The Rise and Fall of DEC: How a $14 Billion Computer Giant Disappeared in 10 Years

Digital Equipment Corporation once stood behind only IBM in the computer industry. By 1988, DEC was earning nearly $14 billion a year and employing more than 120,000 people. Just ten years later, the company was acquired—and its name disappeared. How did one of the world’s most influential computer companies collapse so quickly? This documentary explores the complete rise and fall of DEC: from Ken Olsen and the early PDP machines to the revolutionary PDP-8, PDP-11, VAX/VMS and Alpha processor. It reveals how DEC transformed computing, underestimated the personal-computer revolution, struggled to protect its existing business and ultimately became trapped by the very strengths that had made it successful. But DEC’s story didn’t simply end with its acquisition. Its technology, engineers and ideas continued shaping Windows NT, modern processors, internet search and the wider computer industry. The company disappeared. Its influence did not. #DEC #ComputerHistory #TechHistory #DigitalEquipmentCorporation #RiseAndFall