ICL: A Business and Technical History: The Official History of Britain's Leading Information Systems Company

ISBN-13: 9780198539186 / Angielski / Twarda / 1990 / 460 str.

Campbell-Kelly;¬Abar

Opis

The history of ICL is synonymous with the history of the British computer industry. ICL was formed by a series of mergers in response to the increasing market dominance of the large American corporations, particularly IBM. The struggles between these two giants and the inherent problems and implications of competing with US multi-nationals are examined in detail in Campbell Kelly's wide ranging study. At the time of writing in the late 1980s, the author was given unrestricted access to ICL archives and his lucid account of the company, its set-backs and successes makes for a compelling and informative read. This book, which was Winner of the Wadsworth Prize for Business History (1989), will be of great interest to anyone involved in business or the computing industry.

Recenzje

`... well researched and thoroughly documented... It provides an authoritative and readable narrative of the evolution and history of ICL and will undoubtedly take its place as the standard reference work on the companyy for many years to come.' Computer Weekly

Spis treści

Hollerith and the origins, 1880-1907; The British Tabulating Machine Company, 1907-1919; Manufacturing at home, the 1920s; Heyday of the punched-card machine industry, the 1930s; An interlude: the second World War, 1939-1945; Pent-up demand, 1945-1949; Electronic machines, 1950-1954; Computers and the merger, 1955-1958; The decline of the tabulator, 1959-1961; Negotiations and mergers, 1961-1963; The response to the IBM system/360, 1964-1965; Government relations and the formation of ICL, 1964-1968; ICL and the new range, 1968-1972; Government launching aid for the new range, 1973-1975; Rapid growth in a changing market, 1975-1979; Convergence, the 1980s; Summing up: ICL and the evolving information business; Notes; Appendix 1 The IBM-TMC agreements; Appendix 2 List of directors; Index