Not Only Microsoft: The Maturing of the Personal Computer Software Industry, 1982-1995
Author(s)
Campbell-Kelly, Martin
Abstract
In the thirteen years following the introduction of IBM’s first personal computer in 1982, Microsoft rose from being a small concern to become the colossus of the PC software industry. However, Microsoft was not the only software company to profit from the PC-software boom: firms like AutoDesk, Lotus Development, WordPerfect Corp., Ashton-Tate, Novell, Borland, Adobe Systems, Aldus, Symantec, and the Santa Cruz Operation all had their time in the sun. Whereas some of these firms lost their markets to Microsoft or stumbled through strategic errors, others remained hugely successful, and their relative obscurity is largely due to the contemporary obsession with Microsoft and its billionaire founder.
