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It's been wrecking software companies for decades. Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. In software, monop

by ken 7y ago

It's been wrecking software companies for decades. Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. In software, monopolies, consolidation, and integration are the name of the game. In contrast, I can easily name dozens of companies in other fields that have been around for 50 years or more, including some small ones that have stayed small yet successful.

fredsanford 7y ago
Gimpel Software [0] (PC Lint) has been around since 1984 or so they claim. Lugaru Software [1] (Epsilon Editor) has been around since 1984 There are more but... [0] https://www.gimpel.com/ https://www.gimpel.com/ [1] https://lugaru.com/history.html https://lugaru.com/history.html
adventured 7y ago
> Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. Adobe (1982), Intuit (1983), Electronic Arts (1982), Activision (1979), Symantec (1982), McAfee (1987) Nintendo should probably be on that list with EA & Activision as well. The only reason they still exist is due to their consumer software business. They've shipped an enormous amount of consumer software. Microsoft hasn't been a pure-play software company in a very long time. So I would also include Apple and IBM on that list, as both have shipped huge volumes of consumer software at various points (Apple is both still alive and still ships consumer software; IBM still exists, but no longer ships consumer software).
Silhouette 7y ago
Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. Just down the road from me is Frontier, which was founded by David Braben. He was working on the original Elite back in the early 80s, and although Frontier didn't come along until a decade or so later and doesn't strictly meet your condition, I'd argue that it's a good example of a successful consumer software business and has got there by producing a sustained track record of successful products. A few years ago it was listed on the stock market, but by then it had already managed almost two decades as an independent and grown to hundreds of people.
dragonwriter 7y ago
> Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. Others have, but Microsoft always been primarily B2B/Enterprise, not primarily consumer. For that kind of company from the 1980s or earlier, MicroFocus. > In contrast, I can easily name dozens of companies in other fields that have been around for 50 years or more In any one field, though? And one as young as software?

by ken 7y ago

fredsanford 7y ago

Gimpel Software [0] (PC Lint) has been around since 1984 or so they claim. Lugaru Software [1] (Epsilon Editor) has been around since 1984 There are more but... [0] https://www.gimpel.com/ https://www.gimpel.com/ [1] https://lugaru.com/history.html https://lugaru.com/history.html

adventured 7y ago

> Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. Adobe (1982), Intuit (1983), Electronic Arts (1982), Activision (1979), Symantec (1982), McAfee (1987) Nintendo should probably be on that list with EA & Activision as well. The only reason they still exist is due to their consumer software business. They've shipped an enormous amount of consumer software. Microsoft hasn't been a pure-play software company in a very long time. So I would also include Apple and IBM on that list, as both have shipped huge volumes of consumer software at various points (Apple is both still alive and still ships consumer software; IBM still exists, but no longer ships consumer software).

Silhouette 7y ago

Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. Just down the road from me is Frontier, which was founded by David Braben. He was working on the original Elite back in the early 80s, and although Frontier didn't come along until a decade or so later and doesn't strictly meet your condition, I'd argue that it's a good example of a successful consumer software business and has got there by producing a sustained track record of successful products. A few years ago it was listed on the stock market, but by then it had already managed almost two decades as an independent and grown to hundreds of people.

dragonwriter 7y ago

> Name one consumer software company from the 1980's that still exists, besides Microsoft. Others have, but Microsoft always been primarily B2B/Enterprise, not primarily consumer. For that kind of company from the 1980s or earlier, MicroFocus. > In contrast, I can easily name dozens of companies in other fields that have been around for 50 years or more In any one field, though? And one as young as software?