recruiting qualified personnel, especially
developers and sales personnel. We expect competition for qualified personnel to
remain intense, and we may not succeed in attracting or retaining such
personnel. If we do not, this could materially adversely affect our business and
future quarterly and annual operating results. In addition, new employees
generally require substantial training in the use of our products. This training
will require substantial resources and management attention.

    INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS.  We intend to expand the scope of our
international operations and these plans will require us to attract experienced
management, service, marketing, sales and support personnel for our
international offices. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may not
be able to attract or retain such experienced personnel.

    NON-U.S. CITIZENS WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES.  To achieve our business
objectives, we may recruit and employ skilled technical professionals from other
countries to work in the United States. Limitations imposed by federal
immigration laws and the availability of visas could materially adversely affect
our ability to attract necessary qualified personnel. This may have a material
adverse effect on our business and future quarterly and annual operating
results.

POTENTIAL YEAR 2000 PROBLEMS WITH OUR SOFTWARE OR OUR INTERNAL OPERATING SYSTEMS
COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS

    SERENA SOFTWARE.  If any of our licensees experience Year 2000 problems as a
result of their use of our software products, those licensees could assert
claims for damages which, if successful, could materially adversely affect our
business, future operating results and financial condition. In the ordinary

                                       24
<PAGE>
course of our business, we test and evaluate our software products. We believe
that our software products are generally Year 2000 compliant, meaning that the
use or occurrence of dates on or after January 1, 2000 will not materially
affect the performance of our software products or the ability of our products
to correctly create, store, process and output information of data involving
dates. However, we may learn that certain of our software products do not
contain all necessary software routines and codes necessary for the accurate
calculation, display, storage and manipulation of data involving dates. In
addition, in certain cases, we have warranted that the use or occurrence of
dates on or after January 1, 2000 will not adversely affect the performance of
our products with respect to four digit date dependent data or the ability to
create, store, process and output information related to such data.

    THIRD PARTY EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE.  We use third party equipment and
software that may not be Year 2000 compliant. If this third party equipment or
software does not operate properly with regard to the Year 2000, we may incur
unexpected expenses to remedy any problems. These costs may materially adversely
affect our business. In addition, if our key systems, or a significant number of
our systems, failed as a result of Year 2000 problems we could incur substantial
costs and disruption of our business.

    CUSTOMER BUYING PATTERNS.  In addition, the purchasing patterns of our
customers and potential customers may be affected by Year 2000 issues. Many
companies are spending significant resources to correct their current software
systems for Year 2000 compliance. While sales of certain of our products, in
particular STARWARP and COMPAREX, have benefited from increased customer
spending on Year 2000 readiness, we believe sales of our CHANGE MAN product have
been and will continue to be adversely affected by customer focus on Year 2000
issues. Customers with limited IT budgets who face material Year 2000 issues are
spending their limited resources remediating these Year 2000 problems instead of
investing in more general IT products, such as CHANGE MAN.

    For a more detailed description of our Year 2000 preparedness assessment,
see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations--Year 2000 Compliance."

OUR INDUSTRY CHANGES RAPIDLY DUE TO EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS AND OUR FUTURE
SUCCESS WILL DEPEND ON OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO MEET THE SOPHISTICATED NEEDS
OF OUR CUSTOMERS

    Our future success will depend on our ability to address the increasingly
sophisticated needs of our customers by supporting existing and emerging
hardware, software, database and networking platforms. We will have to develop
and introduce enhancements to our existing products and new products on a timely
basis to keep pace with technological developments, evolving industry standards
and changing customer requirements. We expect that we will have to respond
quickly to rapid technological change, changing customer needs, frequent new
product introductions and evolving industry standards that may render existing
products and services obsolete. As a result, our position in existing markets or
potential markets could be eroded rapidly by product advances. The life cycles
of our products are difficult to estimate. Our growth and future financial
performance will depend in part upon our ability to enhance existing
applications, develop and introduce new applications that keep pace with
technological advances, meet changing customer requirements and respond to
competitive products. We expect that our product development efforts will
continue to require substantial investments. We may not have sufficient
resources to make the necessary investments. Any of these events could have a
material adverse effect on our business, quarterly and annual operating results
and financial condition.

