Interviewed by Tom Burniece, on March 14, 2017 in Mountain View, California,
© Computer History Museum
Michael Workman’s oral history highlights his pivotal leadership in IBM’s hard disk R&D and production. Rising from engineer to executive, he spearheaded breakthrough projects, including the industry’s first digital servo and IBM’s first drives with magnetoresistive (MR) heads, which greatly accelerated areal density growth. He successfully bridged political and technical divides between IBM’s San Jose and Rochester operations, leading the collaborative “Allicat” program that produced enterprise-class drives. Later, as head of IBM’s worldwide disk-drive development—including labs in San Jose, Rochester, and Fujisawa—he oversaw the full product spectrum from desktop to enterprise storage, guiding design, manufacturing, and innovation that strengthened IBM’s competitive position in global storage markets.
- Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information – http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102738217
Visit computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories/ for more information about the Computer History Museum’s Oral Histories Collection.
Catalog number: 102738218
Acquisition number: X8127.2017
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