"By the 1960s, the business world was suffocating under its own weight. Data was exploding in volume, and the tools of the mechanical age, though revolutionary in their time had hit a wall. The punch card systems of early computers brought a glimmer of hope, but they were rigid, requiring rooms full of specialized machines and operators. The promise of truly dynamic data management, a tool that could calculate, adapt, and update in real-time remained elusive."