IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — It was a coinage of the mid-1960’s as IBM dominated the computer business. IBM and the Seven Dwarfs was how the business was described. By 1965 IBM had a 65.3-percent market share of the industry. The seven dwarfs shared the rest. They were: Burroughs, Sperry Rand (formerly Remington Rand), Control Data, Honeywell, General Electric, RCA and NCR.
Dwarf One: Burroughs
It had a division in Pennsylvania that worked almost exclusively for the government with high-end computers including secretive machines developed for the NSA.
Became Unisys.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-one-burroughs/
Dwarf Two: Sperry-Rand
Sperry merged with Burroughs in 1986 to become Unisys
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-two-sperry-rand/
Dwarf Three: Control Data
The company was founded by a group of Naval intelligence scientists whose goal was to commercialize the technologies that were used to crack Nazi cryptography.
The company maintained its line of CYBER machines with the 960 being introduced in 1988.
What was left of Control Data was bought last September by the investment firm of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-three-control-data/
Dwarf Four: Honeywell
Honeywell bought GE in 1970 and with it came the assets of General Electric Bull in France.
Honeywell is no longer in the computer business and much of the company lore is being lost fast.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-four-honeywell/
Dwarf Five: General Electric
If you go to the General Electric website and attempt to find the history of the company’s foray into computers you simply won’t find it. Weirder still is that the entire episode is completely missing from the company’s timeline at www.ge.com/ibhist2.htm.
During the decade GE’s computer division became the GE Information Systems Group. It had 25,000 employees and $1.5 billion in installations. By the end of 1969 the company told Wall Street, “In terms of overall business performance, we are in the best shape of our history.”
A few months later, just as things were heating up with Multics, GE sold the entire computer business to Honeywell. It left the business as quickly as it entered.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-five-ge/
Dwarf Six: RCA
But the formation of RCA was unusual. During WWI the government took over all patents regarding wireless and it asked General Electric to organize a US-based radio operation. RCA was formed thus in 1919 and it took over the assets of American Marconi and given a monopoly for broadcasting.
Westinghouse and GE were in bed with RCA.
Now the brand name “RCA” meaning Radio Corporation of America was French owned. It remains so today. A strange ending for RCA.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-six-rca/
Dwarf Seven: NCR– The Last of the Dwarfs
NCR — the National Cash Register Company
In 1963, after NCR put together a networked banking branch system hooked together by telephone lines it claims to have coined the term “on-line.” This coinage may be worth some research.
In 1991 the company was acquired by AT&T and merged with its computer divisions. In 1995 AT&T decided to spin it back off again and a new NCR was to go back on the streets specializing in large machines.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-seven-ncr/
Dwarf One: Burroughs
It had a division in Pennsylvania that worked almost exclusively for the government with high-end computers including secretive machines developed for the NSA.
Became Unisys.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-one-burroughs/
Dwarf Two: Sperry-Rand
Sperry merged with Burroughs in 1986 to become Unisys
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-two-sperry-rand/
Dwarf Three: Control Data
The company was founded by a group of Naval intelligence scientists whose goal was to commercialize the technologies that were used to crack Nazi cryptography.
The company maintained its line of CYBER machines with the 960 being introduced in 1988.
What was left of Control Data was bought last September by the investment firm of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-three-control-data/
Dwarf Four: Honeywell
Honeywell bought GE in 1970 and with it came the assets of General Electric Bull in France.
Honeywell is no longer in the computer business and much of the company lore is being lost fast.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-four-honeywell/
Dwarf Five: General Electric
If you go to the General Electric website and attempt to find the history of the company’s foray into computers you simply won’t find it. Weirder still is that the entire episode is completely missing from the company’s timeline at www.ge.com/ibhist2.htm.
During the decade GE’s computer division became the GE Information Systems Group. It had 25,000 employees and $1.5 billion in installations. By the end of 1969 the company told Wall Street, “In terms of overall business performance, we are in the best shape of our history.”
A few months later, just as things were heating up with Multics, GE sold the entire computer business to Honeywell. It left the business as quickly as it entered.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-five-ge/
Dwarf Six: RCA
But the formation of RCA was unusual. During WWI the government took over all patents regarding wireless and it asked General Electric to organize a US-based radio operation. RCA was formed thus in 1919 and it took over the assets of American Marconi and given a monopoly for broadcasting.
Westinghouse and GE were in bed with RCA.
Now the brand name “RCA” meaning Radio Corporation of America was French owned. It remains so today. A strange ending for RCA.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-six-rca/
Dwarf Seven: NCR– The Last of the Dwarfs
NCR — the National Cash Register Company
In 1963, after NCR put together a networked banking branch system hooked together by telephone lines it claims to have coined the term “on-line.” This coinage may be worth some research.
In 1991 the company was acquired by AT&T and merged with its computer divisions. In 1995 AT&T decided to spin it back off again and a new NCR was to go back on the streets specializing in large machines.
https://www.dvorak.org/blog/ibm-and-the-seven-dwarfs-dwarf-seven-ncr/