IBM Celebrates a Century of Success

IBM recently celebrated its 100th birthday, as it was founded on June 16, 1911.  

During its first century, IBM has played a leading role in transforming business, science and society. The company's history can be seen as a succession of key milestones – from investing in a research lab in the depths of the Great Depression, to developing the first hard disk drive that created the data storage industry, to working with the U.S. government to develop the Social Security System.

The most recent development was Watson, .

"IBM has survived and thrived for 100 years by remaining true to our core values, while being ready to change everything else," Chairman of the Board, President and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano said in a statement. "This has allowed us to transform technology, business and society through our first century, and we believe it will enable us to achieve even more in our second."

Yorktown Councilman Vishnu Patel was recently invited at the IBM Centennial celebration on June 16 in Yorktown at the T. J. Watson Research center. He presented a Certificate of Achievement to IBM vice president Scott Brown on behalf of the Yorktown town board. More than 2400 people attended from around the world, he said.

"I saw many friends and people I worked with in last 36 years," said Patel, who is a retired scientist. "It was an unbelievable experience."

Throughout the year, IBM employees worldwide will increase service in their local communities. On June 15, more than 300,000 IBM employees, retirees, their families and clients donated more than 2.5 million hours of service -- the equivalent of 850 years of service -- applying their business skills and work experience to address community challenges and societal needs. Additionally, the company is expanding its community service grants by 140 percent over the previous year for not for profit organizations globally that partner with IBMers in their service activities.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, IBM is launching a year-long global initiative. The company will reexamine the history of technology innovation and predict where the world will be in the next 100 years, officials said. IBM will use this milestone to engage with business leaders, academia, clients, and local communities in the 170 countries the company does business.

IBM is debuting short films throughout the year to celebrate the company's corporate culture and innovations. The following film (embedded from YouTube you can watch above), features 100 people, who each present the IBM achievement recorded in the year they were born. The film chronology flows from the oldest person to the youngest, offering history of the company and culminating with its prospects for the future. For more information, please visit www.ibm100.com.

For more information on the IBM Centennial, visit www.ibm100.com.

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