IBM (International Business Machines) - a multinational corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York (USA), one of the world's largest manufacturers and suppliers of hardware and software, as well as IT services and consulting services.
The company was founded June 16, 1911 and was originally called the CTR (Computing Tabulating Recording). It included the Computing Scale Company of America, Tabulating Machine Company (TMC - Herman Hollerith's former company) and the International Time Recording Company. The incorporated company produced a wide range of electrical equipment: scales, time and attendance devices, perforating machine. Due to the complexity in the management of heterogeneous business in May 1914 as CEO was invited Thomas Watson. Thereafter, the company began to specialize in the creation of large Tabulation machines. In 1924, with the release of the Canadian market and the expansion of the range of products, CTR changed its name to International Business Machines, or, in abbreviated form, IBM.
A common nickname of - Big Blue. There are several theories regarding this nickname. One of them is derived from the mainframe-supplied in the 1950s - 1960s. They were the size of the room and had a blue color. Another theory is that the nickname simply refers to a company logo. Another version says that the name comes from the former company dress code that required many employees wear shirts and blue suits.