After World War II the company
moved to systematize innovation
by opening its legendary
Watson Research Center. Pioneering
not only computing but
also basic research in telecommunications,
physics, mathematics,
and economics, Watson
and other IBM labs around the
globe spawned hundreds of
new products (including the
world-changing System 360),
fi ve Nobel Prizes, and—for 17
years in a row—more patents
than were earned by any other
company in the world.
THIRD ERA
VC-BACKED
START-UPS
But IBM was disrupted in the
third era, when the prototypical
VC-backed start-ups
Intel and Microsoft became
partners in its IBM PC initiative.
Within a decade each start-up
had achieved a market value
surpassing IBM’s own, while
Big Blue fell into a state of disrepair
and became the subject
of breakup rumors. 1 2