Pinthouse Pizza
CSC Anchors Revitalized Downtown
RECEIVED Tue., Jan. 11, 2005
To Jim Hightower and the Chronicle,
"The Hightower Report" in the Chronicle's Dec. 17 issue plugged AMIBA's Indie Challenge, which aims to encourage locally owned independent businesses. Mr. Hightower decried the steady erosion of homegrown businesses by impersonal corporate giants, exemplified by CSC Corporation (sic), the "cold, six-story building housing a high tech military contractor that has no roots in Austin, is not in character with our city, and offers nothing to our way of life" that displaced Liberty Lunch. In fact, the downtown buildings house the global headquarters of CSC's Financial Services Group, which provides software and information technology services primarily to banks and insurers. This unit was formed in 1968 as one of Austin's first high tech companies, a spin-off of local firm Tracor. We later became TCC, and then Continuum. CSC bought Continuum in 1996 and has maintained its local operations. I joined TCC in 1969, so after 35 years with the same company, CSC's roots feel pretty local to me. Describing CSC only as a high tech military contractor is misleading. In its most recent fiscal year, which ended April 2, CSC derived just 26% of its revenues from the Department of Defense, none of which had any connection to Austin.
On Dec. 12 CSC announced an agreement to sell its units and contracts that provide Department of Defense aviation maintenance, physical and personal security, drug eradication, shipboard logistics, and training and staffing services. Divesting them returns CSC to its core competencies of providing information technology, engineering, and professional services to its commercial and government clients.
I miss Liberty Lunch, too. But I'm proud that CSC anchors Austin's revitalized downtown rather than building on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Please find a more fitting example than CSC of what's wrong with Austin business.
"The Hightower Report" in the Chronicle's Dec. 17 issue plugged AMIBA's Indie Challenge, which aims to encourage locally owned independent businesses. Mr. Hightower decried the steady erosion of homegrown businesses by impersonal corporate giants, exemplified by CSC Corporation (sic), the "cold, six-story building housing a high tech military contractor that has no roots in Austin, is not in character with our city, and offers nothing to our way of life" that displaced Liberty Lunch. In fact, the downtown buildings house the global headquarters of CSC's Financial Services Group, which provides software and information technology services primarily to banks and insurers. This unit was formed in 1968 as one of Austin's first high tech companies, a spin-off of local firm Tracor. We later became TCC, and then Continuum. CSC bought Continuum in 1996 and has maintained its local operations. I joined TCC in 1969, so after 35 years with the same company, CSC's roots feel pretty local to me. Describing CSC only as a high tech military contractor is misleading. In its most recent fiscal year, which ended April 2, CSC derived just 26% of its revenues from the Department of Defense, none of which had any connection to Austin.
On Dec. 12 CSC announced an agreement to sell its units and contracts that provide Department of Defense aviation maintenance, physical and personal security, drug eradication, shipboard logistics, and training and staffing services. Divesting them returns CSC to its core competencies of providing information technology, engineering, and professional services to its commercial and government clients.
I miss Liberty Lunch, too. But I'm proud that CSC anchors Austin's revitalized downtown rather than building on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Please find a more fitting example than CSC of what's wrong with Austin business.
Sincerely,
Jackie VanErp
Vice-president
Financial Services Group
Computer Sciences Corporation
Jackie VanErp
Vice-president
Financial Services Group
Computer Sciences Corporation
[Jim Hightower responds: I'm delighted to hear that CSC is getting out of the Pentagon hustle, if that's what VanErp is claiming. I'd still gladly trade this corporation for all of the local Liberty Lunches that have been shoved out by political deals that give special breaks to giants like CSC, a $14-billion-a-year conglomerate headquartered in El Segundo, Calif. Also, VanErp might want to be little more modest than to assert that "CSC anchors Austin's revitalized downtown." Downtown has been revitalized because local restaurants, clubs, other small businesses, apartment and condo dwellers, independent bankers, city government, and others revitalized it. I've never heard anyone say, "I want to go to downtown Austin because that's where CSC is."]