Our History

In the mid of the 1960s decade, the companies and organizations in Greece that were using computers – all back then with tubes and cables – were no more than a handful, to name a few: National Bank of Greece, Peiraiki-Patraiki, Hellenic Statistic Service. The Greek IT market was mainly dominated by U.S. companies, the first to open a subsidiary was IBM. In downtown Athens, at Korai Street, Panagis Solomos had founded an innovative, yet small company, named “Management Systems” representing the U.S.-based Remington-Rand; this was the first company to have introduced computerized systems and its clients were the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, the Agricultural Bank of Greece, Public Power Corporation, as well as some other private companies. These systems, the ancestors of modern computers, were based on advanced calculators with simplistic programming and punched cards.

In this blurry landscape (see also historical framework) and against all odds, the visionary, perfectionist, and incredibly organized Constantinos Doxiadis, a renowned urban planner and at large project manager, foresees the future capabilities of the new technology and signs a contract with Remington-Rand. In 1963 he became the first distributor of UNIVAC in Greece and during the next year, Doxiadis Associates Computer Center was founded. So the story begins…

A primitive - given the fact that programming was conducted with plugs - UNIVAC 1004 is the first computer ever to be installed on June 31st, 1964 at Stratiotikou Syndesmou Street’s building, which had been inaugurated only three years earlier. The first engineers are hired and a German expert is called on to deliver training sessions.

Some of the first uses of the specific computer concerned the study of road traffic models as well as outsourcing to third companies as a Service Bureau. Yet, very soon, in 1965,  the need for something bigger arose, as “Doxiadis Associates” undertook the study entitled “The Great Lakes Megalopolis”, with the main scope of the project being the prediction of how the specific U.S. area will evolve by 2000; a study that could only be conducted with the use of a computer.

At the beginning of 1967, a young civil engineer with a degree in Computer Science from the University of Surrey was hired, his name is Andreas Drimiotis and he undertakes the huge project. It was then that Doxiadis decided to lease time in the Technical University of Stuttgart’s computer and the result – dozens of impressive maps with relevant predictions, all developed through the computer – not only completely satisfies him, but serves as a catalyst in his decision to purchase a really large computer.

UNIVAC 1107 (reached the astronomical, for the time, cost of 500.000 USD) arrived in Greece in December 1968 and is precisely the same as the one at the Technical University of Stuttgart; there are only 3 other identical computers in Europe and less than 10 in the U.S., all installed in universities and giant conglomerates. It is housed in a specially designed area, on the ground floor of the eight-story building, and incorporates innovations such as air-conditioning, false-floor to facilitate air circulation, and bullet-proof windows to the patio.

A new era begins.

Following Constantinos Doxiadis’ investment in the innovative UNIVAC 1107 computer, the ’70s decade is a very promising one. The official inauguration of the Computer Center lasted for 5 days, from 25 to 29 May 1970, and was hosted by Doxiadis himself, who along with his colleagues, was delivering personal tours to over 500 important local actors and presenting the system. Extremely impressed the renowned chronicler, journalist, and playwright Dimitris Psathas, writes two consecutive chronicles in the “Ta Nea” newspaper about this important event.

The huge -for the Greek market- investment paid off almost immediately and on multiple levels. As Andreas Drimiotis remembers, the Computer Center - with its main axis the 1107 - was installed with unparalleled specifications and helped Doxiadis Associates fulfill numerous important technical projects around the world, having as competitive advantages high-quality services and the short delivery time.

On the other hand, as a Service Bureau, it enabled large corporations and organizations to modernize their operations by taking advantage of the dynamics and potentials of a truly powerful computing system.

The first clients of the Service Bureau - the operations of which were very similar to today’s outsourcing services - included Public Power Corporation and Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (a competitor in the race for undertaking the project in the summer of 1970 was French company Bull). The system could provide equally good results for large numbers of payroll processes, such as those for KTEL (transport companies with buses serving the movement of passengers between Greek cities), OASTH (Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization) and Olympic Airways, or for the management of complex static issues addressed by the Doxiadis Associates’ engineers.

The penetration of DACC Univac in the banking sector followed a similar path; IBM was the absolute leader in both the public and the banking sector, the exceptions were Alpha Bank and Mortgage Bank. 