THIRD PARTIES IN THE FUTURE COULD ASSERT THAT OUR PRODUCTS INFRINGE THEIR
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, WHICH COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS; THERE
COULD BE POTENTIAL ADVERSE EFFECTS OF THE PENDING COMPUWARE CLAIM

    Third parties may claim that our current or future products infringe their
proprietary rights. Any claims of this type could affect our relationships with
existing customers and may prevent future customers from licensing our products.
Because we are dependent upon a limited number of products,

                                       25
<PAGE>
any such claims, with or without merit, could be time consuming, result in
costly litigation, cause product shipment delays or require us to enter into
royalty or licensing agreements. Royalty or license agreements may not be
available on acceptable terms or at all. We expect that software product
developers will increasingly be subject to infringement claims as the number of
products and competitors in the software industry segment grows and the
functionality of products in different industry segments overlaps. As a result
of these factors, infringement claims could materially adversely affect our
business.

    In September 1998, Compuware Corporation, or Compuware, filed suit against
SERENA in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
seeking unspecified compensatory damages, costs and attorneys fees, and
injunctive relief based on allegations of copyright infringement, trade secret
misappropriation and various tort claims related to the sale of our STARTOOL and
STARWARP products. Compuware served the complaint on SERENA in November 1998.
Due to the nature of litigation generally, and due to the fact that discovery is
ongoing, management cannot ascertain the availability of injunctive relief or
other equitable remedies or estimate the total expenses, possible damages or
settlement value, if any, that may ultimately be incurred in connection with
Compuware's suit. However, management believes, based on the advice of counsel,
that SERENA has meritorious defenses to the allegations contained in Compuware's
complaint. We believe that this matter will not have a material adverse effect
on our results of operations or financial condition. This litigation could be
time consuming and costly, and there can be no assurance that SERENA will
necessarily prevail given the inherent uncertainties of litigation. In the event
that we do not prevail in litigation, we could be prevented from selling our
STARTOOL and STARWARP products or be required to enter into royalty or licensing
agreements or pay monetary damages. Such royalty or licensing agreements, if
required, may not be available on terms acceptable to SERENA or at all. In the
event of a successful claim against us, our business, future operating results
or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

ERRORS IN OUR PRODUCTS OR THE FAILURE OF OUR PRODUCTS TO CONFORM TO
SPECIFICATIONS COULD RESULT IN OUR CUSTOMERS DEMANDING REFUNDS FROM US OR
ASSERTING CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES AGAINST US

    Because our software products are complex, they often contain errors or
"bugs" that can be detected at any point in a product's life cycle. While we
continually test our products for errors and work with customers through our
customer support services to identify and correct bugs in our software, we
expect that errors in our products will continue to be found in the future.
Although many of these errors may prove to be immaterial, certain of these
errors could be significant. Detection of any significant errors may result in,
among other things, loss of, or delay in, market acceptance and sales of our
products, diversion of development resources, injury to our reputation, or
increased service and warranty costs. These problems could materially adversely
affect our business and future quarterly and annual operating results. In the
past we have discovered errors in certain of our products and have experienced
delays in the shipment of our products during the period required to correct
these errors. These delays have principally related to new version and product
update releases. To date none of these delays have materially affected our
business. However, product errors or delays in the future, including any product
errors or delays associated with the introduction of our FULL.CYCLE distributed
systems products, could be material. In addition, in certain cases we have
warranted that our products will operate in accordance with specified customer
requirements. If our products fail to conform to such specifications, customers
could demand a refund for the software license fee paid to us or assert claims
for damages.

PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS ASSERTED AGAINST US IN THE FUTURE COULD ADVERSELY
AFFECT OUR BUSINESS

    We may be subject to claims for damages related to product errors in the
future. While we carry insurance policies covering this type of liability, these
policies may not provide sufficient protection

                                       26
<PAGE>
should a claim be asserted. A material product liability claim could materially
adversely affect our business. Our license agreements with our customers
typically contain provisions designed to limit exposure to potential product
liability claims. SERENA's standard software licenses provide that if our
products fail to perform, we will correct or replace such products. If these
corrective measures fail, we may be required to refund the license fee for such
non-performing product. However, our standard license agreement limits our
liability for non-performing products to the amount of license fee paid, if the
license has been in effect for less than one year, or to the amount of the
licensee's current annual maintenance fee, if the license is more than one year
old. Our standard license also provides that SERENA shall not be liable for
indirect or consequential damages caused by the failure of our products. Such
limitation of liability provisions may, however, not be effective under the laws
of certain jurisdictions to the extent local laws treat certain warranty
exclusions as unenforceable. Although we have not experienced any product
liability claims to date, the sale and support of our products entail the risk
of such claims. In particular, issues relating to Year 2000 compliance have
increased awareness of the potential adverse effects of software defects and
malfunctions.

