AMP, then the largest Australian company by capital value, was the second commercial organisation in Australia to install a computer. It had installed an IBM 650 in 1958. This was replaced three years later by an IBM 1401. In 1965 two IBM S/360s were purchased.
AMP and MLC both took delivery of IBM 650s at the same time. AMP had long claimed to have been the first but when I wrote an article about early computers in Australia I received a beautifully written letter, all copperplate script, from a retiree from MLC stating that their computer was installed first although both were commissioned within 2 days. AMP certainly got the first program working, work being done by a team of 3, including Morris McLeod and Barry Ferranti who was then AMP’s IBM rep.
AMP had invested in shares in CSC, an American company in the new fast growing software services industry. CSC offered their services to AMP but AMP preferred to enter into a joint partnership and form an Australian subsidiary company called CSA. AMP had 90% and CSC 10% of the equity in CSA initially.
CSC ran a computer bureau which ran of UNIVAC computers. When AMP started to consider building a fully integrated system CSC suggested that it should be built on UNIVAC architecture and offered several of their top people to help AMP with the task.
The AMPnet system started development to replace the IBM S/360s with UNIVAC 1100 equipment in 1973. The initial budget for the project was $6 million, a huge sum in those days. By the time I was hired in the UK by CSA in late 1974 the project had many senior CSC staff who were running the project for AMP and I judged that the project was in trouble. The spend to that time was $12 million. The project was eventually canned with a spend of $94 million.
The full story is in my book ‘The IT girl’.
The GM of AMP, Alan Coates, and the MD of IBM, Alan Moyes, had played tennis every Saturday morning for many years. After one weekend my boss, AMP’s deputy general Manager, Phil Grace, told me that the 2 Execs decided it was time for AMP to go back to IBM. He said I was to prepare a proposal for the AMP Board make a case for the change. John Kaunitz, one of our software gurus was assigned to help me.
I estimated that it would take 5 years to build the new systems so we would need UNIVAC support for 5 more years. We called the UNIVAC MD, Bill Wells, to tell him the news and ask for his support. He said he would continue support as long as we needed but AMP could help UNIVAC by announcing that they were taking UNIVAC’s latest hardware to tide them over the interim. UNIVAC would cover all costs of commissioning the new hardware but AMP must keep the arrangement confidential. Bill thought the announcement would help with the sales of UNIVAC’s new range.
The conversion to IBM took 5 years and UNIVAC decided to send its hardware back to the USA by ship rather than the usual method of shipment by air. It gave AMP the opportunity of insuring the shipment. During the voyage the freight fell off the ship. Being insured by AMP, AMP was responsible for covering the loss thus in the end they paid for the hardware.
By Ann Moffat - June 2024