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Events on Tuesday 7 April 1964 2
1964IBM announces the System/360Family of compatible mainframe computersIBM unveiled the System/360, a family of mutually compatible computers spanning a wide range of performance and price. The architecture became hugely influential and dominated the mainframe computing industry for decades.
1964System/360 — the greatest product gamble in business historyIBM announces the System/360 on 7 April 1964 — a family of six compatible computers covering a 50:1 range of performance. The System/360 is the most ambitious product launch in corporate history: IBM invests $5 billion — more than the Manhattan Project — betting that customers will pay for compatibility across machine sizes. Fortune calls it 'IBM's $5,000,000,000 Gamble.' The gamble pays off completely: the System/360 architecture becomes the template for business computing for the next three decades. Every IBM mainframe since is compatible with System/360 software.