Business and enterprise software, and other applications that help a business run

In the next phase of the computer revolution, companies like Digital Equipment Corporation and Hewlett-Packard began selling smaller and less expensive computers, called minis. They also sold software, but with computers more affordable, private programmers began to form companies to write specialized software for different business niches. I was among that group. Some specialized in banks, some in insurance, some in manufacturing.

With computers like the Digital VAX and their lower cost of hardware, the first simple terminals began to appear on desks. The people that used them, though, were mainly a technical elite, who took questions from management and marketing, among other departments, translated them into computer terms, got the answers, and gave back to the requestors. That was easier and faster than working out the answers with pencil and paper, but still not too efficient. That technical, non-business layer was always between the user of the information and the provider.

What the technical experts saw was generally green characters on a black background. No pretty fonts. No graphics. Just the facts, ma’am. The programs were specialized, and only experts could use them. This was not a democratic process. It was, instead, a technocracy, in which the people that made the decisions had to rely on the computer experts for their information, and more importantly, for the translation of that information into a human language.

More in the next installment…