System/360

Considered by many to be the biggest business gamble of all time, IBM launches System/360 on April 7, 1964. At the height of IBM's success, CEO Thomas J. Watson, Jr. invests $5 billion in a family of six mutually compatible computers that would help revolutionize modern organizations. Within two years, orders for the System/360 reach 1,000 per month.
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SAP

Five former IBM employees establish Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung (SAP) in Mannheim, Germany in April 1972. The organization's vision is to develop and market standard enterprise software to integrate all business processes. The idea comes to the group when they notice that client after client is developing the same, or very similar, enterprise computer programs.
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Microsoft Word

The development of Microsoft Word begins in April 1983. Richard Brodie, Microsoft's 77th employee, develops the program while Microsoft Windows is being developed. Word is completed in 1985. To market the new word processor, Microsoft distributes 450,000 demo disks in the November issue of PC World magazine.
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HyperCard

Apple introduces HyperCard in 1987. Created by Bill Atkinson, HyperCard allows programmers to store graphical and textual information in a series of cards. HyperCard is interactive and is geared toward the construction of user interfaces rather than the processing of data. Apple bundles the program free with Macintosh computers until 1992.
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AutoCAD

Autodesk is founded in April 1982 in California. The company's goal is to create a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program that runs on a PC and sells for $1,000. The initial product release is called AutoCAD and is a big commercial success. Through subsequent product releases, AutoCAD is established as the de facto standard for computer aided design on PCs.
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ICQ

The first version of the interpersonal chat program ICQ is introduced by Israel-based Mirabilis in November 1996. The instant messaging application is enthusiastically received by hundreds of thousands of users. ICQ achieves one of the largest download rates for a start-up company in the history of the Internet. America Online acquired Mirabilis in June 1998.
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Apple

The Apple Computer Company is born on April 1, 1975. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs design the first Apple computer in Jobs' home. Jobs is able to convince a local electronic retailer to order 25 Apple I computers. In order to raise the money to make these machines, Jobs sells his Volkswagen microbus and Wozniak sells his HP scientific calculator, enabling them to raise $1,300.
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