Wang Laboratories

Wang Laboratories, Inc.

Former Wang headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts
Company type	Former public company
Industry	Computer hardware
Founded	1951 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Founder	An Wang Ge Yao Chu
Defunct	1999
Fate	Acquired by Getronics
Headquarters	Tewksbury, Massachusetts, U.S. (1963–1976) Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S. (1976–1995) Billerica, Massachusetts, U.S. (1995–1999)
Products	Word processors, minicomputers, microcomputers
Revenue	$3 billion (1980s, peak) (1980s)
Number of employees	33,000 (1980s)

Wang Laboratories, Inc. was an American computer company founded in 1951 by An Wang and Ge Yao Chu in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[1][2] The company produced electronic typesetters, desktop calculators, word processors and minicomputers over four decades. Operating alongside Digital Equipment Corporation and Data General on Massachusetts Route 128, a corridor often called "America's Technology Highway", Wang became one of the largest technology employers in New England.^[3] At its peak in the late 1980s, Wang Laboratories reported annual revenues of $3 billion, employed over 33,000 people, and was one of the defining enterprises of the Massachusetts Miracle.^[3][4] An Wang later funded the restoration of Boston's performing arts center, renamed the Wang Theatre, and made large contributions to Massachusetts General Hospital.^[5][6]

Wang's most successful products were its word processing systems, starting with the Wang 1200 (1972) and its successor the Wang OIS (1977), which gave the company a dominant position in office automation. The Wang 2200 (1973) established the company in the small business computing sector, and the Wang VS minicomputer line, introduced in 1977 as a direct competitor to IBM's business computing market, became Wang's primary revenue source through the 1980s. Wang was one of the first technology companies to advertise on television, and ran the first computer ad during the Super Bowl in 1978, deliberately framing the company as a David against IBM's Goliath.^[7][8][9]

Wang's decline followed several converging failures, including its slow transition from minicomputers to microprocessors. The market for standalone word processing systems collapsed in the early 1980s when personal computers running software such as MultiMate replicated the Wang interface at a lower cost.^[10] In October 1983, Wang announced fourteen hardware and software products, most of which were never delivered, damaging the company's credibility.^[9] An Wang installed his son Frederick as president in 1986 over the objections of senior management, leading to internal friction and the departure of key executives. An Wang died in March 1990.^[11] After mounting debt and large layoffs, Wang Laboratories filed for bankruptcy protection on August 18, 1992.^[12]

The company emerged from bankruptcy in September 1993. Under CEO Joseph Tucci, it refocused on network services rather than hardware manufacturing and eventually renamed itself Wang Global. Kodak acquired Wang's document imaging software arm in 1997. Wang Global was acquired by Getronics of the Netherlands in 1999; Getronics North America was subsequently sold to KPN in 2007 and to CompuCom of Dallas in 2008.^[13][14][15]

An Wang and Ge Yao Chu founded Wang Laboratories in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1951.^[1] Wang had emigrated from Shanghai to the United States in 1945 and received a PhD in applied physics from Harvard University in 1948.^[16] Before founding the company, while working at Harvard's Computation Laboratory, he developed some of the original principles of magnetic-core memory. The sale of his magnetic core logic and shift-register components provided the initial capital to bootstrap the business.^[17] IBM disputed the memory patents in negotiations that ran from 1955 to 1956, an episode Wang recounted at length in his autobiography, which fueled a lifelong personal rivalry with IBM.^[16]

In 1955, Wang and his engineering team developed a digital differential analyzer called the WEDILOG, a hybrid logic processor designed to simulate analog computers using digital techniques.^[17] The company's first major commercial product, the Linasec electronic typesetter, was developed in 1964 under contract to Compugraphic.^[18] Wang went public on August 26, 1967, issuing 240,000 shares at $12.50 per share on the American Stock Exchange.^[19][20]

The Wang LOCI-2 desktop calculator, introduced in January 1965, was the first capable of computing logarithms without integrated circuits.^[21] From 1965 to about 1971, Wang was a well-regarded calculator company, producing the highly successful 300-series models. In 1971, An Wang concluded that calculators would rapidly become unprofitable commodities and directed the company to exit the business within a few years to focus entirely on computing and word processing.^[22]

