Computer History Museum

Altenbern, Douglas oral history

Doug Altenbern was a pioneer in the computer service bureau industry. After he was worked in marketing and then in sales departments with Plough Incorporated, Doug moved into data processing when IBM presented the opportunity to attend their programming school as a result of his taking IBM’s Programmer Aptitude Test. It didn’t take Doug long to figure out that this is where his life’s work would be most enjoyable and rewarding. He had taken typing in high school and his keyboarding skills served him well in both the Air Force and later as a coder. Through a series of fortunate moves, ultimately Doug became a top manager of a computer service bureau and owned his own successful service bureau, Endata, in Nashville, Tennessee. Doug continues to be involved as an advisor in the computer field as well as a board member of many public and private enterprises. He and his wife, Dee, travel extensively, and he’s the proud father of three, two of whom are physicians, and a grandson, Doug III, known as “The Computer Guy” in Nashville.

Item Details

Date
2010-04-20 (Made)
Type
Document
Catalogue number
102630656
Organization
Computer History Museum
People
Stu Miller (Editor)
Doug Altenbern (Interviewee)
Burt Grad (Interviewer)
Category
Transcript
Credit line
Software Industry Special Interest Group
Extent
68 p.
Place of publication
North America/USA/CA/Mountain View
Language
English
Acquisition number
X5802.2010
Subject
Service Bureaus, Association of Data Processing Service Organizations (ADAPSO)
Archive collection
Oral history collection
Archive hierarchy
CHM Oral History Collection