Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5. 1960 to 1969: The Rise of Business
Computers and Business Software
In 1960, an IBM patent on magnetic stripes triggered the creation of American
Express, Visa, and MasterCard credit cards, which revolutionized retail sales. The
magnetic stripe also led to automatic teller machines (ATMs) and electric door
locks. To meet a growing demand for new business computers and software, com-
panies such as IBM, RCA, GE, Control Data, and many others marketed new com-
puters aimed specifically at business operations. Database technology also expan-
ded rapidly. These technical changes triggered a huge increase in demand for com-
puter programming personnel.
Two major lawsuits that were filed in the 1960s would change the computer
and software industries forever: A patent case decided that the ENIAC patent
was invalid, therefore moving computer architecture into the public domain. An
IBM agreement to unbundle software as a result of an antitrust suit opened the
floodgates to the creation of a huge commercial software industry that would not
have been possible had software remained tied to computer hardware.
In this decade, computers would arrive on Wall Street and change the stock and
financial markets forever, but not always in a healthy way. The Apollo program
took computers and software into space and to the moon. The first Turing award
was given in 1966.
An Evolving Workforce
After World War II, the U.S. business environment began to evolve from manu-
facturing to services. This, in turn, led to a rapid increase in clerical personnel.
According to the Early Office Museum (
www.officemuseum.com
)
, the number of
U.S. clerical workers increased by 286%, while the entire field of professional
workers, including clerical workers, increased by only 85% during the years fol-
lowing World War II.
By the start of the 1960s, clerical work was the dominant form of employment
in a number of growing and important industries, including banks, insurance, stock
trading, and civilian government operations. A significant number of military per-
sonnel also performed clerical work.
Computers and software did not eliminate clerical work, as originally hypo-
thesized, but they did change the nature of the work. For example, many clerks
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