Frank Brennan

In 1970, I was employed by Honeywell Information Systems in their UK Northern Region technical support centre in Manchester. Ireland was supported by this centre.

My speciality was in what mainframe computer suppliers called ‘communications’. This referred to the connection of interactive terminals, increasingly VDUs, to computers that were otherwise used for batch processing. It was only when I joined Digital Equipment Ireland in 1976 that I discovered that interactive computing was the norm, and that ‘communications’ properly referred to whole computer systems interacting with each other!

I had acquired my expertise in the job I first did in Honeywell in 1968. I joined a software engineering department in London, where I developed and implemented device drivers for a couple of Raytheon VDU subsystems (badged ‘Cossor’ in the UK).

In mid-1970, I had a meeting in Manchester with a couple of guys from Honeywell’s Dublin office. They were two big lads; the sales account manager (a Dubliner) and technical account consultant (a Corkman) dedicated to the Revenue Commissioners, Honeywell’s largest customer in Ireland. My only clear recollection of the meeting is the two lads jovially picking me up bodily under my two arms, and waltzing me out the door. The Corkman said to me ‘Come on, boy, we have a job for you in Dublin’.

The Dubliner’s name was Jack Scott.

The Corkman was Pat O’Sullivan.

Well, I did the job in Dublin. The Revenue Commissioners were leaders in public sector computing. The IT Department, headed by the gentlemanly Noel Hearne, reported to the Collector General, at that time the redoubtable Sean Bedford. Mr Bedford (always thus addressed by lesser mortals!) was a visionary in the deployment of data processing in his business of collecting taxes.

My job in Dublin was to technically enable what Revenue called a ‘communications experiment’. This consisted of the connection of a disk subsystem and a couple of VDUs to one of their Honeywell H2200 computers, to test the viability of interactive interrogation of randomly accessed tax data on disk.

The ‘experiment’ was a success. Within a short time, Revenue went to tender for a very large replacement system for their H2200s, to include a large disk capacity, and a network of VDUs.

In 1970, Honeywell acquired GEC’s computer business, which included a high-end (36 bit word) machine which was rebranded as the H6000; this came with a front-end processor and a GEC family of VDUs. After a long sales campaign, in which I was heavily involved, we successfully sold a highly configured H6060 to Revenue. During 1971 I accepted a job in Dublin as project manager for the transition from H2200 to H6060, including conversion of Revenue’s extensive suite of application programs. This was when I found out the hard way that two products labelled ‘COBOL‘ were not necessarily identical!

I moved to Dublin with my family towards the end of 1971. We achieved the conversion to the H6060 and, shortly thereafter, Pat O’Sullivan took over as sales account manager for Revenue. I took over Pat’s previous role as account consultant.

Pat left Honeywell in 1974 to set up a sales operation in Ireland for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Pat was a charismatic and engaging character. He and I had worked closely together since we first met in Manchester, and had developed a close professional and personal relationship. I took over his Honeywell role as sales account manager, but I was sorry to see him go. Little did I realise then that he would come back for me in a couple of years!!

Honeywell already had a prestigious ‘minicomputer’ customer in Dublin, the Department of Social Welfare (DSW). Honeywell had previously acquired a company called Computer Controls Corporation, and thereby their Series 16 (16 bit word) minicomputer system. Honeywell developed subsequent models, the most powerful of which was the model 716. Social Welfare installed two of these in 1973 or 74.

Its requirement, strictly speaking, was data capture, because then and for several years to come, CDPS jealously kept processing the main DSW applications on their IBM systems in Kilmainham. But the 716s were no ordinary key-to-disk systems! In fact, I think they were a spin-off from a bespoke sales order processing system developed for Littlewoods Mail Order business in Liverpool. Data entry was at lightning speed from full-screen Cossor 401 VDUs and the software provided forms processing with comprehensive editing capabilities.

In 1976 Pat O’Sullivan and I had a meeting in Grogan’s pub in South William Street. Digital had recently made a significant breakthrough into commercial computing, with the sale of several distributed PDP-11/34s to Youghal Carpets. But Pat did not want to discuss PDP-11s.

Digital also had a fully-fledged mainframe (36 bit word) computer – the previously named PDP-10, which was now being marketed as the DECSystem-10 and DECSystem-20. Pat had decided the time had come to sell the DECSystem-20 in Ireland.

