Digital State Strategy

The History Of Computerization Development In The State

The history of the development and use of counting machines in state governments dates back to 1890 when the United States census was calculated on punch card machines (for 80 column cards with electric readings) produced by Hollerith. At the same time, these machines were gradually being used to mechanize data processing in business, which increased after the creation of IBM in 1924. Furthermore, the creation of the Social Security Number triggered a wave of development of data processing systems in order to meet the needs of the federal, state, and local administrations. This mainly occurred in administrative areas that dealt with multiple employee records, materials, fixed assets, funds (including bank accounts), buildings and premises, inventory, and payroll accounting.

Soon, the mechanization of censuses developed in Europe thanks to IBM, which resulted in the development of the French company Bull, which began manufacturing punch card machines in 1931. These machines were sold to many European countries, where, in competition with IBM and UNIVAC-Powers machines (for 90 column cards with mechanical readings), they began to be used to mechanize data processing in keeping records and payroll accounting in administration and business. In Central and Eastern Europe, cheaper Czechoslovakian Aritma machines (for 90 column cards with mechanical readings) and Soviet (Belarusian) SAM machines (for 80 column cards with electric readings) were also used.

During World War II (1939-1945), Germans, who value good organization, used mechanized censuses in several European countries (in particular France, the Netherlands, and Poland) to arrest “undesirable elements,” including Jews. Unfortunately, around 4 million people died (Targowski, 2014a).

For the United States and the United Kingdom as well as in France, World War II gave rise to the development of electronic counting machines, called “computers” (USA-ENIAC 1946 and UNIVAC I 1951; United Kingdom-LEO I 1951; France-Gamma 60 1957). Beginning in the 1950s and intensifying in the 1960s, these electronic counting machines began to replace punch card machines and began to automate data processing, mainly in keeping records and storing accounting and payroll information. The spectacular development of the IBM 1400 series in the late 1950s and early 1960s with its business and administration applications came as a surprise to Western Europe.

In response to the US information technology challenge, President Charles de Gaulle developed Plan Calcul to encourage the production and use of computers in France. As a result of this plan, the company CII (Compagnie International pour Informatique) was established. Furthermore, the Delegue pour l’informatique was found in 1966, which aimed to coordinate and supervise the implementation of Plan Calcul. Thus, at this point, in addition to the American terms computing, data processing, computer science, and software, the French added the word Informatique, which means the technique of information processing. After five years, such a plan was adopted in Poland. In the wake of Plan Calcul (Targowski, 1971), the book Le Défi Américain (“the American Challenge”) was published by Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber (1967), a politician who described the United States and Europe as engaged in a silent economic war in which Europe seemed outclassed entirely on all fronts: management techniques, technological tools, and research capabilities. At that time, 600,000 copies were sold in France, which was unprecedented for a political essay, and it was translated into 15 languages. This book contributed to the revival of French nationalism and highlighted the importance of transnational cooperation in Europe.