Never Overestimate the Power of a Computer.

COMPUTERS in business; COMPUTER systems; ELECTRONIC data processing; AMERICAN business enterprises; INFORMATION storage & retrieval systems; BUSINESS planning; COST effectiveness; STRATEGIC planning; OFFICE information systems; OFFICE practice automation

The article states that computer systems take many man-years to design and focuses on planning business computer systems for data processing in the United States. General-purpose computers include the large-scale models such as Sperry-Rand Corporation's Univac II, International Business Machines Corporation's IBM 705, and Radio Corporation of America's Bizmac. With the trend in decentralization, companies are using two types of medium-scale computers, which are classified as magnetic tape input/output and storage or punched cards. Four examples illustrate why companies buy electronic data-processing equipment, including cost savings and faster information processing. Topics are integrated processing, handling paper work and source documents, and rental prices for computers.