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Mainframes and Management: A Glimpse into the Future of Corporate IT

· 3 min read
National Computer Conference 1979

By Richard Mills, Technology Correspondent, Technical Publishing Weekly, 1979

Last week, I attended the bustling halls of the National Computer Conference (NCC) 1979 in New York. As a journalist covering the world of technical publishing, I expected to see the usual array of minicomputers, storage tapes, and a few optimistic software vendors. Instead, I found myself witnessing what may well be the dawn of a new era: the corporate information system.

A Parade of Mainframes — and New Ideas​

At the NCC, giants like IBM, Honeywell, and DEC dominated the show floor with machines the size of wardrobes and price tags to match. But what truly caught my attention was not just raw computing power, but a new direction: the promise of integrated information systems for managing the complex workings of large organizations.

IBM’s latest offering, the System/38, was being touted not merely as a number-cruncher, but as a business “information management” platform. I saw demonstrations of order entry, inventory control, and even basic financial accounting, all linked by a common database. Meanwhile, vendors like SAP (from Germany, quietly gathering interest in specialist circles) and a few forward-thinking American startups spoke of “enterprise-wide” solutions, hinting at a future where a company’s operations could be managed from a single, digital hub.

Beyond the Factory Floor: What IT Could Mean for Publishing​

As I walked the aisles, I found myself wondering: how might these systems change our own business of publishing technical literature and magazines?

  • Manuscript Tracking: Imagine a system where every article, from pitch to print, is logged, tracked, and searchable.
  • Inventory and Distribution: No more paper ledgers — real-time data on every book in stock, every shipment on the road, every invoice pending.
  • Subscriber Management: The thought of instantly accessing any subscriber’s order history or sending renewal notices automatically seems almost science fiction.

Challenges Ahead — and Opportunities​

Of course, these dreams are not without obstacles. Mainframes and even the more affordable minicomputers still require whole rooms, careful climate control, and highly-trained operators. Costs remain high, and few publishing houses, even in New York or London, could justify such an investment yet.

But the trend is unmistakable: as hardware shrinks and software advances, information systems are bound to become not just the province of manufacturers and banks, but of publishers, retailers, and every enterprise that juggles data.

A New Kind of Editor?​

As a technical editor, I cannot help but see the parallels between the organization of a magazine and the running of a business. If these new corporate information systems can help us track, coordinate, and publish with greater accuracy and speed, then perhaps the editor of the future will spend as much time with terminals and databases as with paper and pen.

One thing is clear: what I saw at NCC 1979 is not just the future of technology — it is the future of how we manage, create, and deliver knowledge itself.

Sources:

  • National Computer Conference (NCC), New York, June 1979
  • IBM System/38 Product Brochures
  • Conversations with SAP representatives and industry analysts at NCC