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Guide to the Burton Grad Associates, Inc. records
X7213.2014
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Table of contents
Title: Burton Grad Associates, Inc. records
Identifier/Call Number: X7213.2014
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
26.25 Linear feet,
21 record cartons
Date (inclusive): 1974-2007
Abstract: The Burton Grad Associates, Inc. records contain documentation from the consulting firm for software and services companies
owned and operated by Burt Grad from 1978 through the early 2000s. Grad and his associates completed hundreds of short term
projects for over 200 companies, including Sterling Software, Sterling Commerce, Informatics, and AGS Computers. Projects
were focused on strategic and organizational planning, company valuations, due diligence studies, and some expert witness
legal projects. The collection contains correspondence with clients, background information collected for the projects, and
draft and final reports prepared for clients related to this work. Additionally, a small amount of material in the collection
relates to other consulting firms Grad started including: Heights Information Technology Services which provided programming
and related services from associates working from home; CustomerCare, Inc., a publishing company he owned and operated during
the 1990s which produced a customer services newsletter; and Castle Data Systems, Inc. which developed computer based training
courses for various clients. The collection also contains some correspondence from Grad while he was still at IBM between
1974 and 1978.
creator:
Grad, Burton
The collection is open for research.
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying
any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the
Computer History Museum’s collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer
History Museum.
[Identification of Item], [Date], Burton Grad Associates, Inc. records, Lot X7213.2014, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#],
Computer History Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Burt Grad, 2014.
Burt Grad, Carol Anne Ances, Doug Jerger and the Software Industry Special Interest Group (SI SIG) inventoried this collection
in December, 2008, as part of the donation process. This inventory was used during processing to restore original order and
aid with description.
Burton (Burt) Grad was born in 1928 in Philadelphia, where his mother and her family had emigrated from the Ukraine in 1914.
In 1932, Grad’s family moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., where he completed high school. He then received a Bachelor
of Management Engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1949.
Grad worked for General Electric (GE) from 1949 to 1960. At GE, Grad worked on factory automation and manufacturing control.
Highlights of his work there include programming a Univac I computer for use at the Dishwasher and Disposal Department in
Louisville, Kentucky, leading a factory simulation project, designing the Productron computer, conducting the Integrated Systems
Project (ISP) (aimed at automating the complete information flow in a factory), and developing the concept and use of decision
tables (a method of documenting cause/effect logic).
In 1960, Grad left GE and went to work for IBM. Shortly after he started there, Grad started working on the Study Organization
Plan (SOP) project. SOP was focused on a general approach to developing integrated information systems for any business. This
led to the publication of Management Systems by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1968 (authors: Thomas B. Glans, Burton Grad,
David Holstein, William E. Myers, and Richard N. Schmidt). Grad also participated as an IBM representative in the Unbundling
Task Force, which was responsible for planning the announcement of separately priced software in 1969. He worked in software
development until the mid-1970s, when he moved to IBM Research. Starting in the early 1970s, Grad served as a representative
for IBM at ADAPSO, the computer software and services trade association; he was active within the Software Industry Association
section. Grad remained active in ADAPSO throughout his career, including after he left IBM, and after ADAPSO transitioned
into a new organization called the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA).
In 1978, Grad left IBM and started his own consulting firm, Burton Grad Associates, Inc. Leveraging the relationships with
software and services companies that he had developed through ADAPSO, Grad helped clients with strategic and organizational
planning, business analysis, product and market analysis, due diligence studies, company valuations, and some expert witness
legal projects. While Grad preferred projects in strategic and organizational planning, the highest demand for projects were
for due diligence and valuation studies for acquisition, financial, tax and capitalization purposes.
Grad and his associates provided services to over 200 clients with 700-800 projects in the approximately 30 years that the
consulting firm was operating. Each project was typically under three months and was self-contained. Grad utilized third party
consultants with different financial and computer industry specializations, including Sidney Dunayer, Carol Anne Ances, Elizabeth
Virgo, Ed LaHay, Mike Marcus, Marty Silberberg, and others. These “virtual staff” members often worked remotely, with Grad
managing each project and client relationship. Some of the most significant clients Grad and his team provided services to
over the years included Sterling Software (and Sterling Commerce), Informatics, and AGS Computers. In addition to his United
States clients, Grad provided services to international clients after consulting for the World Bank. For example, Grad provided
services to a number of Israeli software companies directly and gave a proposal to the Israeli government about how to build
their software industry (which did not lead to a project).
Grad started a second business in 1978 called Heights Information Technology Services (Heights). Co-founded with Luanne Johnson,
Heights was modeled after a British business called F International. It provided professional services by primarily female
programmers. The business model was structured such that professional women could work remotely, allowing them flexibility
with their schedules and the ability to work at home while parenting children. The business did not thrive, and was eventually
sold to F International and then closed. Burt was involved with Heights until 1983.
In 1992, Grad purchased a publishing business called CustomerCare, Inc. from Barbara Brizdle. The company published a newsletter
multiple times per year as well as an annual survey. The content was focused on how to improve customer service within software
companies. Grad eventually sold this business, though he never received payment for it.
In the 2000s, Grad’s consulting work slowed down due to a shift in the software and services market away from mainframe and
midrange computers and the dominance of software companies providing applications for microcomputers aimed at the personal
rather than the business marketplace. With this market change shifting demand away from his specific expertise, Grad spent
more time in collecting and preserving software industry historical records for the Software History Center, which Grad and
Luanne Johnson had co-founded as a non-profit in 2000. Grad then served as co-chair with Johnson of the Software Industry
Special Interest Group (SI SIG) at the Computer History Museum which was the successor to the Software History Center. He
currently lives in Westport, Connecticut with his wife, Carol Anne Ances.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Burton Grad Associates, Inc. records primarily consist of documentation of Burt Grad’s consulting business from 1978 through
the early 2000s. The records include correspondence with clients and third party consultants Grad worked with, background
information provided by clients and researched by Grad, final reports provided to clients, and invoices provided to clients.
Examples of background information include financial records, product information, presentation materials about products or
companies, and printouts from company or product websites. Also included in the collection is correspondence authored by Grad
between 1974 and 1978, when he was still working for IBM, and newsletters and annual surveys from Grad’s publishing company,
CustomerCare, Inc.
The collection is arranged into 2 series:
Series 1, Projects, 1978-2007, bulk 1994-2005
Series 2, Chronological files, 1974-2003
Burt Grad General Electric and IBM records, Lot X6906.2014, Catalog number 102726885.
Grad, Burt (Burton) oral history: General Electric Years, Lot X4362.2008, Catalog number 102702248.
Grad, Burt (Burton) oral history: International Business Machines (IBM), Lot X4362.2008, Catalog number 102701925.
Grad, Burt (Burton) oral history: Burton Grad Associates, Inc., Lot X4362.2008, Catalog number 102746731.
Grad, Burt (Burton) oral history: history and education, ADAPSO, Heights Information Technology Services, and Customer Care,
Inc., Lot X4362.2008, Catalog number 102701924.
Grad, Burton and Hugh Williams oral history, Lot X4562.2008, Catalog number 102658225.
Related Collections at Other Repositories
University of Minnesota, Charles Babbage Institute, Burt Grad IBM and ADAPSO materials. Unprocessed.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Burton Grad Associates, Inc.
Computer Software Industry--United States--History
Grad, Burton
Software Consulting Services