DACC started to participate in the relevant bids and the first big success came with a relevant Alpha Bank project; the cooperation with Alpha Bank continues until today.

It is worth noting that in 1970, the first programming courses in Greece started to be delivered by the Hellenic Productivity Center (ELKEPA); Andreas Drymiotis was one of the teachers alongside other colleagues and the practical training was done on Univac 1107.

Sadly, this period of far-reaching vision and continuous growth was overshadowed by Constantinos Doxiadis’ long illness which resulted in his death on June 28th, 1975.

Struck by ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), the incurable progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spine resulting in the gradual weakening and termination of the patient, Doxiadis lived for three very difficult years. Almost to his end, he used to communicate with his colleagues with the support of a screen and a keyboard. His passing was the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

The passing of Constantinos Doxiadis shook up DACC, nevertheless, the company soon found its pace back as the political, social, and technological developments were ongoing.

In 1974 the Military Junta came to an end. Encouraged by the return to normality and the increased optimism among citizens, organizations and companies were trying to recover and redeem the lost time, aiming at the much-needed convergence with the other European countries. Therefore, they invested in technology and sought solutions that would cover the many challenges that were accumulated.

Within this context, a not-so-well-known, yet, probably the most important operation took place: the restoration of the national character of the State Intelligence Agency. After the fall of the Junta and by command of Prime Minister Constantinos Karamanlis, within the first nine months of 1977 a team of DACC engineers undertook the project of transferring and restructuring the existing Agency’s applications from ΙΒΜ 360 to Sperry Univac 1100/10. The project also included the maintenance and support of the system. According to Andreas Drimiotis, when the UNIVAC engineers were informed about the specific project, referred to our engineers as "lunatics", considering that the project was impossible to be implemented!

Around the same time, and as regards the data processing, the punched cards chapter came to its end; in the small offices of the operators, punched card hardware is being replaced by Pertec data entry machines, in a phase, from which all the DACC clients, one by one, go through: Aluminum of Greece, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Mortgage Bank (it was the first), Statistical Service, Ionic Bank, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, numerous Ministries - among which Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transportation – the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (to facilitate the results of the Panhellenic university entrance exams), and so on. A few years later, the company further strengthened its position by launching its partnership with an emerging force in the field of servers and storage: this company was EMC² (today Dell), a close partnership that continues to this day.

In 1975, the Company installed the first large computer of the 1100 series at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where the first Computer Science students started receiving their training. The installation was later followed by another similar one of the 1100/60 system at the University of Patras, in 1978, where Computer Science also began to be taught. Our team's contribution to Greece's Computer Science education was of great importance!

In January 1978 Andreas Drimiotis undertook the position of General Manager (until then he was the Technical Director). His aims include further penetration in the market, a new project in the Customs Authority, and the huge project of the National Elections results.

It is important to mention that, a relevant attempt by ΙΒΜ for the National Elections of 1977 had failed,  due to long delays in the finalization of the results.

Having already tested the technology and its potential during the elections of the Greek Automobile and Touring Club, in 1981 DACC undertook the electronic export of the National Elections results. The flow begins at 21:42 in the National Television and is being fulfilled, seamlessly, several hours later. The Prime Minister Georgios Rallis congratulates the team for their successful outcome. After all those years, today, the successor company, Singular Logic, continues the “electoral” tradition.

The company was growing and so was the need for technology training. The lack of skilled engineers in the new technologies and programming was evident in the first years of the 80s decade, therefore, a Computing School was founded in the building, initially to train the company’s employees. Around 400 people were trained until the beginning of the 90s.

The secondment of the Third Parties Service department in 1984 and the foundation of Delta Informatics with Andreas Drimiotis as its General Manager, changed the landscape and created a new chapter in the company’s history. The new General Manager is now Dimitris Vintzileos who returns to the company after almost ten years; Alexandros Dotsis undertakes the role of the Sales Manager, three years later undertakes the Marketing Sector and becomes a member of the Board. 

The company is now one of the biggest and most recognized players in the Greek IT market with a significant portfolio of clients including Ergasias Bank (today Eurobank), Alpha Bank, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, Public Power Corporation, Hellenic Post, the – renowned then – international Rally Acropolis, and more. 

