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# [TECH] Digital Computing
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**Digital Computing** encompasses the programmable electronic computers that emerged in the 1940s–1950s, from ENIAC (1945) to the IBM System/360 (1964), establishing the von Neumann architecture that defines computers today.
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## Overview
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Alan Turing formalised the concept of universal computation (1936). Colossus (1943, Bletchley Park) and ENIAC (1945, University of Pennsylvania) were the first electronic computers (vacuum tube-based). John von Neumann's stored-program architecture (1945) became universal. The IBM System/360 (1964) introduced the concept of compatible computer families. Computers revolutionised science (Monte Carlo simulations, weather forecasting, finite element analysis), engineering design, and ultimately all of commerce and communications.
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## Key Actors
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- **Companies**: IBM (1911), Remington Rand/UNIVAC (1955), Digital Equipment Corp. (1957), Control Data (1957)
- **Inventors**: Alan Turing (1912–1954), John von Neumann (1903–1957), John Eckert (1919–1995), John Mauchly (1907–1980)
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## Key Patents
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- Eckert, J.P. & Mauchly, J. US Patent 3,120,606 (1964) — electronic digital computer (ENIAC, filed 1947, later invalidated)
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## Economic Value
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Global IT industry (hardware + software + services): **$5.2 trillion/year** (2023, Gartner). Digital transformation enables $16T+/year in business value (McKinsey Global Institute 2023).
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## Notes
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Gartner *IT Spending Forecast* 2023. McKinsey *The Economic Value of Digital Transformation* 2023.
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# Parents
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* [TECH] Vacuum Tube Electronics⏎