History of Information Technology

Gain better understanding of information technology through its core meaning and history of development.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Yong Li

5/21/20253 min read

What is information
From Merriam-Webster, INFORMATION Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction
What is technology
From Merriam-Webster, TECHNOLOGY Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area : engineering
What is information technology
It seems to be intuitive to define "information technology" as the practical engineering applied to knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction. This appears to be more philosophical than practical. Merriam-Webster gives the following definition.

From Merriam-Webster, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
the technology involving the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and networks for the processing and distribution of data

Gemini provides the following definition which is a mixed of both:
Information Technology (IT) refers to the use of computers, storage, networking, and other physical devices, infrastructure, and processes to create, process, store, secure, and exchange all forms of electronic data.

In simpler terms, it's about using technology to manage information. This includes everything from the hardware and software used to store and process data, to the networks that allow information to be shared, and the systems that ensure data security.

It is worth pointing out both Marriam-Webster and Gemini imply that information and data are synonyms. It is thus fair to state that data is a form of information.

The history of information technology (IT) is centering around the improvement or advancement of technology to help human processing and distributing data. The following is a quote from ChatGPT on "history of information technology"

Here's a concise timeline and summary of the history of Information Technology (IT), from early human communication to modern AI and cloud computing:

🗿 1. Pre-Mechanical Era (3000 BCE – 1450)

Cave Paintings & Symbols: First forms of recording information.
Papyrus & Clay Tablets: Used in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Abacus (c. 2400 BCE): Early tool for calculation.
Writing Systems: Cuneiform, hieroglyphics, alphabets.

📜 2. Mechanical Era (1450 – 1840)

Printing Press (1440) – Invented by Gutenberg; revolutionized the spread of information.
Slide Rule (1600s) – Used for calculations; precursor to analog computers.
Mechanical Calculators: Pascal and Leibniz developed basic arithmetic machines.

🔌 3. Electromechanical Era (1840 – 1940)

Telegraph (1830s) – Enabled long-distance text communication.
Punch Cards (1800s) – Used by early census and business machines.
Telephone (1876) – Instant audio communication.
Z3 Computer (1941) – First programmable electromechanical computer (Germany).

🖥️ 4. Electronic Era (1940 – Present)

🧮 1940s–1950s: Early Computers

ENIAC (1945) – First general-purpose electronic computer.
UNIVAC (1951) – First commercial computer in the U.S.

💾 1960s–1970s: Mainframes & Microprocessors

Mainframe computers used by governments and businesses.
ARPANET (1969) – Precursor to the internet.
Intel 4004 (1971) – First microprocessor.

💻 1980s: Personal Computing Boom

IBM PC (1981) and Apple Macintosh (1984) popularized personal computers.
MS-DOS & Windows started user-friendly OS evolution.

🌐 1990s: Internet Era

World Wide Web (1991) – Made the internet user-accessible.
Email, websites, and e-commerce emerged.

☁️ 5. Modern Era (2000s–Present)

📱 Mobile & Cloud Revolution

Smartphones & Tablets (iPhone 2007): Mobile computing explosion.
Cloud Computing (AWS 2006): On-demand IT resources and scalability.
Social Media (Facebook 2004, Twitter 2006): New information sharing model.

🧠 AI & Big Data

Machine Learning, Deep Learning, NLP (e.g., ChatGPT, image recognition).
IoT: Devices like smartwatches and sensors creating constant data streams.
Blockchain: Secure, decentralized data technology.

🧩 Key Milestones Summary

Year Milestone 1440 Printing Press 1830s Telegraph 1945 ENIAC 1969 ARPANET 1981 IBM PC 1991 World Wide Web 2006+ Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure) 2010s AI & Big Data 2020s Generative AI, IoT, Edge Computing. The following image is a timeline of IT history courtesy of Sora.

Out of curiosity I started asking AI engines using the following prompt:

generate an image to show history of technology from the beginning to modern age such as ancient ways to assimilate information to current cloud and AI

The image showing above is from openart.io. Sora generated image showing below gives me a more descriptive illustration of information technology.

The Growth of IT Industry

There are a number of metrics that can demonstrate the growth of IT industry. Listed below are two metrics from Gemini on total IT spending and number of IT jobs over the years.