With its on-time launch in 1981, the IBM PC became the most successful technology introduction of its time; its sales of 241,683 units in a single month exceeded the five-year forecast. While successful, however, the PC was always considered a “stepchild” of the real money-making machine—the mainframe. Rather than push low-margin PCs through IBM’s traditional field sales force, IBM for the first time marketed and sold it through third-party retailers, distributors, and value-added resellers (VARs).