Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
1962 by the famous entrepreneur H. Ross Perot (who in 1992 was a candidate for
the U.S. presidency).
Another growth industry that resulted from the rise of computers and software
was that of management consulting. Several of the large accounting companies
created software consulting business units. One of the pioneers was the financial
accounting company of Arthur J. Andersen. The consulting portion of this com-
pany had a fierce rivalry with the accounting portion, and it eventually split off
and became the modern consulting and outsource group of Accenture.
Many other companies entered the management consulting arena during this
decade. Among them was the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), founded in 1963.
The rise of computers and software not only had direct impacts on U.S. and
global business operations, but these tools also created ancillary businesses in the
areas of specialized consulting and outsource companies.
Computer Programmers in the 1960s
This decade is of personal interest to me because it is when I entered the computer
business and became a programmer. The way this came about illustrates the in-
formal methods used in those early days before computer science and software en-
gineering were fully established. Young software engineers will probably be sur-
prised and perhaps dismayed at the informal selection process for computer pro-
grammers in the 1960s.
Becoming a Programmer
As an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Florida, there were
no on-campus computers during my stay from 1956 through 1961. In fact, the en-
gineering school was only just starting to permit electronic calculators, instead of
slide rules, to be used during exams.
During my freshman year, I used a Post Versalog slide rule, which was beauti-
fully made from bamboo and white plastic and had a leather case with a belt strap.
Having a slide rule attached to your belt was the hallmark of an engineering stu-
dent in the 1950s. I still have that slide rule and it brings back memories of an
earlier and simpler era.
The University of Florida had no computer science or software engineering
courses in those days, although some engineering schools such as Cal Tech and
MIT did.
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