Digital Equipment Corporation was an American computer company founded in 1957 by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson. It built minicomputers that brought interactive computing into laboratories and businesses, and for a time it was one of the largest firms in the industry. The company was later acquired, and the name is no longer a going concern.
What the Company Was Known For
- Minicomputers. Machines smaller and cheaper than the mainframes of the same era, used by a department rather than only by a central data center.
- Interactive use. A person at a terminal could work with the machine, rather than only submitting a batch of cards.
- A long run, then an acquisition. The firm dominated a segment of the market and was later bought by a larger computer company.
Minicomputer Firm and a Mainframe Firm
| Compared | This Company | A Mainframe Firm of the Same Era |
| Typical machine | A minicomputer for a department or a lab | A large machine for a whole organization |
| How people used it | From a terminal, interactively | Often as a batch submitted to operators |
| Where it sat | Closer to the people running the work | In a central data center |