Adapt and Survive: A Lesson from History in Positioning in the Computing Industry

Kevin Murrell examines the history of BCL, a British computing company founded in the heyday of British Computing in 1961, and how it coed with ever-changing requirements of highly dynamic, emerging industry.

BCL survived under various names and in different guises until the mid-1990s when its demise was sealed because it was technically out of position to cope with the year 2000 challenge that was looming.

Along the way, BCL had shown a great adaptability from its beginnings as a rather limited accounting machine manufacturer to become the producer of a general purpose mini-computer with sophisticated software solutions for niche markets.