1. “H.I.S.-tory” by Vince Ciotti
© 2011 H.I.S. Professionals, LLC, all rights reserved
Episode # 35: HIS Consultants,
Part 3: The Giant
Firms

2. So Where Were We…
• Between Minis and Micros, we’re taking a break in our HIS-tory
to look at a market segment that has since grown to dwarf many
HIS vendors in terms of annual revenue and number of
employees.
– If that sounds preposterous, look at Healthcare Informatics
2010 “Top 100” list of HIS vendors by revenue, you will find:#2 = Dell at $2.5 Billion (they claim 50%
of that is “services” or consulting)
#6 = CSC (Computer Science
Corporation) = $1.6 Billion (all
“services” or consulting, no hardware)
- That makes these firms twice as big as
Epic, with a mere $650 Million, and HI
doesn’t even list giant Xerox (ACS)!?
– So how did boutique consulting firms like
SIDA & HMC ever get that big? Read on…

3. It Started in Brooklyn…
• Allow me a personal digression to get to the start
of one of these monsters from my last episode
on Minis: Healthcare Information Systems, Inc.
• You may remember HIS was selling a system that
didn’t exist – a daring idea back in 1982, but a
little more de rigueur in these “visionware” days.
• You may remember Dick Schopp, an ex-McAuto
super-salesman who ran the Midwest territory
• Dick sold our non-existing IBM mainframe
system to several large hospitals in Indiana, who
were eager to obtain software as modern and
powerful as their IBM 4300 mainframes.
• I met many of their DP people (no “IT” then) who
came to Brooklyn to hear our HIS Inc. pitch…

4. A Word To The Wise…
(from the not-so-wise!)
• Fast forward a few years to circa 1984, and I was now working for
Dorenfest in Chicago as the “Interim President” of Sentry Data
Systems, the bankrupt mini vendor Sheldon & I were trying to sell.
• I can still remember sitting in Gerry Mathis’ old office one cold day
when the phone rang and it was a guy from one of Dick’s HIS Inc
Indiana sales: a very bright, young IBM guru named Rich Helppie.
• Seems Rich had moved on from his hospital after
HIS Inc failed to deliver, and was starting his own
consulting firm called specializing in IBM systems.
• I remembered Rich as a very sharp & capable guy,
and so gave him my honest advice: don’t do it!
• Back then in the mid-80s, the Big Eight reigned
supreme, and boutiques like SIDA got the crumbs.
• Rich thanked me, but stuck to his IBM-based plan.

5. Superior Consultants
• How dumb I was! Rich went on to sell tons of PCS/ADS
(Application Development System) gigs, despite my
ignorant advice, and did very well, dominating the field
• IBM mainframes dominated the LARGE hospital
market, who had the bucks to buy mucho consulting.
• Rich’s firm, Superior Consultants, earned their name!
• Remember from previous HIS-tory segments, IBM not
only dominated mainframes back in the 70s, but it’s Sys
34, 36 and 38 minis dominated minis in the 80s as well.
• So Rich wisely expanded from IBM 43XX and 30XX
mainframes into their Sys 3X minicomputers as well.
• He also expanded from purely technical consulting
(programming & operations) into strategic consulting:
strategic planning, system selections, installations, etc,
and stated covering all HIS systems, not just IBM.

6. Amazing Growth!
• Just how big did Superior Consulting get to be? Check the math:
– In 1984 when I got my call, Rich started out as a 1-man band,
like so many of the “hang a shingle” guys we profiled last
week
– At its peak, Superior employed over 1,400 people, has annual
revenues of $149M, serving 3,000 clients in all 50 states...
– That’s an annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 50%!
• With those kind of numbers, no wonder Superior went public in
1996, following the typical HIS vendor route for cashing in chips.• In 2004, Superior sold to competitor ACS for $95M95M
- Who was ACS (Affiliated Computer Services)?
• And how big did Superior Consulting grow that fast?
– The answer to both $64,000 questions (remember
that TV show?) is the subject of the next episode,
which also has its roots in an earlier HIS-tory…

7. Amazing Growth!
• Just how big did Superior Consulting get to be? Check the math:
– In 1984 when I got my call, Rich started out as a 1-man band,
like so many of the “hang a shingle” guys we profiled last
week
– At its peak, Superior employed over 1,400 people, has annual
revenues of $149M, serving 3,000 clients in all 50 states...
– That’s an annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 50%!
• With those kind of numbers, no wonder Superior went public in
1996, following the typical HIS vendor route for cashing in chips.• In 2004, Superior sold to competitor ACS for $95M95M
- Who was ACS (Affiliated Computer Services)?
• And how big did Superior Consulting grow that fast?
– The answer to both $64,000 questions (remember
that TV show?) is the subject of the next episode,
which also has its roots in an earlier HIS-tory…