Harold Koplow, who had written the microcode for the Wang 700 calculator, redesigned it to perform word processing functions, producing the Wang 1200 in 1972. Working with David Moros, Koplow then developed the Wang OIS (Office Information System), introduced in 1977. Utilizing Zilog Z80 microprocessors and a high-speed coaxial network known as the "928 Link," the OIS gave Wang a dominant position in office word processing through the early 1980s.^[23]

The market for standalone word processing systems collapsed with the arrival of the IBM PC and compatible software. MultiMate, running on IBM PC clones, replicated the Wang keyboard interface at a fraction of the cost. Wang's word processing revenue declined steeply through the mid-1980s.^[10]

The Wang VS minicomputer, launched in 1977 (the same year as Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX), was Wang's entry into corporate data-processing departments.^[24] An Wang felt a personal sense of rivalry with IBM, rooted in the 1955–1956 patent dispute over his magnetic-core memory inventions. According to Charles C. Kenney, Jack Connors recalled Wang keeping a private chart projecting that Wang Laboratories would overtake IBM in revenues sometime in the mid-1990s.^[25][16]

Wang ran the first computer advertisement during the Super Bowl in 1978, casting the company as David against IBM's Goliath; a later ad depicted Wang as a helicopter gunship taking aim at IBM.^[26][8]

On October 4, 1983, Wang Laboratories announced fourteen major hardware and software products with promised delivery dates. According to Datamation, Wang announced "everything but the kitchen sink. And if you could attach the kitchen sink to a personal computer, they would announce that too."^[27] Very few products were near completion; most were delivered late or not at all. The episode became known as the "vaporware announcement" and irreparably damaged the credibility of both Fred Wang, who headed R&D at the time, and the company as a whole.^[9]

In 1986, An Wang installed his son Frederick, then 36, as president and chief operating officer.^[28] Key executives resigned, including John F. Cunningham, an 18-year employee who had served as president and COO.^[29] By August 1989, debt accumulated to avoid share dilution was causing conflicts with creditors;^[30] An Wang requested Fred's resignation that month; Richard W. Miller was subsequently named president and chief executive officer.^[31][32][33] An Wang died on March 24, 1990;^[34] Miller assumed the additional roles of chairman and CEO.^[35]

Miller announced in December 1989 that the company would adopt open standards in place of proprietary designs. Ira Magaziner, brought in as a consultant in 1990, proposed to take Wang out of computer manufacturing entirely and focus on imaging software instead.^[36] In August 1991, Wang won a patent suit against NEC and Toshiba over its patents on single in-line memory modules (SIMMs), though the company still recorded a net loss for fiscal 1991.^[35]

Wang Laboratories filed for bankruptcy protection on August 18, 1992.^[12] Miller resigned in January 1993 during the reorganization proceedings.^[37]

Wang Labs emerged from bankruptcy on September 20, 1993, with approximately $200 million in hand.^[38] The company's headquarters, Wang Towers in Lowell, which had cost $60 million to build and housed approximately 4,500 workers in over one million square feet (93,000 m²) of office space, was sold at auction in 1994 for $525,000.^[39] The complex was later renovated and sold in 1998 as Cross Point to a joint venture of Yale Properties and Blackstone Real Estate Advisors for a price reported to be over $100 million.^[40]

Under CEO Joe Tucci, the company shed its minicomputer manufacturing operations and focused on IT services, which by 1998 generated 80% of revenue. It completed five acquisitions and then, in March 1998, closed its sixth and largest: the Olsy division of Olivetti, which expanded Wang's workforce from approximately 10,000 to 22,000 and extended its direct presence to markets including Italy, France, Germany, Japan, and Brazil. The company renamed itself Wang Global at that time.^[41][42][43] Kodak acquired Wang's document imaging software arm in 1997, strengthening its position in document imaging and workflow.^[44] In May 1999, Getronics launched a tender offer of $29.25 a share, a 39% premium over Wang Global's recent average trading price, acquiring the company for approximately $2 billion; Wang reported approximately $3.5 billion in annual revenue, 20,000 employees, and a direct presence in 44 countries at the time. Tucci joined Getronics's board of directors after the deal closed.^[13][14]

Wang Labs became Getronics North America after the 1999 acquisition. In 2005, Getronics announced the New VS (VSGX), a product designed to run the VS operating system and all VS software on Intel 80x86 and IBM POWER machines under Linux or Unix using a hardware abstraction layer, developed in partnership with TransVirtual Systems.^[45][46] In 2007, KPN acquired Getronics in North America and parts of Europe. In August 2008, KPN sold Getronics North America to CompuCom of Dallas.^[15]

