My Tryst with Technology
A Journey from Mainframes to AI – Part One
©Archie D’Souza
Three years ago, when my book Simplifying Blockchain Complexities was released, I knew
that AI, ML & IoT would play a big role in supply chains. I knew it when I
started researching for the book. It has indeed done so, and hence I felt the
need for a second edition. This will be released soon. However, as I began my
research, I came to the conclusion this book, while needing a second edition, a
separate book on the applications of AI in tandem with blockchains in projects and
supply chains was also the need of the day. Hence, this book.
The applications of
Blockchain Technology outside cryptocurrency trading was in its infancy. No
logistics player was keen on even looking at its use in supply chains. And,
almost nobody looked at it beyond its application as a distributed ledger used
to record Bitcoin transactions. But, we realised, and there were others also
discovering that the technology has applications beyond cryptocurrencies.
Since the release of the first edition, there have been several developments
and disruptions in the fields of Supply Chain and Project Management. AI, ML
and IoT are taking over at an unimaginable pace. The disruptions brought about
by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the US/Israeli strikes on Arab territories
have caused most countries to rethink their supply chain. These disruptions
will need tweaking in the way payments are made and new laws will need to be
enacted to reflect the new realities.
I am today recognised
as a Supply Chain & Project Management Expert, an educator, an International
Logistics Strategist and a Private International Law Specialist. I’ve been
serving global trade since 1978. My first corporate assignment was with the
cargo division of Air India in Bombay, as the city of my birth was then known.
But my professional journey as a logistician started even before that. Since my
parents could afford to pay for my college education, I had to work and study.
The first job I took up was during the SSC exams at our school. I served water
to the candidates, being paid five rupees fifty paise per day. A year later, I
passed my SSCE, and we had a three-month gap between the last day of exams and
the college's first term. I filled air in a petrol pump and earned enough to pay
through my first year of college. Later, in my first year of college, I joined
a company whose office was very close to college. This was my introduction to
logistics. I’ll come to that later.
Transportation has
fascinated me from a very young age. Since I can remember, anything that moved appealed
to me – scooters, bikes, cars, trucks, busses, trains and planes. I was also
fascinated with anything electronic like, music systems, TVs, the Walkman and
computers. When I was in college, we were still in the mainframe era. The top two
companies of that era were IBM and Burroughs. Let’s look at these eras before
we come to the AI era.
1.
The Mainframe Era
(1950s–1970s) - the Age of Centralized Computing
The fifties, sixties, and seventies together saw the era of
mainframes. Banks, insurance companies, airlines, universities, school examination
boards, and public utilities all saw computerised statements and prints. By
today’s standards, these looked crude and were noisy. However, they were a
great step forward from manual operations. The computer systems needed a great
deal of floor space. If one looked at companies like Air India, the Shipping
Corporation of India, LIC, State Bank of India, and others, which occupied the
newly built skyscrapers of Nariman Point, their systems occupied full floors of
buildings, each floor being thousands of square feet in area. The memory that these
systems had was less than the memory in the laptop on which I’m feeding this
text.
But the computer had started, and before long, we saw the
introduction of user-friendly personal computers. But there was something
in-between.
Defining Characteristics
- Massive centralized computers
- Batch processing using punch cards
- Computing accessible only to
governments, banks, universities, and large corporations
- Users submitted jobs and waited
hours—or days—for output
Important Milestones
- 1951: IBM introduces early
commercial computers
- 1964: IBM System/360
revolutionizes enterprise computing
- COBOL and FORTRAN become dominant
programming languages
Human Experience
This was the era when computing was mysterious, expensive, and
elite.
Engineers and operators were custodians of a rare resource.
My Personal Experience
- First exposure to data centres and
training institutions like NIIT and Datamatics
- Punch cards or terminal systems
- The culture of discipline and
precision around computing
- The need for huge floor spaces
with temperature control.
Then came the era of the mini-computers
2.
The Minicomputer
Revolution (1970s) – Computing Moves Closer to Businesses
The introduction of the minicomputer was a foregone thing as mainframes
required specialized rooms and technicians for operation. The user was thus
separated from the computer. The mini changed that. It was designed for direct,
personal interaction with the programmer. Mainframes operated in isolation;
minis could communicate with other systems in real time. In contrast with much
larger mainframe memories needed for scientific calculations and business records,
the first minis stored only 4,096 words of 12- or 16-bit. Unlike larger
computers featuring expensive input/output devices, early minis used only a Teletype
or a Flexowriter and a paper-tape punch/reader. Minis were designed for
process control, data transmission, and switching. Mainframes, on the other
hand, emphasized data storage, processing, and calculating. Minicomputers that
did the most to define the new class of computers were sold to original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that incorporated minis into larger control
systems, often for industrial processes.
Defining Characteristics of Minis
- Smaller and more affordable than
mainframes
- Department-level computing emerges
- Interactive terminals become
common
Important Milestones
- Digital Equipment Corporation
popularized minicomputers
- UNIX operating system gains
traction
- Time-sharing systems emerge
Industry Impact
Computing starts becoming operational rather than purely
administrative.
What followed
- Transition from centralized
control to departmental access
- Early systems programming or
enterprise applications
The next episode
will be on the commencement of my corporate journey and my first tryst with
mainframe computers. Do watch this space.
