IBM geared for another 100

Although IBM was incorporated in New York on June 16, 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating- Recording Company (C-T-R), its origin can be traced back to developments at the close of the 19th century. For example, the first dial recorder was invented by Dr. Alexander Dey in1888, and Dey's business became one of the building blocks of C-T-R. Similarly, the Bundy Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1889 as the first time recording company in the world, and it, too, later became a key component of C-T-R.

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) came into existence in 1924. Nearly all of the company's products were designed and developed to record, process, communicate, store and retrieve information - from its first scales, tabulators and clocks to today's powerful computers and vast global networks. IBM helped pioneer information technology over the years and it stands today at the forefront of a worldwide industry that is revolutionizing the way in which enterprises, organizations and people operate and thrive.

IBM still busy designing Future!

Today, they run a business model that delivers long-term value and high performance. IBM has one of the largest and most diverse channel communities in the entire industry. “Over the last two years, we have enhanced our focus around 3 key pillars Simplicity, Growth and Profitability. Our partners especially in India have a clear vision for where we are going for the next five years, our 2015 roadmap, and that's allowing them to think long term about their business models and where they want to go, with IBM,” concludes Shanker Annaswamy, MD, IBM India Pvt Ltd.  

IBM's journey had been a mix of many successes and comparatively fewer losses but that had a great impact on its business. The character of a company - the stamp it puts on its products, services and the marketplace - is shaped and defined over time. It evolves! It deepens! It is expressed in an ever-changing corporate culture, in transformational strategies, and in new and compelling offerings for customers. But, IBM's latest computer, code-named “Watson”, leverages the leading-edge Question-Answer technology, allowing the computer to process and understand natural language. In February 2011, Watson made history by being the first computer to compete and win against humans on television's venerable quiz show, Jeopardy!

1st phase: Forming Corporation (1911-1940)

When Watson joined the nascent C-T-R in 1914, he brought the THINK slogan with him. In the 1920s, C-T-R Company was not very big, but was a fast-growing, small tech company with outsized ambitions. In 1924, the company's President, T. Watson, changed the company's name to IBM. As IBM grew to dominate data processing by the 1920s, its cards - which only worked on IBM machines and vice versa - were recognized as of global industry standard. In 1928, IBM improved on the cards' design so that more data could be stored on a single card. In 1928, IBM was approached by the Italian Railways to automate their administrative processes. IBM pioneered the measurement of academic performance with 1937's IBM 805 Test Scoring Machine. In 1940, the team invented a method for adding and subtracting using vacuum tubes - the basic building block of the fully electronic computers that transformed business in the1950s.

In 1934, Thomas Watson Sr. started paying factory workers on the basis of piecework, instead of paying by the hour to make his workers feel dignified. This change in pay practice provided its workforce with economic stability and equality.

2nd Phase: Innovation &  Patents (1941-1980)

In 1941, IBM hired a psychologist Dr. Michael Supa, who was blind to assist in the hiring of 181 people with disabilities. In 1944, he established the Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory at Columbia University. IBM created the first commercial computer “701” in 1951. Thomas Watson Jr. hired a designer Eliot Noyes in 1956 to create the Corporate Design Program at IBM. The world's first hard disk drive (though huge in size) allowed enterprises to think about data in new ways - mixing and matching it on the fly. Along with IBM's magnetic tape drive, the 1956 release of IBM RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control) essentially launched the data storage industry. In 1957, IBM programmer John Backus and his team formulated the first high-level language, FORTRAN. In 1959, IBM introduced the first high-volume, stored-program, core-memory transistorized “1401” mainframe computer. 

In the mid-1960s, IBM researcher Bob Dennard developed the world's first one-transistor memory, calling it “Dynamic random access memory”, or DRAM. The typewriter industry changed forever with the invention of the IBM Selectric typewriter in 1961. In 1963, the company helped the New York Police Department reduce the time required to identify fingerprints from hours to mere minutes. During cold war, IBM was contracted to help safeguard the US for building an air defense system known as the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE). When fully deployed in 1963, the system consisted of 27 centers throughout North America. SAGE was the first large computer network to provide man-machine interaction in real time.

In 1969, IBM engineer Forrest Parry developed an identity card for the CIA. The magnetic stripe, when combined with point-of-sale devices and data networks accelerated the proliferation of credit card usage around the world, transforming commerce forever. IBM also introduced the “1403” chain printer, which launched the era of high-speed, high-volume impact printing. “1403” was unsurpassed in quality until the advent of the laser printer in the 1970s. The Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode system, which was IBM's 1973 invention turned into one of the most profound contributions to the industrial technology. A truly universal standard, the UPC is among the most recognized designs in history, and typically IBM.

3rd Phase: Redesigning  Strategies (1981-2010)

On August 12, 1981, Phillip “Don” Estridge announced the IBM Personal Computer (IBM 5150) with a price tag of $1,565 in New York. In 1981, three IBM scientists - Rangaswamy Srinivasan, James Wynne and Samuel Blum - discovered how the newly invented excimer laser could remove specific human tissue without harming the surrounding area that laid foundation for LASIK and PRK surgery. In 1982, the company was provoked to unbundle software and services from hardware sales, giving monetary value to what had previously been free - software - and setting the stage for the company's business approach today. In 1987, IBM, working with the U.S. National Science Foundation and its partners at MCI and Merit, designed a new high-speed National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) to connect US universities and six US-based supercomputer centers.

IBM worked wit h the Danish government in 1988 to create a nationwide cattle registry. This National Cattle Database collected and managed a breadth of information on 1.2 million bovine animals. IBM continues to help governments, farmers and fisheries around the world develop smarter food chains to maximize yield and ensure safety and quality. In 1991, for the first time, the company announced their operating loss and CEO John Akers sold IBM's non-core businesses (typewriters, Lexmark printers, etc.). More importantly, Akers began to reorganize the company into more autonomous business units to compete directly with specific niches. In 1955, IBM made a bet on software, acquiring Lotus. It left consumer applications to other companies and instead focussed on middleware (with corresponding higher margins).

In 2000, IBM announced plans to invest $1 billion in Linux. 2005, saw IBM turn its back on the consumer market and sold its computer product lines, including the ThinkPad (introduced in 1992), to China's Lenovo. IBM's 2006 Innovation Jam was the largest IBM online brainstorming session ever held. The IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) program was launched in 2008 to create leadership development opportunities for IBMers. IBM acquired Telelogic and Cognos, reprioritizing software and data intelligence - in other words, middleware - as core businesses in 2008. The deals ended at a string of more than 50 software acquisitions in eight years that included Princeton Softech, DataMirror, SRD, Trigo, Alphablox and PWC's consulting business. In 2009, IBM and the Marine Institute in Ireland completed the SmartBay pilot information system.

Compilation by: Syeda Beenish
beenish@varindia.com