Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 7.1 is only a sampling of companies that became large enough to be men-
tioned specifically here. There were thousands of smaller local companies that
were also created during the 1980s.
This decade did see some major corporations created such as Accenture, Cisco,
and KPMG. But the previous decade was when the largest software giants origin-
ated: Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. Many of the companies created in the 1980s
would provide products and services that filled in the gaps around offerings from
companies such as IBM and Microsoft.
Future decades would see another wave of major companies when the web
opened up new technical possibilities. The web would lead to modern giants such
as Amazon, Google, and Facebook.
The impact of computers and software has occurred so rapidly that many of the
companies and products we use every day not only did not exist 25 years ago but
the companies themselves also did not exist. Many of the technologies these com-
panies market did not exist either.
Computers and software have triggered a major new form of industrial revolu-
tion where automated methods are transforming not only manufacturing and busi-
ness operations but also communications and knowledge sharing.
Recall that in the 1980s, computers were more or less isolated from each other
except by rather slow and primitive connections such as modems. Later, when the
web became a global communication channel and all computers were connected,
huge new business opportunities would appear.
Not all of these new web-based businesses would succeed, as will be seen later
when the dot-com bubble is discussed.
There are too many companies to discuss them all, but the ones that had inter-
esting business models or created novel products are discussed here.
Accenture
The rapid growth of the software industry during this decade and the prior decade
opened up new opportunities for both outsourcing and consulting. Major compan-
ies needed computers and software but were inexperienced and often blundered.
Accenture was able to become one of the largest software consultancies in the
world by providing aid to thousands of companies in dozens of countries.
The history of Accenture is long and too complex for a full discussion, but it
has been used in many business school case studies. Accenture originated as the
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