In the 1940s and 1950s, computing devices were specific to the task. We didn't have general purpose computers; we had tabulators and sorters and various types of machines. The very early electronic calculators were little more than adding machines -- addition was their only operation. The later machines were computers, albeit specialized, usually for military or commercial needs. (Which made some sense, as only the government and large corporations could afford the machines.)
IBM's System/360 changed the game. It was a general purpose machine, suitable for use by government, military, or commercial organizations. IBM's System/370 was a step up with virtual memory, dual processors, and built-in floating point arithmetic.
But these were still large, expensive machines, and these large, expensive machines defined the term "mainframe". IBM was the "big company that makes big computers".
Reluctantly, IBM entered the minicomputer market to compete with companies like DEC and Data General.
Also reluctantly, IBM entered the PC market to compete with Apple, Radio Shack, and other companies that were making inroads into the corporate world.
But I think, in its heart, IBM remained a mainframe company.
Why do I think that? Because over the years IBM has adjusted its product line. Look at what they have stopped producing:
- Typewriters
- Photocopiers
- Disk drives
- Tape drives
- Minicomputers
- Microcomputers (PCs)
- Laptop computers
- Printers for PCs
And look at what they have kept in their product line:
- Mainframe computers
- Servers
- Cloud-based services
- Watson
The last item, Watson, is particularly telling. Watson is IBM's super-sized information storage and retrieval system. It is quite sophisticated and has appeared (successfully) on the "Jeopardy!" TV game show.
Watson is a product that IBM is marketing to large companies (and probably the government). They do not offer a "junior" version for smaller companies or university departments. They do not offer a "personal" version for individuals. IBM's Watson is today's equivalent of the System/360 computer: large, expensive, and made for wealthy clients.
So IBM has come full circle, from the System/360 to minicomputers to personal computers and back to Watson. Will they ever offer smaller versions of Watson? Perhaps, if other companies enter the market and force IBM to respond.
We PC revolutionaries wanted to change the world. We wanted to bring computing to the masses. And we wanted to destroy IBM (or at least take it down a peg or two). Well, we did change the world. We did bring computing to the masses. We did not destroy IBM, or its mainframes. IBM is still the "big company that makes big computers".
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