Not Only Microsoft: How the PC Software Industry Matured, 1982-1995
ArtificialOther · x · 2026-08-19
Not Only Microsoft: The Maturing of the Personal Computer Software Industry, 1982–1995 by Martin Campbell-Kelly (University of Warwick), published in Business History Review.
In the thirteen years after IBM's first PC, Microsoft grew from a small concern into the colossus of PC software — but it wasn't the only winner. AutoDesk, Lotus, WordPerfect, Ashton-Tate, Novell, Borland, Adobe, Aldus, Symantec, and the Santa Cruz Operation all had their moment, while some lost their markets to Microsoft or stumbled through strategic errors. A business history of the industry's maturation, a useful lens on today's platform-software competition.
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