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1955–1960: from scientific computing to management computing

At the beginning, computing was mainly concerned with scientific calculation and operational research. It was then the business of engineers, the only ones capable of programming the automaton in machine language that they used for their own needs. Then management applications were born, still transposed from mechanography.

1960–1970: development of management applications

Scientific applications began to develop with the progress of numerical analysis and simulation (science, engineering, economics, etc.). At the same time, applications began to multiply in banking, insurance and finance. Cobol, a modern programming language dedicated to business applications, was created in 1959. The birth of the concept of an information system gave a global view of the company: processes and information flows.

1975–1990: computing for all

With the development of computers in terms of power and reliability, computers took over all social practices of research, design, manufacturing, marketing and communication. Microcomputing has enabled the wide diffusion of microprocessor-based computer components in technical systems and the creation of microcomputers. Networks allow computers to communicate and allow machines to be decentralized as close as possible to workstations.

1990: integration into business

Computing began to penetrate all sectors of the company: the business world became digital. In the mid-1990s, with the Internet and electronic mail, inter-individual and inter-organizational exchanges were organized via IT support. Information technology was no longer separable from other fields of human activity. Information and communication technologies began to be adopted by the majority of the population in their daily lives.

Without departing from the anthropotechnical posture, we will avoid as much as possible a partisan posture, striving to reflect the diversity of points of view.