Ciber

Ciber was an American information-technology consulting and services company founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1974. Its name originated as an acronym for Consultants in Business Engineering Research. The company began by supplying specialized computer-programming, hardware, and software assistance to organizations that did not possess sufficient internal technical resources. Its earliest customer focus was the automotive industry, reflecting its Detroit origins, but it soon expanded into oil and gas and later into telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, government-related work, and other commercial sectors. Ciber's early growth was comparatively measured. The company established offices in Phoenix, Houston, Denver, Dallas, and Atlanta before moving its corporate headquarters to Englewood, Colorado, in 1988. Bobby G. Stevenson was a central figure in the business from its founding. He became chief executive officer in 1977 after the accidental death of co-founder and chief executive Richard L. Ezinga, and guided the company through its transition from a small regional consultancy to a national technology-services provider. During the mid-1980s, Ciber adopted a more aggressive expansion strategy. Rather than relying primarily on organic growth, it sought to broaden its geographic footprint, consultant base, and service capabilities through acquisitions. That strategy accelerated in the 1990s, when Ciber purchased numerous computer-consulting and programming businesses. The acquisitions added personnel and regional offices while helping Ciber move beyond basic contract programming into systems consulting, management consulting, project management, and more complex technology implementation work. Ciber completed an initial public offering in March 1994. Public-company capital supported an acquisition program that included C.P.U., Inc.; Interface Systems; Spencer & Spencer Systems; Business Information Technology; parts of Broadway & Seymour; OASYS; Practical Business Solutions; the Business Systems Development division of DataFocus; and Spectrum Technology Group. By the middle of the 1990s, the company had expanded its national presence substantially and was serving large corporate customers including American Express, AT&T, Ford, IBM, MCI, Mellon Bank, Monsanto, U.S. West Communications, and Xerox. The company also pursued high-demand technology niches. In December 1995, it introduced CIBR2000, a practice focused on helping customers address the Year 2000 date-conversion problem in legacy software. Ciber's work included software development and maintenance, systems integration, technical staffing, project management, and testing. In 1997, it was approved as an independent voting-system testing authority. By the 2000s, Ciber had become a significant tester of voting-machine software in the United States, a role that later attracted public scrutiny because of political contributions and controversy surrounding election-system source code. Ciber remained a publicly traded technology-services company for much of its later life, but financial and operational difficulties eventually weakened the business. In May 2017, HTC Global Services acquired Ciber. The transaction ended Ciber's existence as an independent public company and transferred its capabilities and operations into HTC Global Services. The Ciber name has subsequently been associated with HTC's acquired business and the Ciber Global identity rather than with an independent listed corporation.

Ciber was established in Detroit in 1974 by three individuals, including Bobby G. Stevenson and Richard L. Ezinga. The founders created the company to provide outside computer expertise to businesses that lacked sufficient internal programming and systems resources. Its first major market was the automotive industry, but Ciber soon added oil-and-gas customers and expanded geographically. Offices opened in Phoenix, Houston, Denver, Dallas, and Atlanta, and the headquarters moved to Englewood, Colorado, in 1988. Ezinga died accidentally in 1977, after which Stevenson became chief executive officer. For its first decade, Ciber grew steadily but remained small relative to the expanding computer-consulting industry. Management changed course in the mid-1980s, emphasizing acquisitions and a broader service portfolio. The approach began producing visible results around 1990, when Ciber opened additional offices and pursued telecommunications customers such as AT&T, GTE, and U.S. West Communications. The recessionary environment of the early 1990s also created demand for external technology specialists. Corporate downsizing left many organizations without the staff needed to develop, maintain, and troubleshoot important systems. Ciber supplied consultants for software development, inventory control, accounts payable, customer support, and other enterprise functions. Mac J. Slingerlend joined the company in 1989 as executive vice president and chief financial officer and later became president and chief operating officer. Ciber went public in March 1994. The public offering helped finance an intensive acquisition program. During the 1990s, the company acquired more than a dozen consulting and programming businesses, including C.P.U., Inc., Interface Systems, Spencer & Spencer Systems, Business Information Technology, OASYS, Practical Business Solutions, parts of DataFocus, and Spectrum Technology Group. These transactions expanded its branch network, consultant workforce, and capabilities in systems consulting, management consulting, and project management. In December 1995, Ciber created CIBR2000 to help customers modify legacy software affected by the transition from two-digit to four-digit year fields at the end of the twentieth century. The Year 2000 practice became an important example of Ciber's strategy of packaging technical expertise around a large, time-sensitive business problem. Ciber later entered election-technology testing. It had been approved as an independent testing authority in 1997 and was described by 2007 as the largest tester of voting-machine software in the United States. This activity generated controversy. Political donations made by Ciber and concerns about the handling of election-system source-code materials led to criticism and public questions about the independence and security of testing laboratories. In its later years, Ciber operated as an international information-technology consulting, services, and outsourcing business. HTC Global Services acquired the company in May 2017. Following the acquisition, Ciber ceased operating as an independent listed company and became part of HTC Global Services.

