Computer History Museum

Tavitian, Aso (Assadour) O. oral history

Aso O. Tavitian, a co-founder in 1968 of Whitlow Computer Systems (later renamed Syncsort Incorporated), describes the challenges of selling a technically superior sort product in direct competition to the free sort that IBM provided to its customers in the 1960s and 1970s. He describes the difficulties Syncsort encountered in trying to obtain a patent for their sort process because of the Patent Office's lack of understanding of software and about the problems of obtaining financing for a start-up software products company in the early years of the industry.

Item Details

Date
1998-06-08 (Made)
Type
Document
Catalogue number
102702291
Organization
Computer History Museum
People
Aso Tavitian (Interviewee)
Luanne Johnson (Interviewer)
Category
Transcript
Credit line
Gift of Johnson, Luanne
Extent
11 p.
Language
English
Acquisition number
X5752.2010
Subject
Software Patents, Syncsort
Archive collection
Oral history collection
Archive hierarchy
CHM Oral History Collection