The Evolution of CICS

The Evolution of CICS: Bob Yelavich (1957-1968)

Early in 1957, I began to prepare for my discharge from the U.S. Navy, which was due to take place in March or April. A friend of mine had applied for an interview with IBM and then later decided he would not use that appointment. IBM was looking for people with computer or electronics skills, to work on the SAGE project, which was a network of very large (at the time), binary, fully duplexed computer systems, installed throughout the U.S. as part of the Air Force's North American Air Defense System.

SAGE stood for Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, and each computer installation included two computers, one of which was the active, online system, processing real time data received from ground, air and shipboard radar, and then projected the current status of identified (or unidentified) aircraft in the skies above North America.

The two computers were in constant communication with the standby machine ready to take over the active workload in four seconds (!) or less. Remember, this was the late 1950s. The active machine wrote the equivalent of 'checkpoint' records to electronic/magnetic drums (today we have DASD, hard drives and CD-ROMs). The standby machine read that intercommunication data and prepared itself for a switchover, if the need arose.

Each computer site included a number of large TV-like display stations, staffed by Air Force personnel. Data communication lines came into each computer site, including some which linked one computer site to another, in the event one site became unavailable, enabling an adjacent area's computer to take over its workload. Each computer site had its complement of tape drives, card readers, printers and other peripheral equipment.

I called IBM and was able to use my friend's appointment, but for my own personal interview. I aced the math and logic tests, but scored less on the electronics test. In those days, IBM also gave prospective new employees both a physical and dental exam. Believe it or not, I failed the dental exam and had to have some minor dental work done before I could start the new job I was offered.

I entered the doors of IBM Kingston on April 29, 1957 and spent the next six months receiving training on the SAGE system. My first assignment was Custer Air Force Base in Battle Creek, Michigan, where I specialized in display systems. In 1959, I was promoted and moved to Sparks, Nevada so I could begin work at the Stead Air Force Base, just north of Reno, Nevada. I lived and work there, for IBM Federal Systems Division, and when our contract with the Air Force was completed in 1963, I relocated to the Detroit, Michigan area where I began to work for what was then called the District Ten office of IBM.

Because of my experience with large scale binary systems, I was immediately used to work with large automotive and education accounts that had or would have large IBM systems installed, such as the IBM 7090/94 or 7040/44. Each of those systems used an operating system known as IBSYS, with which few IBMers (or customers) had experience.

I didn't realize how absolutely fortunate I was to have had the opportunity to work with the SAGE system in my first six years with IBM. It prepared me for the 40 years I eventually spent working for the company. Not many people had large systems experience then, much less fully duplexed systems, with high availability capability, graphical displays and more. I wrote my first graphics program in 1959 (tic-tac-toe, just to learn how to do graphic programming). During my final years with Federal Systems, I spent a considerable amount of time specializing in the standby operating system, reaching a point where I knew as much or more about it than the people at IBM Poughkeesie, who were responsible for the development and maintenance of the code.

During my two years at Detroit, I not only taught large systems, but small and intermediate systems as well (1401/1410). I taught unit record equipment classes (card readers, printers, tabulators, etc). Because of my SAGE data communications experience, I designed and taught a course for commercial data communications, which as not very exotic at the time (Teletype, IBM 1050s, and similar devices, connected to IBM computers of the time). I also taught IBM marketing training classes because of my varied experience. That led to my promotion and transfer to the newly formed IBM Midwestern Region offices located in Chicago.

During my seven years working in Chicago, I initially spent most of my time teaching data communications to IBM employees. In 1963, IBM prepared to announce the IBM/360 computer family, and I found myself learning the very first release of what eventually became MVT (and MFT and PCP). I conducted operating system education for IBM and customer personnel during 1966-68. I also got involved with BTAM and QTAM which were IBM's data communications access methods of the period.

In 1968, Walt Lane, my manager at the time, called me into his office and gave me a bit of work to do. He gave me a sheet of paper with about 25 items listed and asked me to look into each one and come back to him with a recommendation as to which ones I thought deserved our attention from a marketing and education support point of view. Being the Midwestern Region office, Walt wanted to put together a market support plan for the top four or five software offerings that were on his list of 25. What Walt knew at the time, and I did not, was that IBM was planning to unbundle software and Systems Engineering services sometime in the following year (1969). Up to that point, IBM gave software and SE services away (bundled in the customer's cost of hardware), but due to the U.S. Government's consent decree, IBM was obligated to unbundle and separately charge for software and services.

I completed my investigation of the 25 software offerings and reported back to my manager that I thought the Generalized Information System (GIS), the Information Management System (IMS), and one other offering ........the Customer Information Control System (CICS) appeared to have the greatest interest and potential. I recommended that we put marketing and educational programs in place to support that selection of software.

My manager agreed and immediately assigned four people to work with me and put those programs in place (demos, classes, marketing materials, etc). One person was an SE with one year experience, and the other three were newly hired college graduates. Because of my assessment as to complexity, I gave prime responsibility for GIS and IMS, which I thought were easier to learn and work with, to the others on my team, and because of its low level, close relationship with the operating system and communications systems, I assigned CICS to myself.

A career was born..................