Nearly seven decades of technology, change and looking forward.
In 1958, the world of technology looked very different.
Computers were enormous machines available to relatively few organisations. Business communication revolved around telephones, typewriters and the post. The Space Age had only just begun. There was no internet. No email. No cloud. No smartphones. And certainly no Microsoft Copilot helping someone write the Monday morning meeting notes.
It was also the year BOM began.
But this isn’t simply a story about how long we’ve been here. It’s about just how much can change.
A lot can happen in nearly 70 years.
What comes next? That’s the interesting bit.
The beginning
Computing was entering a remarkable new era. The integrated circuit was demonstrated that year, technology that would ultimately help make modern computing possible.
Computers mean business
Mainframe computing became increasingly important to large organisations. IBM launched its System/360 family in 1964, helping establish a new generation of business computing.
Technology gets smaller
Microprocessors and new forms of digital storage helped lay the foundations for computing to move beyond specialist computer rooms.
The PC arrives
IBM introduced the 5150 Personal Computer, helping bring computing into mainstream businesses and eventually onto millions of desks.
The World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web while working at CERN. Information was about to become connected in an entirely new way.
Businesses get connected
The web expanded rapidly and email became an everyday business tool. By the end of 1994, the web had around 10,000 servers and 10 million users.
Work becomes mobile
Broadband, laptops, wireless networks and smartphones changed where and how people could work. The original iPhone arrived in 2007, combining a phone with internet access in your pocket.
Into the cloud
Applications, infrastructure and data increasingly moved beyond the traditional office server room. Businesses could access technology from almost anywhere.
AI enters the workplace
Cloud & Data Center, Cyber Security, Mobile Working and Artificial Intelligence are changing the workplace again.
Technology will keep changing.
Nearly seven decades of change haven’t taught us that we know exactly what technology will look like tomorrow. They’ve taught us the importance of being ready for it.
The technology BOM works with today would have been almost unimaginable in 1958. And what businesses rely on twenty years from now may look just as different.
That’s why good IT isn’t about standing still or adopting every new technology which appears. It’s about understanding your business, your people and where technology can genuinely help you move forward. A lot has changed since 1958. We’re looking forward to what changes next.
Technology changes. Your IT should adapt with it.
From Managed IT Services and Cyber Security to Microsoft 365 & Copilot, Cloud and Connectivity. We provide adaptive IT solutions that evolve with your business, supporting your people today while helping you prepare for what comes next.
Your business will change. Your technology will change. We’ll help make sure they keep moving together. Call 0800 038 7222 or email sales@bom.co.uk.