Congratulations to Cimation founders Jonathan Klein (CEO) and Luis Luque (CSO) for being named finalists for The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2013 Award for the Gulf
Coast Area!

According to an announcement released today, "[t]he awards program recognizes high-growth entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities." After four years at Cimation's helm, Jonathan and Luis have demonstrated that they truly embody the spirit of this award, and we wish them both the best of luck!

It's very common in the technology and energy industries to refer to talent in terms of A- and B-Players. We know that A-players are the best of the bunch, the top performers, the rockstars while B-Players reside on the second tier along with everyone else.

On the sunny afternoon of April 26th, Cimation’s Lafayette office hosted its 2^nd annual Crawfish Boil. Attendees included clients from various segments of the energy industry along with current employees from the Lafayette, Metairie and Houston offices. Together, they tore through more than 350 pounds of crawfish in a little more than three hours. Impressive work!

The Cimation Nation is happy to welcome Jeff Walsh as Director of Industrial IT. Jeff joins us from Harris Corporation and will work out of our Houston office.  

A town, a state and a country are reeling from the explosion in West, Texas. What was originally broadcast in the news as a relatively innocuous fire in a Texas fertilizer plant quickly escalated when highly flammable anhydrous ammonia combusted. In terrifying video captured by local passersby, we come to truly understand the magnitude of this event, which has already been compared to the Oklahoma City bombings. In the wake of this disaster, our hearts go out to our fellow Texans who have woken up this morning to a town changed beyond recognition.

In a front page article on the February 23^rd edition of the Houston Chronicle, journalist Zain Shauk brought to light that the computer networks of several offshore oil rigs and platforms were incapacitated by malicious software. Some malware was directly downloaded (hidden in other files) over satellite networks whilst others was brought aboard via workers’ infected laptops and USB drives. As noted by the Shauk “the worst-case scenario could be catastrophic.”

The New Year has been full of exciting developments at Cimation. Just weeks ago, Forbes ranked Cimation number 22 on its second annual America’s Most Promising Companies list. Now, we’re accelerating front leg momentum in each of our operating regions by focusing assets on areas of potential growth. 

In recent months, cybersecurity has dominated international news as we realize that the industrial control systems and software controlling our critical infrastructure have left us open to attack from our adversaries. President Obama and various news sources including NBC and Fox News have highlighted the very real danger of cyberattacks on everything from the power grid to air traffic control systems.

While many in the Energy industry listened closely to President Obama's 4th State of the Union Address hoping to read the tea leaves of future energy policy, one of the most immediate calls to the industry came long after the direct energy discussion was over.

This week, Forbes ranked Cimation number 22 on its second annual America’s Most Promising Companies list. Cimation was the only consulting company for energy companies ranked in the list’s top 25.