They took notice of how popular the interactive computing machines were with students who visited the lab, as opposed to the batch processing machines that users couldn’t input data into or use for real-time feedback. While working together in the Lincoln Laboratory at MIT, Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson came up with the idea for DEC. It ends in roughly 1998 with the selling of the company to Compaq.

The Impressive (and Tragic) History of DEC in ComputingĭEC’s story begins in 1957 with two men at MIT who had a theory and an idea for a business. In order to understand how DEC eventually lost it all, it’s important to take a look back at how it all began and why such a monumental shift in the computing industry could’ve been missed by such a critical leader in the space.

So, what happened to DEC? Why did all the success and industry dominance they had for roughly three decades just suddenly slip away? Most argue that it was a failure of the company’s leadership to adapt to the changing direction that computing began to take in the late 1980s. In addition to its extensive lines of minicomputers, it also became involved with software as well as the internet (in the very, very early days of the internet). DEC introduced a mid-range computing solution, the minicomputer, at a time when the alternative was too bulky and costly for most people.

But flash back a few decades, and the leaders of those companies all would’ve gladly bowed down to Digital Equipment Corporation, or DEC, who began paving the way for everyone starting in 1957.ĭEC identified a demand for more affordable and high-performing computing systems that could be used in scientific research and other technological settings. When you think of leaders in the computing industry, your first thoughts probably turn to companies like Apple, Microsoft, and IBM.

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