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At various points IBM tried to consolidate their product lines around a single architecture and software platform. Some of the noteworthy examples of this are t
by ch_123 5y ago
At various points IBM tried to consolidate their product lines around a single architecture and software platform. Some of the noteworthy examples of this are the Future Systems project in the 70s, the Fort Knox project in the 80s, and the Workplace OS project in the 90s.
All of these proved to be complete disasters. Ultimately, the value add they provide to the people that use them is that the backwards compatibility. Trying to consolidate them all created compromises and complexity which sank the projects in question.
- trasz 5y agoI'd say one of those did work just fine: when they consolidated AS/400 and RS/6000.
- ch_123 5y agoFair point. The AS/400 itself was also a successful consolidation of the S/36 and S/38 product lines. Consolidation has worked on a relatively small scale where two platforms were combined, attempts to produce one platform to rule them all have generally failed.
- etaioinshrdlu 5y agoSo anyone who does not currently use IBM, should probably run the other way and never use them?