Term Papers on The Dominance That IBM Enjoyed Over The Computer Industry From The Mid-1950s To

Term Paper Title	The Dominance That IBM Enjoyed Over The Computer Industry From The Mid-1950s To
# of Words	672
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.69

IBM

The dominance that IBM enjoyed over the computer industry from the mid-1950's to the mid-1970's was not achieved primarily through superior technology, but through superior marketing and customer service.  IBM realized that customer were interested in solutions to problems rather that the technical merits of a machine.  With this in mind, IBM took a total-system approach to computers, not just a central processing unit approach.
     Even early on, IBM realized that it was important to make its products accessible to its customers.  Thus, its computers were modular in design, which made them easier to transport and set up on site.  In fact, IBM set the size of its components to fit into standard elevators.  By contrast, the first UNIVAC computer spent the first several months of its life in the Philadelphia plant in which it was built because it could not be moved to the Census Bureau.  However, it was IBM's background as a supplier of integrated data-processing systems that gave it a unique advantage over its competitors.  As Frank Cary, a future president of IBM put it shortly after the release of System/360, "We don't sell a product…we sell solutions to problems."  And this is exactly what they did.  Often times, software would be custom tailored for a particular business's needs.  IBM's greatest advantage, however, was its reputation as a service-oriented vendor.  Recognizing the importance of training, the company set up programming courses to train users and established field-engineering teams to resolve problems on-site.  The firm was celebrated for responding to a malfunctioning computer with a dedicated task force until the problem was fixed.  This was a level of customer service that was far superior to that offered by any other computer vendor.
While IBM's products were innovative, they were not always the most technologically advanced for their time.  System/360 for example, was very innovative for it's time with its compatible-family concept.  This meant that upgrading a computer system would n...

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