Computer Wars: The Post-IBM World - Softcover

Ferguson, Charles H.; Morris, Charles R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1587981394 ISBN 13: 9781587981395

Publisher: Beard Books Inc, 1993

Synopsis

Two business writers and consultants chronicle IBM's rise to computer industry dominance in the 1970s through its decline in the early 1990s when this book was first published. Examining implications at the time for computer companies entering a period of vast opportunity and international competition, the chapters include the rise of the clones, competing in radically decentralized systems, and toward an American technology policy. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Reading more like a consultant's report than a popular narrative, this densely written analysis suggests that small, maverick companies, rather than giants, have the best chance to lead the computer business. At first, Morris ( The Coming Global Boom ) and computer consultant Ferguson draw on anonymous, inside sources to chronicle the decline of IBM, blaming mainly the corporation's managers but also trade barriers raised by both the U.S. and Japan. Then the authors look more broadly at the industry. Noting America's edge in innovation and software, and Asian advantages in manufacturing, they suggest that the battle will be over "architectures"--the standards that define computer networks--and explore business strategies to control those standards. Only in the final chapters do Ferguson and Morris address industrial policy: they propose a "pro-technology policy agenda" that supports basic research and intervenes to prevent other countries from establishing cartels over crucial components. Even more important to industrial growth, the authors note, is a reordering of federal spending in areas such as health care. Author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ferguson, a computer analyst, and Morris, an economist, paint a cautiously optimistic picture of America's potential to reclaim its leading market share in the area of technology. They begin by chronicling IBM's rise to dominance in the industry and its dramatically accelerating decline. Next, they analyze the ingenuity and strategies of smaller American companies that constitute the force necessary to win the computer wars without IBM; they delineate the essential rules for future success. Finally, the authors outline political implications and emerging opportunities for Western firms in consumer electronics. Other topics of discussion: the impact of government policy, the prospects and problems facing companies, and the effect of the computer wars on every citizen. A superb blueprint that will intrigue an informed audience.
- Joe Accardi, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Beard Books Inc
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1587981394
• ISBN 13: 9781587981395
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288