CIBER Enterprise Solutions Completes Lawson 'Skip' Upgrade for Black Hills Corporation on Time and Under Budget
RAPID CITY, S.D., March 5 -- CIBER Enterprise Solutions, a division of CIBER, Inc. (NYSE:CBR), today announced it has completed a major upgrade of the Lawson 8.1 enterprise software application suite for the IBM System i platform for Black Hills Corporation (BHC; NYSE: BKH), a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, S.D. The upgrade, which was completed on time and under budget, enables BHC to take advantage of new application features, along with additional Lawson products compatible with the newer version.
CIBER made the announcement at Lawson CUE, being held March 5 - 7, 2007, at the San Diego Convention Center. CIBER is exhibiting in booth #507. For more information about CIBER and its Lawson solutions, visit http://www.ciber.com/events/cue
The project dubbed VOLTAGE, or Visualize Our Lawson Transformation And Gain Efficiency, involved implementing Lawson's Skip Upgrade path for the IBM System i platform, allowing BHC to upgrade from Lawson application version 7.2 to version 8.1. By skipping version 8.0, BHC was able to avoid the time and expense of upgrading twice. BHC turned to CIBER for assistance, given CIBER's dedicated Lawson practice, IBM System i platform expertise, and energy industry experience.
BHC's Lawson ERP system on the System i platform operates and helps automate much of BHC's financial, accounting, procurement, human resources, and payroll functions. The upgrade from version 7.2 to version 8.1 allows BHC to retain Lawson technical support while gaining efficiency in business processes across all BHC companies. The new version also provides a foundation for BHC to implement Lawson Business Intelligence, which provides more robust reporting and dashboard functionality.
For the project, CIBER provided project managers to lead the project, as well as business consultants to assist with process assessment and re-engineering, and technical consultants to manage the upgrade, implementation, and integration. In addition, CIBER provided resources to assist BHC personnel with learning the new system and modifying business practices to take advantage of new features.
The team completed the project in less than eight months and with money to spare in the project budget.
"What impressed us about CIBER and the reason we chose them was because of their Lawson technical experience with the System i platform, their power industry experience, and previous positive working relationships with CIBER," said Perry Krush, Vice President and Controller for BHC. "In addition to CIBER's technology services, they offered change management, knowledge transfer and business consulting services which helped guide us through critical milestones of the project. These offerings were integral to the success of our Lawson upgrade project."
"Black Hills Corporation is one of the first Lawson System i customers to complete a 'skip' upgrade. Our experience in assisting many clients with skip upgrades on all platforms lets us know that BHC will benefit from the new functionality and efficiencies the system offers, and the competitive advantages the system provides," said Paul Robson, Vice President of CIBER Enterprise Solutions' Lawson Practice. We're pleased that we were able to help align BHC's strategic vision and business objectives with the full use of the Lawson software."
BHC operates Black Hills Power, Cheyenne Light, Fuel, and Power, Enserco Energy, and Wyodak. The firm employs the latest emissions control technology -- including mercury reduction technology -- on its plants to ensure responsible environmental protections.
About Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company. Our retail businesses are Black Hills Power, an electric utility serving western South Dakota, northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana; and Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power, an electric and gas distribution utility serving the Cheyenne, Wyoming vicinity. Black Hills Energy, the wholesale energy business unit, generates electricity, produces natural gas, oil and coal and markets energy. More information is available at our Internet web site: http://www.blackhillscorp.com/
About CIBER Enterprise Solutions
As a division of CIBER, Inc. (NYSE:CBR), CIBER Enterprise Solutions offers enterprise and e-business application implementation and integration consulting services for top-tier software applications in the enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain and e-business areas. CIBER Enterprise Solutions' business and technical expertise spans 20 years of providing solutions to companies across all industries. CIBER, Inc. is a pure-play international system integration consultancy with superior value-priced services for both private and government sector clients. CIBER's global delivery services are offered on a project or strategic staffing basis, in both custom and enterprise resource planning (ERP) package environments, and across all technology platforms, operating systems and infrastructures. Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo., the company now serves client businesses from over 60 U.S. offices, 22 European offices and five offices in Asia. Operating in 18 countries, with over 8,250 employees and annual revenue of approximately $1 billion, CIBER and its IT specialists continuously build and upgrade clients' systems to "competitive advantage status." CIBER is included in the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P Small Cap 600 Index. CIBER, ALWAYS ABLE. http://www.ciber.com/
Source: CIBER, Inc.
CONTACT:
Media
Diane Stoner,
+1-303-220-0100,
dstoner@ciber.com
Web site:
http://www.ciber.com/
http://www.blackhillscorp.com/