ANY ACQUISITIONS OR INVESTMENTS THAT WE MAY MAKE WILL BE SUBJECT TO A NUMBER OF
FACTORS WHICH COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS; SUCH INVESTMENTS OR
ACQUISITIONS MAY DILUTE EXISTING STOCKHOLDERS

    In the future we may make acquisitions of, or large investments in,
businesses that offer products, services and technologies that we believe would
help us better provide SCM products and services or help us expand our
distribution channels. We may not be able to complete any such additional
acquisitions in the future. Any future acquisitions or investments would present
risks commonly encountered in acquisitions of businesses. The following are
examples of such risks:

    - Difficulty in combining the technology, operations or work force of the
      acquired business

    - Disruption of SERENA's on-going businesses

    - Difficulty in realizing the potential financial or strategic benefits of
      the transaction

    - Difficulty in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and
      policies

    - Possible impairment of relationships with employees and clients as a
      result of any integration of new businesses and management personnel

    We expect that future acquisitions, if any, could provide for consideration
to be paid in cash, shares of SERENA common stock, or a combination of cash and
SERENA common stock. If the consideration for such transaction is paid in common
stock, this would further dilute existing stockholders. Any amortization of
goodwill or other assets resulting from such acquisition transaction could
materially impair our operating results and financial condition. If an
acquisition or large investment were to take place, the risks described above
could materially adversely affect our business and future operating results.

OUR STOCK WILL LIKELY BE SUBJECT TO SUBSTANTIAL PRICE AND VOLUME FLUCTUATIONS
DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS, CERTAIN OF WHICH ARE BEYOND OUR CONTROL

    Stock prices and trading volumes for many technology companies fluctuate
widely for reasons which may be unrelated to their businesses or results of
operations. These fluctuations, as well as general economic, market and
political conditions, could materially adversely affect the market price of
SERENA's common stock.

    Future announcements concerning SERENA or our competitors could cause the
market price of the common stock to fluctuate greatly. These type of
announcements may include information concerning:

                                       27
<PAGE>
    - Any shortfall in SERENA's revenues or net income from revenues or net
      income expected by securities analysts

    - Announcements of new products by SERENA or our competitors, including
      announcements regarding our FULL.CYCLE distributed systems products

    - Quarterly fluctuations in our financial results or the results of other
      software companies, including those of our direct competitors

    - Changes in analysts' estimates of our financial performance, the financial
      performance of our competitors, or the financial performance of software
      companies in general

    - Changes in prices of our products or the products of our competitors

    - Changes in our revenue growth rates or the growth rates of our competitors

    - Sales of large blocks of SERENA common stock

    - Conditions in the financial markets in general and the software industry
      in particular

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

    We do not use derivative financial instruments in our investment portfolio
and have no foreign exchange contracts. Our financial instruments consist of
cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, trade accounts receivable,
accounts payable. Our exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates
relates primarily to our short-term investments and obligations; thus,
fluctuations in interest rates would not have a material effect on the fair
value of these securities.

    Sales to customers in foreign countries accounted for approximately 15% and
17% of total revenue during the quarter and six months ended July 31, 1999,
respectively. Because we invoice certain of these sales in currencies other than
the U.S. dollar, predominately British pound sterling, and do not hedge these
transactions, fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect the
translated results of operations of our foreign subsidiaries.

                                       28
<PAGE>
                           PART II--OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

    Not applicable.

ITEM 2.  CHANGE IN SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS.

