MainframeZone

MAINFRAME HISTORY
Announced in March 1973, the IBM 3340 Direct Access Storage Facility became one of the most important storage products in computer history.

Why? Because the 3340 introduced the sealed head-and-disk assembly design that changed disk storage forever.

Before the 3340, IBM disk drives used removable disk packs that operators had to physically carry from machine to machine.

The 3340 picked up the code name “Wi******er” — reportedly inspired by its original “30-30” configuration, similar to the famous Wi******er rifle cartridge.

The 3340 represented a major leap forward in DASD technology in that it helped move the industry away from removable media toward the fixed hard drives still in use today.

MAINFRAME HISTORY
Long before relational databases dominated the conversation, one man helped shape a system that would quietly power the backbone of global enterprise computing for decades. That man was Vern Watts.

Often called the “Godfather of IMS,” Watts played a central role in the creation of IBM’s Information Management System (IMS) in the late 1960s where he was the operating systems expert for IBM's Aerospace District.

Originally developed to support NASA’s Apollo Program, IMS solved a problem few had tackled at the time — how to reliably manage vast amounts of hierarchical data under extreme performance and reliability requirements.

IMS became a cornerstone of mission-critical computing across banking, insurance, and government. And remarkably, it remains in active use today on IBM mainframes, almost 60 years later.

Vern Watts’ contribution wasn’t just technical — it was foundational.