During the same period, in 1986, the merger of Sperry Rand και Burroughs took place resulting in the creation of UNISYS; a development that affected the course of both companies’ subsidiaries and distributors around the world, Greece including. Even though in the other countries Burroughs acquires Sperry Rand, in Greece happens the exact opposite: Sperry Rand (thus, DACC) acquires Burroughs’ services with Alpha Bank’s support and small participation equity in the share capital. 

The company’s overall good performance in several sectors brings over significant profits to the shareholders as well as the first awards, both locally and internationally, such as the ICT Forum award and the Best UNISYS distributor award.  

Along with the disposal and maintenance of the hardware, service provisioning flourishes both in the public and the private sector, especially in the banking sector, in which the big issue is branch automation. It is important to note that services are being offered abroad in countries like Albania and Cyprus. However, the sector on which innovation thrives is the election results: for the very first time in the elections of 1989 contemporary graphic systems are being used, with technologies that were not available in Greece at that time. A year later, the new visualization systems are being adopted – despite their high cost – by all the main TV channels (ERT – Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, MEGA, and ANT1). 

At the beginning of the 90s, in 1990, a new era started for Unisystems; the company got its current name and a new leadership. Alexandros Dotsis and Dimitris Katsinis are both CEOs.

Numerous challenges had to be faced, among which - as we were approaching the year 2000 - the notorious threat of the "2000 virus" (Y2K).  The question was how to avoid a digital Armageddon, due to the computing systems’ unpredictable behavior in the light of the new century, as it was the first turn of a century in the digital years.

The company invests a lot of effort into coordinated actions toward dealing with any issues that might come up in its customers’ environments. Especially at Alpha Bank, due to the nature of its operations and size. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and no substantial problem occurred, both in the bank systems and the rest of the businesses and organizations supported by the company.

As the technology evolved and new needs were being created, in 1999 a large property with an existing building was purchased on the outskirts of Western Attica, in Acharnes; the main aim was to host adequate storage facilities and, in due time, a new state-of-the-art data center. During the same year, the company enters the Athens Stock Exchange, through a public offering of shares, with its investors actively supporting it. The sole CEO is now Alexandros Dotsis. The third important development of the era is the beginning of the creation of Constantinos Doxiadis Archives, aimed at collecting the abundant material left behind by the great visionary urban planner, to preserve, organize and make it available to subsequent scholars of his work, from all over the world....

During 2000 – having survived the digital Armageddon - DELTA Informatics merged with Singular and remained together for the next four years. In 2004, DELTA will complete its lifecycle by transferring its operations to First Data, except from the election section, which remains, until today, to Singular Logic.

In 2000 the company is awarded at the ICT forum as by far the most profitable IT company of the decade.

Yet, 00s is another challenging phase; dark clouds have been gathering on the horizon during the early years of the new century, questioning the company's future. Times and people change as the old team spirit is fading slowly.

In 2005, Alexandros Dotsis left the company and Dimitris Liaroutsos took over as CEO. Andreas Drimiotis returns for two more years to undertake the position of Vice-Chairman.

The response to the company’s issues and its future-proofing came through its acquisition by Quest Group, on June 8, 2006. Almost two years later, the new company moved to its current headquarters, in Kallithea.

In December 2007, Info-Quest completed the acquisition of 100% of Unisystems SA, which since then is a member of the Quest Group of companies. Through this acquisition, Quest Group decided to invest in the creation of a leading ICT corporation that will lead the relevant market for the years to come. It strengthened Unisystems' operations by incorporating its subsidiary Decision Systems Integration S.A. and Info-Quest's Solution and Business Applications SBA division.

The new Uni Systems was born. 

The emblematic wise Owl, the original sculpture of Froso Efthymiadis – Menegaki that decorated the atrium of the first building, continues to guard its entrance. It is a symbol of wisdom sculpted in an extraordinary and monumental form. As Konstantinos Doxiadis stated: "This owl was positioned above the machines and the mechanical computers to always remind us that man is the one who guides the machines and determines his fate. Froso made the right owl which is not a bird, but the symbol of the spirit.”