I had considerable experience of 36 bit word computers, not just the H6000 series, but previously from 1965 to 1968 as a systems programmer on the EMI developed EMIDEC 2400 (I know, most people have never heard of it!). Pat had decided that I was the right person to sell the DECSystem-20, and it was to fill that slot that I was recruited into Digital in October 1976. However, someone had other ideas.

Derek MacHugh, who was to lead Digital’s phenomenal growth in the 1980s, had joined Digital from ICL (via a brief sojourn with Riomhaire Teoranta) earlier in 1976. Like me, Derek had moved into sales from a systems background, had extensive knowledge of large computers via the ICL 1900 series, and fancied a crack at the DECSystem-20 himself! In fact, by the time I joined Digital, Derek already had his feet under the table, so to speak. Pat asked me instead to join him in the sale of an ambitious project to CIE, and to take over as sales account manager if we were successful. I agreed readily enough.

Before I get to CIE, I have a tale to relate about AnCO. It had previously been a bureau customer of Riomhaire, using an in-house batch terminal connected to the latter’s Univac 1106 in Furbo. Pat had sold a PDP-11/34 to AnCO, with the RSTS/E operating system and the DECforms applications development software. To replace the batch terminal, a Univac 1004 software emulator was configured on the 11/34. Unfortunately this product did not work properly. There was an emulator that did work, but that required the RT11 operating system, which did not support DECforms.

AnCO’s IT Manager was Brendan Murphy, whom I grew to like and respect greatly. Pat and Derek asked me to meet Brendan, as the latter was so annoyed he wouldn’t talk to either of them! So I went to see Brendan, but was a bit disconcerted when he introduced the other person present as AnCO’s in-house solicitor!

The solution to the problem became readily apparent; the DECforms environment and the emulator had no interaction, so the installation of an additional PDP-11 to run RT11 and the emulator, at no charge, would do the trick. I knew we had a spare PDP-11/04 in the office which would suffice, so apart from some engineering time, wouldn’t cost us anything. Despite Pat’s initial response of ‘You’ve done **** what??’, he quickly agreed to the proposal.

AnCO went on to become one of our best and most loyal customers. When a COBOL compiler for the VAX 11/780 (32 bit word) computer was released, they became the first organisation in Ireland to adopt it. They also were early adopters of our VAX All-in-1 office automation system.

CIE was a prestigious IBM 360/370 user; they had decided to move into interactive computing, while retaining their IBM batch processing, and were evaluating a proposed Digital solution based on the high-end PDP-11/70. The sales process was led from Dublin, but was driven technically by our Computer Special Systems (CSS) people in the UK. The proposal was two-fold: for CSS to build a transaction processing layer on the RSX operating system (labelled TPM70), and to then provide the application code, as specified by CIE. We were awarded the business, and development commenced at the end of 1976.

The CIE principals were the IT manager, Frank Curtin, applications manager Vincent Hoey and operations manager Seamus Murphy. Oliver Flynn, who was also in the frame, went on to play a leading role in DECUS.

Because of the rapidly increasing customer base, we were hiring new field service engineers from Digital’s manufacturing plant in Galway. These were technically excellent, but took a little time to learn the protocols of dealing with commercial customers. Mike O’Riordan was installing hardware in CIE one day, when overcome by hunger, he disappeared for his lunch – leaving a cabinet wide open and a tangle of cables sprawled on a chair! Frank Curtin was a humorous man, but his humour was mixed with exasperation when he called Pat O’Sullivan. ‘O’Sullivan’, he said. ‘you’ve turned my computer room into a **** blacksmith’s shop!’

The TPM70 part of the development worked well, indeed we subsequently installed it in another new account, the B&I shipping line. However, it eventually became clear that the PDP-11/70 configuration could not handle the required workload, and the project was cancelled. This was welcomed with joy by IBM, but their delight soon turned to horror.

A Digital vice president arrived from the States to negotiate a settlement. This turned out well for both parties. CIE got great value in three new VAX 11/780s, at little cost to Digital. (The manufacturing cost of computers was a small fraction of the price book value!) And Digital got a major, long term user of our cutting-edge technology. Some grudgingly said we did it on purpose!

Meanwhile in DSW things were changing. By 1978, Michael Cullinane (another Corkman) had moved from CDPS to assume responsibility for further in-house development in DSW. He also had approval to proceed with the computerisation of DSW’s Registry, which at the time was a roomful of wall to wall paper.