The VS product line survived in use into the 21st century; by 2006, approximately 1,000 to 2,000 systems remained in service worldwide. In 2014, CompuCom announced that all support for legacy VS systems would cease at the end of 2014, while support for the New VS platform would continue through TransVirtual Systems.^[47]

The company's first major project was the Linasec^[48] in 1964, an electronic special-purpose computer designed to justify paper tape for use on automated Linotype machines. It was developed under contract to phototypesetter manufacturer Compugraphic, which retained the manufacturing rights of the Linasec. The success of the machine led Compugraphic to decide to manufacture it themselves, causing Wang to lose out on a million dollars in revenue.^[18]

The Wang LOCI-2^[21][49][50] (Logarithmic Computing Instrument) desktop calculator^[51] (the earlier LOCI-1^[52] in September 1964 was not a real product) was introduced in January 1965. Using factor combining, it was the first desktop calculator capable of computing logarithms, which was notable for a machine without any integrated circuits.^[53] The electronics included 1,275 discrete transistors. It performed multiplication by adding logarithms, and roundoff in the display conversion was noticeable: 2 × 2 yielded 3.999999999.^[21]

From 1965 to about 1971, Wang was a well-regarded calculator company. The dollar price of Wang calculators^[54] was in the mid-four-figures.^[55] They used Nixie tube readouts, performed transcendental functions, had varying degrees of programmability, and used magnetic-core memory. The 200 and 300 calculator models were available as time-shared simultaneous (SE) packages that^[56] had a central processing unit the size of a small suitcase connected by cables leading to four individual desktop display/keyboard units. Competition included HP, which introduced the HP 9100A in 1968, and old-line calculator companies such as Monroe and Marchant.^[22]

Wang calculators were at first sold to scientists and engineers, but the company later became established in financial services industries, which had relied on complicated printed tables for mortgages and annuities.^[22]

In 1971, Wang believed that calculators would become unprofitable low-margin commodities and decided to leave the calculator business within a few years.^[22]

Wang's first attempt at a word processor was the Wang 1200, announced in late 1971^[57] but not available until 1972.^[58] The design consisted of the logic of a Wang 500 calculator hooked up to an OEM-manufactured IBM Selectric typewriter for keying and printing, and dual cassette decks for storage. Harold Koplow, who had written the microcode for the Wang 700 and its derivative the Wang 500 rewrote the microcode to perform word processing functions instead of numerical calculations.^[23]

The operator of a Wang 1200 typed text on a conventional IBM Selectric keyboard; when the Return key was pressed, the line of text was stored on a cassette tape. One cassette held roughly 20 pages of text and could be played back by printing the contents on continuous-form paper in the 1200 typewriter's print mode. The stored text could also be edited using keys on a simple, six-key array.^[23]

The Wang 1200 machine was the precursor of the Wang Office Information System (OIS).^[23]

Following the Wang 1200, Harold Koplow and David Moros made another attempt at designing a word processor. They started by first writing the user's manual for the product, then convinced An Wang to turn it into a product.^[23] The word processing machine – the Wang 1200 WPS – was introduced in June 1976 and was an instant success, as was its successor, the 1977 Wang OIS^[23] (Office Information System).

The OIS was a multi-user system. Each workstation looked like a typical terminal but contained its own Intel 8080 microprocessor (later versions used a Z80) and 64 KB of RAM. Disk storage was centralized in a master unit and shared by the workstations, and the connection was via high-speed dual coaxial cable "928 Link".^[59] In June 1978, Wang offered a CRT word processor at under $10,000; industry analysts observed that word processing and data processing systems were converging toward shared office workstations.^[60]

Ahead of IBM and Xerox, Wang captured the lead for "the 'intelligent' printer: a high-speed office copier that can be linked electronically" to PCs "and other automated equipment".^[61] A year later, The New York Times described the IBM 6670 Information Distributor as "closer to the standard envisioned".^[62]

Wang's first computer, the Wang 3300, was an 8-bit integrated circuit general-purpose minicomputer designed to be the central processor for a multi-terminal time-sharing system. Byte-oriented, it also provided a number of double-byte operand memory commands. Core memory ranged from 4,096 to 65,536 bytes in 4,096-byte increments.^[63]

