Today (8 April 2014) marks the 50th anniversary of IBM’s mainframe computer – an event that heralded the beginning of the era of commercial computing.
50 years ago, IBM introduced the System/360, considered by many to be the most sophisticated computer of its time and is responsible for introducing many important technologies that are still in use today, such as transaction processing, micro-circuitry, and databases.
The System/360 was believed at the time to be the largest privately financed commercial project ever undertaken. More than 100 000 businessmen in 165 US cities attended meetings at which System/360 was introduced. More than 300 patents were issued as part of its development.
The mainframe is a revolutionary computing system that is transforming business, whole industries, and the world as we know it, IBM states ahead of celebrations to mark the auspicious occasion.
“By continually adapting to trends and evolving IT, we’re driving new approaches to cloud, analytics, security and mobile computing to help tackle challenges never before thought possible,” it says in the write-up to the online celebration. “We do that by collaborating with our clients to build better technology every day.
“But the pioneering innovations of the mainframe all serve one enduring mission: deliver game-changing technology that makes the extraordinary possible and improves the way the world works.”
