Computer History Museum

Maguire, John Norris oral history

In this interview, John Maguire describes the environment for independent software vendors in the 1970s as the industry was adjusting to IBM's decision to unbundled the price of its software. He covers his background prior to founding Software AG North America and what led him to believe that there were opportunities in the software products business. He talks why he decided to price ADABAS significantly above other software products on the market at $120,000 and why he charged customers for demos and 90-day trials. He describes his approach to marketing software products internationally, pioneering the concept of establishing an escrow for source code, and the sales approaches he used.

Item Details

Date
1986-04-08 (Made)
Type
Document
Catalogue number
102658223
Organization
Computer History Museum
People
John Maguire (Interviewee)
Luanne Johnson (Editor)
Luanne Johnson (Interviewer)
Category
Transcript
Extent
17 p.
Place of publication
North America/USA/TX/Houston
Language
English
Acquisition number
X4559.2008
Subject
SIMSCRIPT, CACI, Software Business History, ADABAS, Software AG
Archive collection
CHM Oral History Collection
Archive hierarchy
CHM Oral History Collection