A website that acknowledges the contributions of these legends of IT is currently in development, which will include descriptions of each inductee through brief biographies and descriptions. Previous Hall of Fame recipients were creators and innovators of the technology industry, with a number of IT channel pioneers included. Most are not well-known outside the tech and research communities, but their contributions lead to products and services used by millions (if not billions) every day.
For example, Paul Brainerd may not be as familiar to today’s tech community as inductee Steve Jobs, but he basically invented “desktop publishing” with his PageMaker software. After selling Aldus Software, he went on to become a legend in the philanthropic communities. While I received an extensive education in using the application in my earlier years, I never knew the story or the people behind its development.
The innovators we all know well are part of the IT Industry Hall of Fame, including Ray Ozzie, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, John Chambers, David Packard and William Hewlett. The pioneers in distribution are also well represented with: Chip Lacy and Bronson Ingram (Ingram Micro), Steve and Edward Raymund (Tech Data), Izzy Schwab (D&H Distributing), Roy Vallee (Avnet) and Bob Huang (SYNNEX). But some inductees have become less familiar with the passing of time, retirement from the industry and even death. Those individuals who accomplished so much include:
- Alan Shugart—created the world’s first disk drive
- Dan Bricklin— co-developed the VisiCalc electronic spreadsheet
- Vinton (Vint) Cerf—considered a founding father of the Internet
- Ross Cooley—helped create and refine the vendor channel business model
- Jeff Hawkins—co-founded Palm Computing and Handspring
- Rick and Joseph Inatome—helped pioneer the IT reseller franchising model
Just because their names haven’t been in the news as of late doesn’t diminish the importance of their endeavors. The contributions of the IT Industry Hall of Fame members will be properly acknowledged over the next few months, beginning with the new website and commencing with the induction ceremony of the next class of honorees at the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting in Chicago. The recipients will be properly honored at the April 10-12, 2012 event.
Who Belongs?
Do you know a founding father (or mother) who was responsible for landmark innovations in your segment of the computer industry? If their contributions were significant and beneficial, please take a few minutes to nominate them for this prestigious award. The IT channel and tech communities are full of giving individuals and industry patrons, and they truly deserve accolades for all they do. But candidates for the Hall of Fame should be the true “movers and shakers” who invented new technologies, developed key programs, or pioneered segments of the IT industry.
The inductees named above are perfect examples, many who gave selflessly to create real innovation that benefits not just the IT channel, but IT industry and the businesses and people it supports. While the list of Hall of Fame honorees is already long, CompTIA would like your help in identifying those who are truly “worthy” of this distinction. Can you recommend any of the iconic figures who have built and shaped the global IT industry?
If so, the nomination process is underway for the next class of IT Industry Hall of Fame inductees, for either the IT Channel or IT Innovators wings. The first award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions or provided outstanding service to the IT channel, while the latter honors individuals responsible for outstanding technology innovations. Nominations for the IT Hall of Fame may be submitted online or by downloading the nomination form and submitting via mail or fax. The deadline for nominations is January 17, 2012.
Your help is greatly appreciated, and we hope to see you in Chicago for the ceremony at AMM in 2012!
Brian Sherman is founder of Tech Success Communications, specializing in editorial content and consulting for the IT channel. His previous roles include chief editor at Business Solutions magazine and industry alliances director with Autotask. Contact Brian at Bsherman@techsuccesscommunications.com.
