Bob O. Evans
Encyclopedia
Bob Overton Evans also known as "Boe" Evans, was a computer pioneer and corporate executive at IBM (International Business Machines). He led the groundbreaking development of compatible computers that changed the industry.
. In 1951, after earning an engineering degree from Iowa State University
, he joined IBM
as a junior engineer.
1951
as it was developing a new range of "computers" based on vacuum tubes (earlier IBM computers used mechanical
switches). A natural and very
capable manager he moved up the company hierarchy to the position of vice president (development) in
the Data Systems division in 1962. This was apparently created as a position where he had responsibility for the
development of "System/360", a merger of IBMs separate scientific and business computing systems.
In the early 1960s, Evans persuaded IBM’s chairman, Thomas J. Watson Jr., to discontinue the company’s development of a hodgepodge of incompatible computers and instead to embark on the development of a single product line of general-purpose, compatible
computers. Until then, researchers thought that the fields of scientific computing and commercial data processing each required their own type of special-purpose computer. Compatibility would ensure that the same software could run on any model of the product line, avoiding a re-programming of software.
Evans had overall responsibility for the hardware and software development of what was announced on April 7, 1964, as the IBM System/360 product line, with six models (later gradually expanded to 18 models) and a performance range factor of 50. IBM – in 1964 a company with an annual revenue of $3.2 billion – invested more than $5 billion in engineering, factories and equipment to develop and manufacture System/360, opening five plants and hiring 60,000 employees. In the lead article about System/360 in the IBM Journal of Research and Development, April 1964, only Evans was acknowledged by name, in these words: “The scope of the compatibility objective and of the whole System/360 undertaking was largely due to B. O. Evans, Data Systems Division Vice President–Development.”
After a stint as president of IBM’s Federal Systems Division, in 1969 Evans was named president of IBM’s Systems Development Division (SDD). He was responsible for the development of what was announced on June 30, 1970 as the IBM System/370 product line, initially with three models, later gradually expanded to 17 models. The hardware was supported by four main operating systems. Any application that had run on System/360 could run on System/370. Equally important, where most of the processing on System/360 had been batch
-oriented, with only the beginnings of interactive processing, new features of the System/370 opened the door to explosive growth in online transaction processing
.
SDD and a successor, the Systems Communications Division, also with Evans as its president, developed a communications architecture and a set of architecture-compliant communication product lines that were announced in 1974 under the banner of Systems Network Architecture (SNA). In today’s ocean of the Internet Protocol
, there still are thousands of SNA islands in productive existence.
Evans was also responsible for IBM’s Future Systems (FS) project. The project was terminated in 1975, in part because of anticipated software incompatibilities between FS and 360/370. On another front, IBM each year was doubling its shipments of online workstations, a market segment it had created around the IBM 3270
display system. Competition was starting to do better, and IBM began to lose market share in one of its "own" segments.
In 1977 IBM named Evans senior vice president for engineering, programming, and technology. He left IBM in 1984. From 1981 until 1995, Evans was chief scientific advisor to the government in Taiwan. From 1984 on, he was partner of Hambrecht & Quist
, and managing partner of Technology Strategies and Alliances. The latter company merged and became Rocket Ventures, of which he was a partner.
Evans died in Hillsborough, Calif., on September 2, 2004.
ceremony in 1985, Bob Evans and his colleagues, Fred Brooks
(responsible for System/360 architecture and design) and Eric Bloch (responsible for System/360 technology) received the National Medal of Technology
“for their contributions to […] the IBM System/360, a computer system and technologies which revolutionized the data processing industry.”
Early life and education
Evans was born in Grand Island, NebraskaGrand Island, Nebraska
Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 48,520 at the 2010 census.Grand Island is home to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center which is the sole agency responsible for training law enforcement officers throughout the state,...
. In 1951, after earning an engineering degree from Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, he joined IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
as a junior engineer.
Career
Bob O. Evans joined IBM in a low level engineering position in1951
as it was developing a new range of "computers" based on vacuum tubes (earlier IBM computers used mechanical
switches). A natural and very
capable manager he moved up the company hierarchy to the position of vice president (development) in
the Data Systems division in 1962. This was apparently created as a position where he had responsibility for the
development of "System/360", a merger of IBMs separate scientific and business computing systems.
In the early 1960s, Evans persuaded IBM’s chairman, Thomas J. Watson Jr., to discontinue the company’s development of a hodgepodge of incompatible computers and instead to embark on the development of a single product line of general-purpose, compatible
Computer compatibility
A family of computer models is said to be compatible if certain software that runs on one of the models can also be run on all other models of the family. The computer models may differ in performance, reliability or some other characteristic...
computers. Until then, researchers thought that the fields of scientific computing and commercial data processing each required their own type of special-purpose computer. Compatibility would ensure that the same software could run on any model of the product line, avoiding a re-programming of software.
