The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, [1] and delivered between 1965 and 1978. [2] System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applications and a complete range of applications from small to large.

The System/360 became an industry standard and set IBM on a path to dominate the computer industry for two decades. By 1989, products based on the System/360’s architecture and its extensions accounted for more than half of IBM’s total revenue.

The IBM System/360 architecture is the model independent architecture for the entire S/360 line of mainframe computers, including but not limited to the instruction set architecture.

On April 7, 1964, 50 years ago, IBM Corporation announced a family of room-sized computers known as the System 360. At the time, computers were big and expensive. Some performed large numbers of simple computations, such as were needed by businesses handling payroll or government agencies such as the Social Security Administration.

•IBM’s announcement of the IBM System/360 . on Tuesday, 7 April, 1964 was an inflection point for the information technology industry. •With its consistent architecture across the line of products, the System/360 enabled the unprecedented growth of both the computer hardware and software industries.

IBM OS/360, operating system introduced by IBM in 1964 to operate its 360 family of mainframe computer systems. The 360 system was unprecedented in its ability to support a wide array of applications, and it was one of the first operating systems to …

Jan 9, 2015 · The April 1964 announcement of IBM System/360 was revolutionary in content and unprecedented in scope. It replaced all five of IBM’s (6-bit-byte) computer product lines with one strictly compatible family, using a new hybrid-integrated-circuit technology and a …

IBM’s System/360, a new family of general-purpose computers, changed everything. Programs for one System/360 computer ran on all, letting customers readily consolidate computing capabilities. Every subsequent IBM mainframe is a descendant of the first System/360s.

Reliving the story of the System/360 reveals the struggle, the personalities — and the values — that helped IBM create this landmark contribution, an advance in both technology and business that, to a significant degree, reshaped IBM.

At a cost to IBM of an estimated $5 billion, the System/360 represented the transition to the Third Generation of mainframe computers, traumatized IBM’s customers, and sent IBM’s competitors scrambling for survival.