A feature of modern wars has been the impetus which is given to the development of scientific and technical progress, a phenomenon which is very easily explained by the general urgency of development under the pressure of war requirements, the removal of normal limits on expenditure and the realization of the part that science can play in the development of the engines of war. This was shown to a marked extent in the second world war and amongst the examples can be quoted the vast development of electronic equipment, the emergence of the jet engine as an alternative to the internal combustion engine for motive power and the realization of the use of nuclear power, in the first instance in the form of explosive energy. However, over and above these examples of scientific and technical progress there was one development in the second world war of particular interest, the use of the scientific method of ‘operational research’ (hereafter denoted by O.R.).

It is now June 1959—only eight years after the first magnetic tape computer was put to work in the U.S. Bureau of the Census. But it was not until mid-1954 that the appropriate auxiliary machines needed to complement this computer became available. In a very real sense, magnetic tape data processing facilities suitable for business operations are only five years old at this time.

Yet, in so short a time, possibly 300 or more tape-operated data processing systems have already been installed in the United States. A great deal has been written and said regarding the use of this equipment and its impact on current practices. There is much yet to be said. As we come to grips with the immediate and difficult job of putting it to work we can be encouraged by the very substantial progress already achieved by both manufacturers and users. In just a few years, the initial approach to computers has changed so much that the key question ‘Can electronic computers be relied upon?’ has become for many ‘Which one should I get?’