BUNCH
| Industry | Computer manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970s |
Area served | Global |
| Products | Mainframe computers |
The BUNCH referred to the collective of mainframe computer manufacturers rivaling IBM during the 1970s, consisting of Burroughs, UNIVAC, NCR, Control Data Corporation (CDC), and Honeywell. This grouping emerged due to IBM’s overwhelming market dominance, which surpassed the combined sales of all other competitors.
During the 1960s, IBM and these five firms, along with RCA and General Electric, were collectively called "IBM and the Seven Dwarfs." This designation shifted after General Electric divested its computer division to Honeywell in 1970, and RCA sold its computer operations to Sperry (owner of UNIVAC) in 1971, leaving only five primary challengers—the BUNCH.
By 1984, International Data Corporation reported that BUNCH’s total mainframe sales fell below $2 billion within an $11.4 billion market, with IBM securing the majority of remaining revenue. The pressure from IBM’s market supremacy drove these companies toward consolidation or withdrawal from the sector. Although they followed IBM into the microcomputer arena with PC-compatible systems, they struggled to transition effectively into retail markets for smaller computing devices.
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), once ranked as the industry’s second-largest player, was occasionally included alongside BUNCH under the nickname DeBUNCH.
Fate of BUNCH
- Burroughs & UNIVAC
- Following Burroughs’ acquisition of Sperry (the parent company of UNIVAC) in September 1986, the merged entity was renamed Unisys.
- NCR
- Beginning in 1982, NCR redirected its efforts toward open systems architecture and UNIX-based platforms such as the TOWER 16/32, focusing on smaller-scale computers rather than mainframes. After being purchased by AT&T Corporation in 1991, NCR was spun off as an independent firm in 1997. In 1998, NCR exited general-purpose hardware manufacturing by selling those assets to Solectron.
- Control Data Corporation
- Currently operates as Syntegra (USA), a subsidiary under British telecommunications company BT Group.
- Honeywell
- Divested its computer business to French corporation Groupe Bull in 1991.
Other mainframe manufacturers during the 1960s and 1970s
- Bendix Corporation introduced the G-15 in 1956 and followed with the G-20 in 1961; its computer division was acquired by Control Data Corporation in 1963.
- Philco, acquired by Ford Motor Company in 1961, manufactured military and commercial computing systems including the TRANSAC S-1000 and S-2000 models.
- Scientific Data Systems, which Xerox bought in 1969 and rebranded as Xerox Data Systems, held roughly a 1% market share before shutting down in 1975; most of its assets were transferred to Honeywell.
- Cray Research, established with assistance from Control Data Corporation, launched the influential vector supercomputer Cray-1 in 1976.
- Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), founded in 1957, produced notable mainframes such as the PDP-6 and PDP-10; it was eventually acquired by Compaq, which later merged into Hewlett-Packard.
- Hewlett-Packard (HP), founded in 1939, entered the minicomputer segment during the mid-1960s, competing alongside mainframe producers.
- Amdahl Corporation, created in 1970 by former IBM Fellow Gene Amdahl, specialized in IBM-compatible mainframes and became a subsidiary of Fujitsu in 1997.
- International Computers Limited, a significant British hardware and software enterprise operating from 1968 until 2002, was gradually acquired by Fujitsu and finally rebranded under its name in April 2002.