ABSTRACT
In the early 1950s the UK emerged as a world leader in the design and construction of electronic digital computers, a fact illustrated by Ferranti Ltd., the Manchester electronics firm. Ferranti achieved its dominant position with a blend of innovative technology and government support, but eventually found the computer business unprofitable. Marketing failures were partly responsible, particularly an obsession with technology and a failure to target the most profitable sectors of the industry. But paramount in the factors leading to Ferranti’s sale of its computer interests were: firstly, the greater resources and market opportunities of the Americans; and secondly, the conservatism of the Ferranti family, who found the manufacture of defence computers a safer and more profitable alternative than the highly competitive data-processing market.
