Information Centers: The IBM Model vs. Practice

The information center concept originated in the mid-seventies as IBM attempted to respond to the growing backlog of requests for MIS service. IBM, like many firms, discovered that the DP/MIS organization was unable to respond to the large number of requests for new systems. As a partial solution, information centers were installed at IBM and other firms to support end-user computing – the environment in which users address information needs directly. This concept of support for end-user computing has been well accepted. This research studied the way 20 firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area operationalized the concept, comparing their information centers with the IBM/Hammond model. This paper compares the findings of empirical research to the contentions made by Hammond in his IBM Systems Journal article of 1982. Agreement was found with only one-half of Hammond’s propositions. The areas of disagreement are considered important.