HOB GmbH & Co KG

= History =

HOB GmbH & Co KG is part of the Brandstätter Group , to which belong, among other companies, the famous toy company Playmobil. HOB GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1964 as an electronics concern, by Horst Brandstätter. The name HOB is an acronym formed from his name. HOB began developing software and terminals for IBM Mainframe computers in 1981. In 1983, HOB brought the world's first multi-session terminal for Mainframes onto the market, the HOB 78E terminal. Among the company’s major customers were MAN, Munich, the OFD Koblenz [OFD Koblenz [http://www.computerwoche.de/heftarchiv/1985/30/1170139/] ] (Oberfinanzdirektion = Superior Finance Directorate: the central instance for all financial matters of the German state Rhineland-Westphalia), the automakers BMW and Audi, and the German mail-order giant Quelle. Up until 2001, the company produced hard- and software mainly for IBM Mainframes. With the advent of PC’s, terminal hardware sales dropped and, in 2001, HOB discontinued production of the multi-session terminals. Since then, HOB produces pure software solutions providing secure remote connectivity for a wide range of computer operating systems. HOB also provides network infrastructure consultation services.

Company Milestones

1964 HOB Electronic GmbH & Co. KG is founded.
1981 Maintaining its focus on hardware, the company also begins to develop software and terminals for IBM
1983 At CeBIT, HOB launches the first simultaneous, multi-session terminal for 3270 access.
1990 Expanding its focus on the software market, the company develops its first solution for Windows-based 3270 emulation.
1996 Java hits the technology scene. HOB becomes one of the first innovators of Java-based connectivity technology.
2000 HOB Inc. [ [http://www.hobsoft.com/news/news0103.jsp News: HOB global strategy, Oliver Graf ] ] is founded, expanding HOB GmbH & Co KG into the US marketplace with a wide range of connectivity solutions for Windows Terminal Server, IBM Mainframes, AS/400 and UNIX.

Current Areas of Operation

HOB is an internationally active company that delivers software to a variety of customers in the financial, aerospace, health care, education, government and other sectors. HOB software is available in a variety of languages.
Customer care (support, maintenance, update service) is provided both directly from HOB’s central office in Cadolzburg, Germany and by the HOB distributors throughout the world.

In its headquarters in Cadolzburg and other branch offices in Germany, HOB employs about 100 people. In addition to this, HOB also has branch offices in France, Austria, the U.S.A. and Malta, as well as a network of distributors and resellers all over the world.

HOB's Development Departments

HOB’s various development departments are listed below:

Connectivity Development

Terminal Emulations
Windows Terminal Server Computing
SSL Security Solutions
IP Sec Security Solutions

Database Connectivity Development

Database Connectivity with ODBC and JDBC

Communications Development

Software for IBM Mainframes
Development of new communication technologies

Technology Development

Windows Terminal Server Computing
Windows Remote Access

Networking

Planning, installation and distribution of LAN and WAN networks

Secure Remote Access

HOB’s security software is designed to provide secure remote access to "mission-critical applications" over the Internet and intranets (LANs as well as WANs).

HOB maintains in its central office many different computer types, on which a wide array of various operating systems are installed. This allows HOB to reproduce and solve customer's problems very quickly. In the event of even more difficult problems, HOB support engineers or developers can provide on-site support in a short time.

Organizational Structure and Ownership

HOB Inc. and HOB GmbH & Co. KG are both affiliated with HOB electronic GmbH as general partners. These entities belong to the Brandstätter Group. All stock is privately held. Outside capital is not involved.

Customer Structure

Along with the IT industry’s rapid growth, the structure of HOB's customer base has expanded greatly, in correspondence with the expansion of HOB's product range. HOB Software Solutions are deployed in more than 3,000 enterprises from the banking, insurance, public administration, governmental agencies, hospitals and industrial sectors

References