Description
Burt Grad (in one of four interviews) discusses his experiences in IBM from his joining the company in 1960 after leaving GE. He covers a wide range of assignments during that period including his initial work on the Study Organization Plan and Decision Tables. He discusses work on operations research applications like linear programming, critical path management and simulation. He talks about his work with the IBM Science Centers and the use of VM/CMS as a principal timesharing system along with the release of APL and HASP. He reviews his work on the IBM Unbundling Task Force and the announcement of the first priced programs by IBM. He then became a Development Director in the Data Processing Division and discusses some of the principal products like CICS and IIS as well as IBM’s failure to make any successful application products for large computer customers. Then, he covers the international software development work at IBM and his reassignment to IBM Research and the technology transfer projects that he worked on there, albeit unsuccessfully. The interview closes with his decision to leave IBM and start his own consulting practice in 1978.
Date
2007-11-28
Contributor
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Grad, Burt, Interviewee
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LaHay, Edward, Interviewer; Editor
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Publisher
Computer History Museum
Place of Publication
Mountain View, California
Extent
35 p.
Category
Transcription
Subject
Adams, Ed; Alekna, Stan; Almon, Bill; Bemer, Bob; Berland, Bob; Birnbaum, Joel; Climis, Ted; Cocke, John; Codd, E.F. (Ted); Fjelstadt, Lucy; Glans, Thomas B.; Goetz, Marty; Goldstine, Herman; Gomory, Ralph; Gordon, Geoff; Henson, Joe; Hewitt, Jim; Hoffman, Alan; Holstein, David; Humphreys, Watts; Iverson, Ken; Kogan, Rainer; Marcus, Mike; Markowitz, Harry; McGill, Archie; Mumford, Jack; Norden, Peter; Orchard-Hays, Bill; Rasmussen, Norm; Reuther, Bill; Robinson, Dr. Lou; Silberberg, Marty; Smith, Bob; Whipple, Burt; Williams, Hugh; Wrenn, Joyce; Zloof, Moshé; 3M; ADAPSO; ADR; Cambridge Science Center; C-E-I-R; Commonwealth Edison; Control Data Corporation; CUC; Equitable Life; GE; Heights Information Technology Services; Hewlett-Packard Company (HP); IBM General Systems Division; IBM Research; IBM Science Centers; INA; Informatics; McCormack and Dodge; MSA; National CSS; Northern Trust; Pansophic; Remington Rand, Inc.; Rockwell; Syncsort; UNIVAC; Xerox PARC; ALIS; APL (Computer program language); CAI [computer assisted instruction]; CICS; COBOL (Computer program language); Coursewriter; CP/67; Critical Path Management; Decision Tables; DOS/360; GPSS; HASP; IDMS; IIS [Interactive Instructional System]; IMS; ITS [Interactive Training System]; Linear programming; Management Systems; Mark IV; OS/360; PALIS; PERT; Query By Example (QBE); RISC machines; S/360 Model 67; SIMSCRIPT; Study Organization Plan; Syncsort; System/3; System/360 (Computer); System/7; TSS; VM/CMS
Collection Title
Oral history collection
Credit
Software Industry Special Interest Group
