With hindsight, many innovations seem obvious. For example, it seems obvious that a large chain of popular tea shops in depressed, post-war England should establish a department of systems research and send two managers to the United States, where they would bribe a university for help to single-handedly build the world`s first electronic office computer. It went into operation in 1951. This is just as obvious as the observation that this computer would need an operating system. That is, it wasn`t obvious to anyone at all.

J. Lyons & Company operated a chain of about 250 tea houses and had established a range of upmarket venues such as their famous Corner Shops in London. By World War II, it was a classic example of a modern business, managing the logistics of ensuring that the right quality of tea and enough fresh cakes would be available to its millions of customers. Its profit margins depended on high volumes of exceptionally low-value items. A typical customer might spend just a few pence on a fresh cuppa and a slice of Swiss Roll. Knowing how much jam went on each Swiss Roll was important information, but for years, the masses of clerks the company employed produced what amounted to little more than profit and loss accounts.