Development began after hiring Rick Bensene in June 1968.^[64] The product was announced in February 1969^[65] and shipped to its first customer on March 29, 1971.^[66]

Wang developed and marketed several lines of small computer systems for both word processing and data processing. Instead of a clear, linear progression, the product lines overlapped and, in some cases, borrowed technology from each other.^[67]

The most identifiable Wang minicomputer performing recognizable data processing was the Wang 2200, which appeared in May 1973. Unlike some other desktop computers such as the HP 9830, it had a CRT in a cabinet that also included an integrated computer-controlled compact cassette storage unit and keyboard. It was microcoded to run interpreted Wang BASIC, allowing it to boot directly into an interactive programming environment.^[68][69] It was widely used in small- and medium-sized businesses worldwide; about 65,000 systems were shipped.^[70]

The original 2200 was a single-user system. The improved VP model increased performance and enhanced the language, which was renamed BASIC-2. The 2200 VP evolved into desktop and larger multi-user configurations, including systems that supported multiple workstations and shared disk subsystems.^[70]

Unlike the other product lines, such as the VS and OIS, Wang used value-added resellers (VARs) to customize and market 2200 systems.^[70]

Wang introduced the 2200 CS-N and 2200 CS-D systems in 1987; the systems used Intel 386 processors and updated disk drives. In 1997, Wang reported having about two hundred 2200 systems still under maintenance worldwide.^[70]

The 2200 BASIC-2 language was ported to run on non-Wang hardware and operating systems by at least two companies. Niakwa Inc^[71] created a product named NPL, originally named Basic-2C. Kerridge Computer,^[72] now a part of ADP, created a product named KCML.

During the 1970s, about 2,000 Wang 2200T computers were shipped to the USSR. Due to the Afghan war in the 1980s, US and COCOM export restrictions ended the shipment of Wang computers. In 1981, Russian engineers at Minpribor's Schetmash factory in Kursk reverse engineered the Wang 2200T and created a computer they named the Iskra 226. The "COCOM restrictions" theory, though popular in the West, has been challenged by some Russian computer historians on the basis that development for the Iskra-226 started in 1978, two years before the Afghan war.^[73]

It used the same BASIC language, named T-BASIC, with a few enhancements.^[73] The machine's designers were nominated for a 1985 State Prize.^[74]

Wang had a line called Alliance, which was based on the high-end OIS (140/145) hardware architecture. It had more powerful software than the OIS word processing and list processing packages. The system was Tempest certified, leading to global deployment in American embassies after the Iran hostage crisis.^[75]

The first Wang VS computer was introduced in 1977, the same year as Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX;^[24] both continued for decades.^[76][47] The VS instruction set was compatible with the IBM System/360 series, but it did not run any System/360 system software.

The VS operating system and system software supported both interactive users and batch operations. The VS was aimed at the business data-processing market in general and IBM in particular, heavily promoting COBOL as a central programming language. Wang later added application-development and office-automation software for the VS line, including Wang PACE, Wang OFFICE, and Wang WP.^[67]

The press and the industry referred to the class of machines made by Wang, including the VS, as "minicomputers,"^[77][27][78] and Kenney's 1992 book refers to the VS line as "minicomputers" throughout.^[67] Although some argue that the high-end VS machines and their successors should qualify as mainframes, Wang avoided this term. In his autobiography, An Wang, rather than calling the VS 300 a mainframe, said that it "verges on mainframe performance."^[79] He went on to draw the distinction between the "mainframes" at the high end of IBM's line ("just as Detroit would rather sell large cars ... so IBM would rather sell mainframes"), in which IBM had a virtual monopoly, with the "mid-sized systems" in which IBM had not achieved dominance: "The minicomputer market is still healthy. This is good for the customer and good for minicomputer makers."^[80]

In September 1989, Wang introduced the VS 8000 series, comprising the VS 8200 and VS 8400, priced at $80,000 and $204,000 respectively; Wang said the machines were three times more powerful than the VS 7000 systems. Analysts said the products were a strong upgrade for Wang's existing customer base but were unlikely to attract new buyers as the market shifted toward personal computers and decentralized workstations.^[81]

