For the western world it was an August night like any other. Balmy weather against the soundtrack of summer. Kids playing soccer in the streets – measuring the call to come home by the appearance of the street lights. At a corporation called DEC (Digital Equipment) work stations were abandoned in exchange for backyard barbeques. But not everybody was at rest, and the world was about to change forever.
The night was August 11, 1981 – the eve before computer giant IBM launched the Personal Computer. Some call it a stroke of luck, others a stroke of genius. In fact it was both – driven by the power of strategy. In the case of IBM that strategy was timing. With a stranglehold on big mainframes for offices and the home computer market firmly under the influence of Apple and Radio Shack, IBM spotted a vacancy: the need for small computers in business environments. IBM’s timing successfully sideswiped the industry leader in mini-computers – DEC – and propelled the company to the top of the computer food chain, where it still resides.
Best isn’t better
Was IBM’s PC the best computer? No. It was quickly superseded by a host of competitors boasting “superior performance,” “better features,” “cheaper.” And history has shown us that “better” does exist. So why was IBM able to stay in the lead despite such fierce competition and an (arguably) inferior product? In part because they were first to market – and it still stands for a lot. But also because IBM was not trapped by the most paralyzing belief in product-based industry: the truth will become known eventually.