Evans had overall responsibility for the hardware and software development of what was announced on April 7, 1964, as the IBM System/360 product line, with six models (later gradually expanded to 18 models) and a performance range factor of 50. IBM – in 1964 a company with an annual revenue of $3.2 billion – invested more than $5 billion in engineering, factories and equipment to develop and manufacture System/360, opening five plants and hiring 60,000 employees. In the lead article about System/360 in the IBM Journal of Research and Development, April 1964, only Evans was acknowledged by name, in these words: “The scope of the compatibility objective and of the whole System/360 undertaking was largely due to B. O. Evans, Data Systems Division Vice President–Development.”
After a stint as president of IBM’s Federal Systems Division, in 1969 Evans was named president of IBM’s Systems Development Division (SDD). He was responsible for the development of what was announced on June 30, 1970 as the IBM System/370 product line, initially with three models, later gradually expanded to 17 models. The hardware was supported by four main operating systems. Any application that had run on System/360 could run on System/370. Equally important, where most of the processing on System/360 had been batch
Batch processing
Batch processing is execution of a series of programs on a computer without manual intervention.Batch jobs are set up so they can be run to completion without manual intervention, so all input data is preselected through scripts or command-line parameters...
-oriented, with only the beginnings of interactive processing, new features of the System/370 opened the door to explosive growth in online transaction processing
Transaction processing
In computer science, transaction processing is information processing that is divided into individual, indivisible operations, called transactions. Each transaction must succeed or fail as a complete unit; it cannot remain in an intermediate state...
.
SDD and a successor, the Systems Communications Division, also with Evans as its president, developed a communications architecture and a set of architecture-compliant communication product lines that were announced in 1974 under the banner of Systems Network Architecture (SNA). In today’s ocean of the Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
, there still are thousands of SNA islands in productive existence.
Evans was also responsible for IBM’s Future Systems (FS) project. The project was terminated in 1975, in part because of anticipated software incompatibilities between FS and 360/370. On another front, IBM each year was doubling its shipments of online workstations, a market segment it had created around the IBM 3270
IBM 3270
The IBM 3270 is a class of block oriented terminals made by IBM since 1972 normally used to communicate with IBM mainframes. As such, it was the successor to the IBM 2260 display terminal. Due to the text colour on the original models, these terminals are informally known as green screen terminals...
display system. Competition was starting to do better, and IBM began to lose market share in one of its "own" segments.
In 1977 IBM named Evans senior vice president for engineering, programming, and technology. He left IBM in 1984. From 1981 until 1995, Evans was chief scientific advisor to the government in Taiwan. From 1984 on, he was partner of Hambrecht & Quist
Hambrecht & Quist
Hambrecht & Quist was an investment bank based in San Francisco, California noted for its focus on the technology and internet sectors. H&Q was founded by William Hambrecht and George Quist in California, 1968....
, and managing partner of Technology Strategies and Alliances. The latter company merged and became Rocket Ventures, of which he was a partner.
Evans died in Hillsborough, Calif., on September 2, 2004.
Legacy and honors
In a White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
ceremony in 1985, Bob Evans and his colleagues, Fred Brooks
Fred Brooks
Frederick Phillips Brooks, Jr. is a software engineer and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the OS/360 software support package, then later writing candidly about the process in his seminal book The Mythical Man-Month...
(responsible for System/360 architecture and design) and Eric Bloch (responsible for System/360 technology) received the National Medal of Technology
National Medal of Technology
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation is an honor granted by the President of the United States to American inventors and innovators who have made significant contributions to the development of new and important technology...
“for their contributions to […] the IBM System/360, a computer system and technologies which revolutionized the data processing industry.”
- In 1970, Evans was elected to the National Academy of EngineeringNational Academy of EngineeringThe National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
.
- In 1991, he received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Computer Pioneer Award, for the development of compatible computers.
- In 2004, Evans was inducted into the Hall of Fellows of the Computer History MuseumComputer History MuseumThe Computer History Museum is a museum established in 1996 in Mountain View, California, USA. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the stories and artifacts of the information age, and exploring the computing revolution and its impact on our lives.-History:The museum's origins...
, Mountain View, CaliforniaMountain View, California-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, “for excellence in management of computer systems, hardware, and software development projects, including the IBM System/360, which revolutionized the computer industry.”
Acknowledgments
In addition to the referenced sources, the following sources were used:- “Bob Evans, IBM mainframe pioneer, dies at 77” CNET News.com, Sep. 5, 2004;
- “Bob Evans, Who Helped IBM Transform Data Processing, Dies at 77” The New York Times, Sep. 8, 2004;
- “Obituary: Bob Evans”, The Independent, Sep. 10, 2004.