Microsoft's Plan To Dominate The Market For Business Software
The PC software giant is targeting distributors and manufacturers to replace their systems with its full-featured, fully integrated business solutions.
Prior to the mid-1970s a (“mainframe”) computer came with only an operating system and some utilities, no application software; packaged software as we know it didn't exist. To get a computer to perform a function like printing invoices required creating the application software from scratch, either by hiring one or more “programmers” or contracting with an outside firm. The cost of creating software could easily exceed the cost of the computer itself, so the total cost precluded most wholesalers from automating.