ɪt wʌz fˈɔːɹmd ɪnðə mˈɪd nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi z baɪ ɡˈoːɹdən wˈɔltən, mˈaɪk dʒˈoʊnz, ɹˈɑːb bɹˈænən, dˈɑːn ɡˈɪlmən ænd ˈʌðɚz fɹʌm ɐplˈaɪd kəmpjˈuːɾɪŋ sˈɜːvɪsᵻz ɐbˌaʊt nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi sˈɪks, ɐ smˈɔːl ˌaɪtˈiː sˈɜːvɪs fˈɜːm.
It was formed in the mid 1980s by Gordon Walton, Mike Jones, Rob Brannon, Don Gilman and others from Applied Computing Services about 1986, a small IT service firm.