USE OF PROCEEDS

    In February 1999, SERENA completed the sale of 6 million shares of its
Common Stock, including 2 million shares on behalf of selling stockholders, at a
per share price of $13.00 in a firm commitment underwritten public offering
pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-67761) which the
Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective on February 11, 1999. The
offering was underwritten by Hambrecht & Quist LLC, SG Cowen Securities
Corporation and Soundview Technology Group Inc. In March 1999, an over-allotment
option granted by SERENA to the underwriters for the purchase of up to 900,000
additional shares of SERENA Common Stock was exercised in full by the
underwriters.

    SERENA received aggregate gross proceeds of $63.7 million in connection with
its initial public offering. Of such amount, approximately $4.4 million was paid
to the underwriters in connection with underwriting discounts, and approximately
$1.4 million was paid by SERENA in connection with offering expenses, including
legal, accounting, printing, filing and other fees. There were no direct or
indirect payments to directors or officers of the Company or any other person or
entity. None of the offering proceeds have been used for the construction of
plant, buildings or facilities or other purchase or installation of machinery or
equipment or for purchases of real estate or the acquisition of other
businesses. The Company is currently investing the net offering proceeds for
future use as additional working capital. Such remaining net proceeds may be
used for potential strategic investments or acquisitions that complement
SERENA's products, services, technologies or distribution channels.

    On June 14, 1999, SERENA acquired Diamond Optimum Systems, Inc. ("Diamond"),
a provider of enterprise software change management solutions for NT and UNIX
environments, in a transaction valued at approximately $4.5 million. The Company
acquired all the assets and assumed all the liabilities of Diamond in exchange
for cash totaling $1.75 million and the issuance of 175,000 shares of the
Company's common stock valued at $12.77 per share.

ITEM 3.  DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES.

    Not applicable.

ITEM 4.  SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

(a) The fiscal 1999 Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of SERENA Software, Inc.
    was held at the Company's offices at 500 Airport Boulevard, Burlingame,
    California 94010 on June 30, 1999 at 2:00 p.m.

(b) At the Annual Meeting, the following four persons were elected to the
    Company's Board of Directors, constituting all members of the Board of
    Directors.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
BOARD NOMINEES                                                  COMMON FOR    COMMON WITHHELD
-------------------------------------------------------------  ------------  -----------------
<S>                                                            <C>           <C>
Douglas D. Troxel............................................   23,453,324          18,800
Richard A. Doerr.............................................   23,453,324          18,800
Alan H. Hunt.................................................   23,453,524          18,600
Jerry T. Ungerman............................................   23,453,324          18,800
</TABLE>

                                       29
<PAGE>
(c) The following additional proposal was considered at the Annual Meeting with
    its results according to the respective vote of the stockholders:

    PROPOSAL 2--Ratification and approval of the appointment of KPMG LLP as
    independent accountants of the Company for the fiscal year ending January
    31, 2000.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
 COMMON FOR    COMMON AGAINST     ABSTAINED      BROKER NON-VOTES
------------  -----------------  -----------  -----------------------
<S>           <C>                <C>          <C>
 23,463,024           5,900           3,200                  0
</TABLE>

ITEM 5.  OTHER INFORMATION.

    In August 1999, SERENA's Board of Directors authorized the institution of a
stock repurchase program whereby up to 400,000 shares of the Company's Common
Stock may be repurchased in the open market or in privately negotiated block
transactions from time to time. The Company will utilize the reacquired shares
for reissuance in connection with employee stock programs and general corporate
purposes.

ITEM 6.  EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
EXHIBIT NO.    EXHIBIT TITLE
-------------  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>            <C>
     (a)       Exhibits.
    10.2A      Amended and Restated 1997 Stock Option and Incentive Plan
    10.3A      1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
    10.4A      1999 Director Option Plan
    27.1       Financial Data Schedule
     (b)       Reports on Form 8-K.
               Not applicable.
</TABLE>

                                       30
<PAGE>
                                   SIGNATURES

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

<TABLE>
<S>                             <C>  <C>
                                SERENA SOFTWARE, INC.

                                By:          /s/ ROBERT I. PENDER, JR.
                                     -----------------------------------------
                                               Robert I. Pender, Jr.
                                            VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE AND
                                      ADMINISTRATION, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
                                        (PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING
                                               OFFICER) AND SECRETARY
</TABLE>

Date: September 14, 1999

                                       31