• 2017

  Acquisition by HTC Global Services

  [1]Ciberen.wikipedia.org

  HTC Global Services acquires Ciber in May, bringing the company into its technology-services group.

• 1997

  Approved as an independent voting-system testing authority

  [1]Ciberen.wikipedia.org

  Ciber enters the U.S. election-technology testing field.

• 1995

  CIBR2000 is introduced

  [1]Ciberen.wikipedia.org

  Ciber launches a dedicated Year 2000 remediation practice for customers with legacy date-processing risks.

• 1994

  Initial public offering

  [1]Ciberen.wikipedia.org

  Ciber completes an initial public offering and uses the resulting public-company platform to accelerate acquisitions.

• 1988

  Headquarters moves to Englewood

  [1]Ciberen.wikipedia.org

  Ciber relocates its corporate headquarters from its earlier Midwestern base to Englewood, Colorado.

• 1977

  Stevenson becomes chief executive

  [1]Ciberen.wikipedia.org

  After the accidental death of co-founder and chief executive Richard L. Ezinga, Bobby G. Stevenson assumes the chief executive role.

• 1974

  Ciber is founded in Detroit

  [1]Ciberen.wikipedia.org

  The company is established as Consultants in Business Engineering Research to provide specialized computer consulting and technical services.

Ciber positioned itself as a technology-services partner able to provide specialist consultants, software engineering, systems implementation, testing, and project expertise for commercial and institutional clients. Its market identity evolved from contract programming toward broader, higher-value consulting and outsourcing services.

• Year 2000 remediation services · 1995

  CIBR2000

  A service division introduced in December 1995 to help organizations identify and correct date-handling problems in legacy software. Its work addressed applications that stored years in two-digit form and could misinterpret the transition from 1999 to 2000, affecting calculations, records, payments, inventories, contracts, and other business processes.

• Information-technology consulting · 1974

  Enterprise technology consulting

  Ciber's core consulting work included software development, systems analysis, implementation support, maintenance, and technical staffing. Consultants served commercial organizations that needed specialist capacity for new systems, legacy applications, and operational technology projects.

• Software and election-technology testing · 1997

  Voting-system testing

  After receiving approval as an independent testing authority in 1997, Ciber tested voting-system software and equipment for election-related customers. This became one of its most visible specialized activities during the 2000s, although it also attracted public scrutiny over political donations and source-code handling.

• 2006

  Disclosure of election-system source-code materials

  Disks apparently containing Diebold Election Systems source code used in Maryland's 2004 elections were anonymously sent to Cheryl Kagan. The materials bore Ciber and Wyle logos; both companies denied responsibility for the disclosure. The episode raised questions about the custody and security of sensitive election-technology materials.

  Source

• 2004

  Political donations and election-testing independence

  Ciber donated to Republican organizations, including a reported contribution to the Republican National Committee in 2000. The donations prompted criticism that political giving by an election-system testing laboratory could undermine confidence in the neutrality of its work.

  Source

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• 2017

  Accepts acquisition by HTC Global ServicesM&A

  Background

  Ciber was operating as a technology consulting and outsourcing company when HTC Global Services pursued its acquisition.

  Action taken

  HTC Global Services acquired Ciber in May 2017.

  Aftermath

  Ciber ceased to exist as an independent listed company and became part of HTC Global Services.

  Source

• 1995

  Launches CIBR2000Product launch

  Background

  Many legacy applications used two-digit years and faced potential calculation and reporting failures at the century change.

  Action taken

  Ciber established a dedicated Year 2000 remediation service to assess and modify affected systems.

  Aftermath

  The offering positioned Ciber to address a large, time-sensitive enterprise technology requirement during the late 1990s.

  Source

• 1985

  Adopts acquisition-led expansionStrategy

  Background

  Ciber was a relatively small participant in a rapidly expanding computer-consulting market and needed greater scale, geographic reach, and technical depth.

  Action taken

  Management adopted a strategy centered on acquiring established consulting firms while broadening the company's service range.

  Aftermath

  The strategy drove rapid national expansion during the 1990s and added capabilities beyond basic contract programming.

  Source

1. 1Ciberen.wikipedia.org