The Data Processing Industry

Abstract

The data processing industry covers a wide spectrum. As used in this chapter the term will be taken to mean any organisation, whether profit-making or not, which derives all, or a major part, of its revenues from the sale of goods or services provided to the users of data processing. Thus, at the one extreme it includes the large, multinational computer manufacturers whose names are household words, and, at the other extreme, it includes numerous one-man companies who offer freelance programming services.