Origins Logica was started as a
systems integration business in 1969. The other founders were Pat Coen, Steve Feldman, and John McNeil. Another important figure, David Mann, joined the fledgling outfit a few weeks later. Another involved the first bank cash dispenser in the UK. They hired
Roger Scantlebury in 1977 who had worked on the
European Informatics Network, a
datagram network linking
CERN, the French research centre
INRIA and the UK’s
National Physical Laboratory. Logica set up operating subsidiaries in the Sweden and the United States in 1977.
Logica VTS In 1975, Logica developed the first electronic
typing pool – Unicom – for
Unilever. This development allowed the functions of a typing pool to be automated into a single system supporting about 50 workstations. A range of standalone word processors, the VTS 100, the VTS 2200 ("Whirlwind") and, finally, the VTS 2300 ("Kennet"), were developed and were manufactured at a purpose built factory in
Swindon. These machines were sold internationally by
BT and by
International Computers Ltd, and were amongst the first word processors to achieve mass sales. This aspect of business was still going in 1984, with Logica founder Pat Coen as managing director of Logica VTS. By the end of 1985, Logica had decided to exit the office automation business, and Logica VTS was shut down over the course of 1986.
Software Products Group, Rapport, and Xenix Most of Logica's software products were used only internally, as part of reusing implementation parts of the contracting projects it engaged in. The director of the group was Gordon Kirk. Micro Rapport was also released, for the
Zilog Z80.
Xenix was a version of the
Unix operating system that
Microsoft worked on; in 1982 they engaged with the
Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) in this work, with the two companies' engineers working together on improvements. In doing so, Microsoft gave HCR and Logica the rights to do Xenix ports and license Xenix binaries in those territories, which for Logica included all of Europe. Logica stated that it had over 300 clients for its Xenix product, including other computer manufacturers such as
Acorn Computers,
Plessey Microsystems,
SAGEM,
Regnecentralen, and
Triumph-Adler, indirect sales through resellers, and direct sales to end customers such as
Chemical Bank,
West Midlands County Council, and
Natural Environment Research Council. Logica's positioning of Xenix included features making it easier to use. The Software Products Group was acquired by SCO in December 1986; it became a wholly owned subsidiary, the Santa Cruz Operation Limited, and the basis for SCO's UK operation, and then to
Watford outside London. Initially supplemented by some engineers who transferred from SCO's headquarters operation in
Santa Cruz, California,
Public company and the David Mann era The company floated on the London Stock Exchange on 26 October 1983. as well as the
Customer Service System for British Telecommunications (BT/CSS), the £1bn total implementation, represented largest computer project undertaken in Europe and the largest integrated database in the world. Logica pioneered the automated ticketing system for
London Underground in 1987 and in the UK with
British Airways in 1990 to undertake the development of computer systems for the airline and then sell them to other airlines. The company's research and development arm was known as Logica Cambridge and located in Cambridge, England. Logica's competitors in the IT services and contracting realm in general included not just EDS but also
Andersen Consulting,
Cap Gemini Sogeti, and the
Sema Group, as well as in specialty areas (such as banking)
Hoskyns Group,
Admiral Consulting, and
Advanced Computer Techniques. Other original founders of the company were also playing a lesser role at this point. During this period the company's turnover fell flat, and it suffered a loss in 1991, as it struggled with the effects of the
early 1990s recession, especially among customers in the financial services industry. By 1994 the company had some 3,400 employees. By the close of the 1990s, Logica had seen large-scale growth, with an average annual earnings increase of 35 percent over the previous five years and an increase in the company's market capitalisation from £130 million in August 1993 to £6.1 billion in December 1999. In 2000, Logica acquired the German computing services business PDV for £370 million, increasing the size of the German workforce by 1,200 in the process. In 2001 the company secured an
outsourcing contract to create and operate a new case management system for the
Crown Prosecution Service. At this time the level of Read's remuneration received attention when it was revealed that he enjoyed a £28 million pay packet.
LogicaCMG The merger of Logica (60 percent) with British company
CMG (40 percent) to form LogicaCMG on 30 December 2002 united an established technology firm (Logica) with an established consulting firm (CMG). In December 2003, LogicaCMG’s software controlled the doomed
Beagle 2 probe after separation from the
Mars Express orbiter. During the mid-2000s the company embarked on a series of acquisitions of Continental European firms. and an outsourcing contract with
Transport for London for
IT services was terminated early after disputes over payments and service level agreements. By 2007, the firm had some 39,000 employees and offices in 36 countries, and was one of Europe's largest IT services and outsourcing firms. Following a profit warning in 2007, shareholders became increasingly skeptical about the wisdom of the European acquisitions strategy, and Martin Read was forced out as CEO by these shareholders.
Return to Logica Andy Green was recruited as the new CEO and took office from 1 January 2008. On 27 February 2008, the company changed its name back to Logica. In May 2008 the company announced that it would offshore more of its activities including
SAP support and
HR and payroll administration to
Makati in the Philippines, and saw a subsequent increase in its outsourced HR and payroll services business to more than 850 customer organisations. Beginning in late 2009, Logica's revenues suffered from the effects of the
European debt crisis. Logica's shares fell to half their value from a year prior. The acquisition would give CGI a large presence in Europe for the first time and make it the sixth-largest IT services provider in the world. The acquisition was completed on 20 August 2012. At the time of the acquisition, CGI had some 35,000 employees compared to Logica's 40,000; following elimination of redundancies, around 71,000 employees were in the newly merged company. ==Operations==