In contrast to my previous post about the self-congratulatory double page spread McDonalds had in The Times the other day, IBM took a more modest single page today to publicise their 100th anniversary.

As readers of my often cynical and sceptical blog posts about the murky activities of corporate organisations may know, I have deep respect and a bit of a soft spot for ‘Big Blue’. To say that it is an organisation with substance and authenticity is an understatement and just those few highlights of achievements in the advert below reinforce that view.

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The 100 Icons of Progress can be read more easily and in its entirety here. Here are my top ten from an organisation that really has changed the world for the better…

1. The Origins of Computer Science

At the end of World War II, the Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory at Columbia University provided the basis for the world’s first computer science curriculum. The course introduced students to the foundational principles of automated data processing. Many of the students who attended these classes became the first proponents of the electronic data processing field.

2. The Apollo Missions

Considered one of history’s greatest scientific achievements, the moon landing is evidence of IBM’s willingness to explore ambitious ideas long before they revealed a path to profitability. IBM has taken part in every US manned space effort in history, working on systems for Mercury, Gemini-Titan and Apollo-Saturn missions, and for the historic 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the Moon. IBM has also helped develop Mission Control for the Gemini, Skylab and US-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz projects, as well as for the Space Shuttle program.

3. Magnetic Stripe Technology

In 1969, IBM engineer Forrest Parry had a problem. He was trying to affix a strip of magnetized tape with a piece of plastic to create an identity card for the CIA, but he was struggling to combine the two components. When he mentioned the problem to his wife, who happened to be ironing clothing at the time, she suggested that he use the iron to melt the strip on. He tried it, and it worked. The magnetic stripe, when combined with point-of-sale devices and data networks, was one of the catalysts that accelerated the proliferation of credit card usage around the world, transforming commerce forever.

4. The Floppy Disk

Originally designed for large-scale systems the disk’s small size and ever-increasing storage capabilities led to its adoption by smaller systems as well. Usable, durable and flexible, the floppy disk quickly became ubiquitous as the preferred storage medium for the emerging personal computer industry.

5. High-Temperature Superconductors

Superconductors are perfect conductors of electricity and have unusual magnetic properties. The problem, though, was that they only worked at minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit—temperatures only reachable in lab experiments. In 1986, Georg Bednorz and Alex Müller were working with perovskites at IBM’s research lab and found they would superconduct at temperatures far warmer than all previous records. This breakthrough opened a path to numerous useful applications. Superconductors made MRI machines cheaper and faster, helping them spread to hospitals around the world. High-speed rail travel even relies on superconductors. In 1987, Bednorz and Müller were awarded the Nobel prize for their discovery.

6. e-business

As booming dot-com start-ups brought electronic commerce to consumers, big companies looked on wondering what to do. In the late 1990s, IBM offered a helping hand by recognizing the trend and using its strengths in mainframes, transactions and networking to create a strategy called “e-business.” This was a turning point for corporate America in the Internet Age, showing that big companies—not just Silicon Valley upstarts—had an important future in Web-based collaboration and business.

7. WebSphere

With the height of the dot com boom ahead of him, the head of IBM Software group Steve Mills called his three top men into his office to discuss how they should “Webify” the company’s top enterprise software tools. The conversation led to the advent of IBM’s WebSphere application server, released in early 1998. Initially, the WebSphere team focused on rapid development and deployment of Web applications supporting HTTP, Servlet and Java Server Pages apps. However, IBM quickly extended WebSphere to transactional applications and beyond, driven by customer needs, and anticipating market shifts. Today, the WebSphere suite of products and services helps businesses set up, operate and integrate electronic applications across multiple computing platforms.

8. The Globally Integrated Enterprise

In an essay featured in the May/June 2006 edition of Foreign Affairs magazine, and in a speech given in Bangalore, India, the same year, Samuel Palmisano, chairman and CEO of IBM, outlined his vision of the new globally integrated enterprise. It is the successor to the multinational corporation, which featured smaller versions of the parent company in multiple countries. A globally integrated enterprise is truly global—locating operations and functions anywhere in the world, based on the right cost, availability of skills and supportive business environment. This model is more nimble and less duplicative, and operates well across the flatter world.

9. The Mapping of Humanity’s Family Tree

Who am I? How did we get here? Launched in 2005, National Geographic’s Genographic Project aims to answer these questions. IBM and the Genographic Project began gathering human DNA from across the world and analyzing it for genetic markers that signal a deviation—or branch—in our family tree. By examining our ancestral roots, researchers can draw a more complete picture of humanity’s migratory history. IBM is providing the analytics to read the more than 400,000 samples collected so far. Through this project, IBM has gained tremendous knowledge of genetic variation and has become the world’s first company with a genetic non-discrimination policy.

10. The DNA Transistor

IBM’s DNA Transistor offers a high-tech, low-cost method for reading the human genome sequence. This 2009 breakthrough technology may soon be used to create better patient profiles, tailor-made diagnoses and treatments informed by genetics—driving down the cost of healthcare, while drastically improving quality of care and quality of life.

Obviously my top ten selection from the top 100 chosen by IBM is based on my worldview and others will have very different views no doubt. Computer science, space exploration, e-business/e-commerce and genetics feature strongly in my choices but even with that small selection, the world-changing impact of IBM is clear.

However, more importantly than that, the full list of progress includes a number of significant areas of activity from the last decade or so that look like being central to addressing global challenges – the Smarter Planet agenda, Smarter Water Management and World Community Grid being just a few examples.