Also, things had changed in Digital. Conveniently for DSW’s impending request for tenders, both Pat O’Sullivan’s and my role had changed. Pat had tired of the administrative side of management, and passed the baton to Derek MacHugh. I had moved back into a support role in presales. Pat and I moved full time onto the DSW sales project. We were at it for nearly a year.

We were selling to an evaluation team of seven: Michael himself, Cyril Havelin who managed the existing in-house process, Mick Battle responsible for technical support, user representatives Mark Byrne and Louis Halpin, plus two others seconded from CDPS.

Pat and I got stuck into the Registry, where on one occasion we came across a paper saying ‘The three most common surnames in Ireland are Kelly, Murphy and O’Sullivan’. Pat took the paper, struck out the word ‘common’, and inserted ‘popular’. ‘There’s nothing’, he said, ‘common about O’Sullivan’.

We researched the requirements, selected the technical solution, and designed the application and the database. The platform was TRAX, a transaction processing version of the RSX operating system, on PDP-11/70s. We got great support from the TRAX software engineers in Merrimack, New Hampshire, particularly one Jim Quinn, who had fairly recent roots in Co Louth. We wrote and presented a comprehensive proposal, spent weeks in Merrimack overseeing the preparation of a benchmark, and taking the evaluation team of seven all over New England for presentations, the benchmark and customer reference visits.

One sunny day later in the summer of 1979, at a meeting of all the seven of them plus the two of us in Cyril’s office, Michael said ‘Well, gentlemen, I think the only thing to say is Congratulations’. He then produced a bottle of (what else?) Paddy whiskey – which didn’t last too long.

The rest is history. DSW soon upgraded to VAX, with our assistance developed showcase applications, and became one of our finest accounts.

There were many reasons for Digital’s explosive success in the late ’70s and early ’80s. As already noted, there was the vision of Pat O’Sullivan, who first connected the price performance of the minicomputer to a new market that wanted affordable interactive computing.

We had the leadership of Derek MacHugh, with a fast growing cadre of sales and support people. John Gray, Paul Harvey, Frank Waters and Peter Donnelly moved on in time to be sales managers. Other names from that era that spring to mind are Vic Saunders, Eddie McCourt, Finbarr Power, Margaret Fitzgerald, Tom Curran, Dave Wright, Frank Clonan, Peter Spencer, Paddy Griffin and Tommy Byrne.

Under Liam Foran and then Charlie McCormick, the field service function grew rapidly into a first class, well trusted organisation.

We had multiple routes into the growing market via software developers who sold both hardware and applications as a package.

We didn’t waste our time trying to dislodge mainframe users from their existing suppliers. However, a number of these users did buy Digital systems for specific purposes to complement their existing computers. Examples are Posts & Telegraphs who bought PDP-11 systems and Bank of Ireland who became our first VAX All-in-1 office automation user in 1982. From this implementation we later inherited Tony Redmond as an employee. Tony went on to become a Digital VP!

The availability of the VAX computer from the late 1970s was crucial to our success. Referred to sometimes as a ‘super minicomputer’, in reality the only mini thing about it was that it came from the Digital stable. This magnificent computer gave us an upgrade path for our larger PDP-11 customers, and meant that when required, we could (and did) compete and win against IBM and ICL.

When Pat O’Sullivan left Honeywell, he created a career opportunity for me. When he left Digital in 1980, he gave me another one, albeit indirectly. Pat took software services country manager Vernon Clay with him and I was appointed as Vernon’s successor.

I remained as country manager with various organisational changes, but always responsible for presales, projects and consulting. When I took early retirement from Compaq in 2001, the organisation label was ‘professional services’. Thanks to the support of the salesforce, my own management team and an exceptional workforce, I was invariably successful. Along the way, we implemented a number of business initiatives; I did work in Scandinavia, and eventually took on responsibilities in the UK as well. When I retired, the professional services business was running at 20% of the total business in Ireland, more than twice the EMEA average.

Pat O’Sullivan died, only 47 years old, in November 1987. At his funeral in Malahide, I was talking to Michael Cullinane from Social Welfare. ‘Do you know’, said Michael, ‘I have always thought that Pat O’Sullivan and yourself were the best sales team I have ever encountered’. I was the junior partner, but we were indeed a great team.

Last edit: September 2017

© Frank Brennan 2017