Made In America

It's no secret that a large number of systems integrators and software developers are embracing the offshore outsourcing model and establishing businesses overseas in such locations as India and China. But some top solution providers, such as BearingPoint (No. 24 on the 2004 VARBusiness 500) and Ciber (VB500 No. 71) are setting up shop a little closer to home.

Denver-based Ciber recently launched its Cibersite program, which will create several low-cost application-development centers in midsize U.S. cities with underutilized technology talent pools. The solution provider opened its first Cibersite in Oklahoma City in January, and Ciber CEO and president Mac Slingerlend says the company plans to open several more domestic application-development centers in order to tap into skilled IT labor markets across the United States that are not being leveraged to their full potential. In addition, Ciber officials believe the company will be able to attract business with a so-called "near-shore" model from clients that prefer to keep their IT investments in the United States. The Oklahoma City Cibersite will create approximately 200 new jobs and already has a pipeline of $30 million in prospective contracts. Ciber says it plans to create a total of approximately 1,000 new jobs with additional Cibersite application-development centers during the next 12 to 18 months.

BearingPoint also has turned its attention to its home nation. The IT consultancy recently announced it will be opening a software-development center (SDC) in Hattiesburg, Miss., near the University of Southern Mississippi. The center will initially focus on SAP and Oracle software development for public-sector clients, such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Navy. BearingPoint says it will recruit and train up to 40 application developers this spring to run the Hattiesburg SDC.