IBM becomes the first company in the world to ship the industry's fastest
microcomputer processor, Intel's powerful new i486 microprocessor.
AT&T Bell Laboratories, IBM Research Division, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and MIT Lincoln Laboratories announce plans to form a consortium to
explore electronic applications of high-temperature superconductivity. A U.S.
patent is granted to IBM for the world-record high-temperature superconducting
materials invented by four scientists at the Almaden Research Center.
Jack D. Kuehler becomes president of IBM.
IBM announces a series of restructuring initiatives, including consolidations and
capacity reductions at some U.S. locations, and the elimination of selected
positions in manufacturing, development, marketing, service, administration and
headquarters at most U.S. locations.
IBM completes the sale of ROLM manufacturing and development activities to Siemens
AG. A newly-formed company jointly owned by IBM and Siemens will market and
service Siemens telephones, telephone switching systems and other
telecommunications products in the United States.
The IBM 3390 Direct Access Storage Device, is introduced as the industry's fastest
high-performance storage product - 40 percent faster and capable of storing as
much data as its predecessor (the IBM 3380K) in one-third the space.
IBM introduces OfficeVision, a family of easy-to-use applications for document
preparation, filing, electronic mail and calendars, and the first major product
developed using Systems Application Architecture; and CIM Advantage, a package of
hardware and software products that provides a comprehensive approach to
computer-integrated manufacturing.
IBM introduces Business Recovery Services, an offering that enables a business to
continue operations in the event of an unplanned outage or disaster.
The IBM Academy of Technology is established to provide the technical community
with the means to improve communications and advance the understanding of key
technical areas.
A team of IBM scientists and engineers set a world record in magnetic data storage
density by successfully storing a billion bits of information - a gigabit - on a
single square inch of disk surface using experimental components. This record data
density is 15 to 30 times greater than that of current "hard disk" magnetic
storage devices. A billion bits is equivalent to 100,000 double-spaced,
typewritten pages - enough paper to make a stack 33 feet tall, about the height of
a three-story building.
Researchers at IBM and Helsinki University of Technology in Finland have developed
an experimental tool that can vastly improve the diagnosis of brain malfunctions,
such as epilepsy, stroke and deafness.
IBM enters into a number of new business alliances as part of its continuing
effort to augment and accelerate software development, leverage resources and
acquire new technologies. New joint ventures include a partnership with Baxter
Healthcare Corporation to form a new healthcare information management company and
IBM Japan's alliance with Toshiba Corporation to form a company that will
manufacture large-sized color liquid crystal displays.
IBM joins six other members of the Semiconductor Industry Association in funding
U.S. Memories, Inc., a corporation being formed to produce memory products in the
United States. IBM and Microsoft Corporation announce a joint project to create an
industry standard for developing multimedia applications for personal computers.
IBM and Compaq sign a cross-license agreement on the use of each other's worldwide
patent portfolios. IBM and Micron Technology Inc. agree that Micron will be
licensed to use IBM's DRAM technology and will perform certain development work
with IBM in various types of memory chips.
IBM and MCA Inc. enter into an agreement with wholly-owned U.S. subsidiaries of
Pioneer Electric Corporation of Tokyo to sell Discovision Associates to the
Pioneer subsidiaries. Discovision Associates is a joint venture equally owned by
IBM and MCA. It was originally formed in 1979 to develop video disc systems and
ceased manufacturing operations in 1982.
IBM dedicates the Advanced Semiconductor Technology Center in East Fishkill, New
York, a major new laboratory where the most sophisticated chips of the next decade
will be developed and readied for mass production. The ASTC will house the
nation's only privately owned synchrotron storage ring for X-ray lithography, a
technology that permits the etching of extremely fine circuit lines on the surface
of silicon.
IBM's component manufacturing facility in Sindelfingen, West Germany, begins
fabrication of four-megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM) memory chips, the
first such chips in Europe to be processed in a production-line environment.
IBM announces a five-year, $25 million grant program to help improve U.S.
elementary and secondary education through more effective use of technology.
During 1988, IBM contributes $42.7 million in cash, equipment and other support to
educational institutions in the United States, and $69.7 million in support to
education worldwide. In addition, IBM's current contracts, joint studies and
sponsored research represent a cash commitment of $127 million worldwide.
IBM supports volunteerism initiatives throughout the world by providing $1 million
in seed money for new programs and projects in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France,
Germany, Japan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Instituto Autonomo Biblioteca Nacional, Venezuela's national library,
initiates a joint project with IBM Venezuela to combine the library's
bibliographic database with information contained in seven university libraries.
Of the 11,200 new employees hired in the United States, about 38 percent are women
and 24 percent are minorities. Women hold 20 percent of the company's management
positions, while minorities hold 13 percent. Women are in nearly 12.6 percent of
the senior management positions while minorities fill almost 10 percent of those
posts.
