Individual Companies and Developments
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks · 2024
IntroductionNixdorf Computer AG (NCAG) -founded in 1952 as the Labor für Impulstechnik (Laboratory for Impulse Technology, LfI) -was part of a piece of post-war German economic history.At the dawn of the German computer industry, Heinz Nixdorf, born in Paderborn, Germany, in 1925, took the opportunity to open new markets in a novel industry.He entered the then still new field of electronics unburdened by the electromechanical tradition of established office machine manufacturers.Nixdorf recognized the immense market potential for smaller commercial computing systems below the market-dominating mainframes early on.Together with a few other companies, such as Kienzle 1 and Siemag/Philips 2 , he created computers for the commercial-administrative sector in the mid-1960s, which, in terms of price and performance, could also be used by small and medium-sized businesses.Mid-range computing was born.Nixdorf, in accordance with his user-focused objectives, also provided demand-oriented software and information technology (IT) training for his customers in addition to the hardware.This "all-round service" gave NCAG a competitive edge and great business success, especially among medium-sized companies without their own IT department.Computers at that time developed over a few years into multi-user systems with their own networks or networking with mainframes, and NCAG was able to maintain their initial lead.By the end of the 1970s, Nixdorf was Germany's market leader for mid-range computing and rose to become Europe's fourth largest computer company. 31 For Kienzle, see also the article by Armin Müller in this volume.