CICS 50th Anniversary

2019 marked 50 years since CICS - Customer Information Control System - was released, on the 8th July 1969. Initial development took place at an IBM Development Centre in Des Plaines, Illinois, beginning in 1966, to address requirements from the public utility industry. This was launched as PU-CICS - Public Utility Customer Information Control System in 1968. The first release of CICS as a Programme Product dropped the PU, acknowledging its wider applicability. Development moved to Palo Alto, but was not considered as a strategic product. IBM decided to stop development to concentrate on IMS, and Hursley picked up responsibility in 1974 in exchange for PL/I. CICS core development work has continued ever since and is still an important part of Hursley's mission today.