Despite the release of the 2200 PCS (Personal Computer System) and 2200 PCS-II models in 1976, the history of computing regards the earliest PC as one which contained a microprocessor, which the 2200 PCS did not. However, the self-contained PCS-II^[82] incorporated many of the innovations that would later be seen in PCs, including the first 5.25-inch floppy drives that were designed for the PCS-II by Shugart Associates.^[83]

The original Wang PC was released in April 1982 to counter the IBM PC, which had been released the previous August and which had gained wide acceptance in the market for which Wang traditionally positioned the OIS system. It was based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor, a faster CPU than the IBM PC's 8088.^[84] A hardware/software package permitted the Wang PC to act as a terminal to the OIS and VS products.^[85]

One of the distinguishing features of the Wang PC was its system software. Similar to the Wang VS minicomputer, the command line was not prominent; programs could be run from menus, and menu items could be explained by hitting a help key on the keyboard. Wang also sold its system software in MS-DOS-compatible form for non-Wang hardware.^[85]

Despite being an MS-DOS system, it was not compatible with the IBM PC at the hardware level. Wang used peripheral hardware devices, such as the Wang PC display adapter, that were not compatible with their counterparts in the IBM PC line; as a result, IBM PC software could not necessarily run on the Wang PC without being written for or ported to the Wang platform.^[85]

Most Wang PCs were released with a monochrome graphics adapter; a color graphics adapter and Wang-branded color monitor were also available.^[85]

Wang executives said the Professional Computer's performance met expectations, but outside analysts put total sales at roughly 80,000 units by late 1984, compared with approximately 1 million IBM PCs over the same period. Analysts attributed the gap to a slow manufacturing ramp-up and unclear marketing direction on whether the machine was a word processor or a general-purpose computer.^[86]

The Wang DVX was an integrated switchboard and voicemail system.^[87]

Wang, which had added DVX Message Waiting in 1984,^[88] named its 1989 announcement DVX II.^[89]

Wang's Digital Voice Exchange supported the renting of voice mailboxes.^[87] A year after the system's commercial launch, analysts said DVX sales had been slow and Wang had begun renting time on DVX equipment at reduced rates.^[86]

Wang Freestyle^[90][91] was a 1988^[92] product consisting of:

• A touch-sensitive tablet and a special stylus for written annotation of any file that could be displayed on the PC.^[92]
• A phone handset for voice annotation, but not voice communication.^[92]
• Email, via Wang OFFICE, of the resulting document set.^[92]

The pricing of the low-end product at $2,000 precluded the important features such as "facsimile and voice options" (priced at $12,000).^[92] Freestyle was not a success in anything except marketing terms. A description of the system at the University of Southern California (USC) shows the symptoms of the failure:^[90]

The US$1.2 million USC system includes a VS 7150 mid-range computer; 30 image workstations, 25 with Freestyle capabilities; a laser printer; five endorsers; and five document scanners. Initial storage for document images is eight gigabytes of magnetic disk storage.^[90]

Wang went public on August 26, 1967, with the issuance of 240,000 shares at $12.50 per share on the American Stock Exchange. The stock closed the day above $40, valuing the company's equity at approximately $77 million, of which An Wang and his family owned about 63%.^[19][20]

An Wang took steps to ensure that the Wang family would retain control of the company even after going public. He created a second class of stock, class B, with higher dividends but only one-tenth the voting power of class C. The public mostly bought class B shares; the Wang family retained most of the class C shares.^[1] The letters B and C were used to ensure that brokerages would fill any Wang stock orders with class B shares unless class C was specifically requested. Wang stock had been listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but this maneuver was not quite acceptable under NYSE's rules, and Wang was forced to delist with NYSE and relist on the more liberal American Stock Exchange.^[93] After Wang's 1992 bankruptcy, holders of class B and C common stock were treated the same.^[1]

• Wang International Standard Code for Information Interchange

• Kenney, Charles C. (1992). Riding the Runaway Horse: The Rise and Decline of Wang Laboratories. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-48919-5.
• Wang, An; Linden, Eugene (1986). Lessons: An Autobiography. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0-201-09400-8.

• TransVirtual Systems, supplier of the New VS platform
• Wang Museum, showing early products including the 700 and 2200 series
• Wang 1200 history, pictures, and user manuals
• Wang 2200 information and documentation
• Wang Laboratories, Inc. Records, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School