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[[File:Kurzwellensendeanlage_Wertachtal_(26).jpg|thumb|right|Alfaskop Data Terminals with 2.88 MB floppy drive]]
'''Alfaskop''' was a brand, developed in Sweden by [[Standard Radio & Telefon AB]] (SRT) and applied to [[data terminal]]s and later [[IBM-compatible]] [[Personal Computer|PC]]s.  The term was also used to name Alfaskop AB, a listed Swedish IT services company.,<ref name=facts>{{cite news
|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_59665847
|title=Facts about Alfaskop
|publisher=Business Wire
|accessdate=2008-10-29
| date=2000-03-01
}}</ref> that filed for bankruptcy in 2001.<ref name=bankrupt>{{cite web
|url=http://www.tornado-insider.com/news/article.asp?ID=12511
|title=M2S Files for Bankruptcy
|author=Paolo Anastasio
|publisher=Tornado Insider
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>
==History==
SRT, owned by the [[ITT Corporation]] during the 1960s, specialised in Air Traffic Control systems and military radar systems. In 1971, SRT provided the core technology for [[Stansaab]] AS, a joint venture with Saab and the state-owned Swedish Development Company.  The company's primary focus was systems for real-time data applied to commercial and aviation applications.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%203354.html
|title=Flightglobal archive 1972
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>  To this was added the data terminal operations of [[Facit]] in 1972.<ref name=wiklund>{{cite web
|url=http://se.services.fujitsu.com/veteran/07q3/070918.htm
|title=A history of the Alfaskop terminal
|author=Göte Wiklund
|language=Swedish
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>
The Alfaskop terminals quickly gained a foothold in the market for airline reservations with 1,000 in use at [[Scandinavian Airlines]] alone.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200573.html
|title=Flightglobal archive 1975
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>
In 1978, Stansaab was merged with the Data Saab division of Saab to form [[Datasaab]].<ref name=veterans>{{cite web
|url=http://www.veteranklubbenalfa.se/veteran/foretag.htm
|title=Short history of SRT, Stansaab and Datasaab
|language=Swedish
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>  In 1981, [[Ericsson]], believing that growth in telecoms would be lower than that in [[Information technology|IT]], purchased Datasaab and integrated it with two of its own divisions to form Ericsson Information Systems (EIS).<ref name=baraldi>{{cite web
|url=http://se.services.fujitsu.com/veteran/04q4/041103.pdf
|title=Ericsson, the Technology Integrator for the Office of the Future: EIS AB and Dreams on Computer-Telecom Convergence in the 1980s
|author=Enrico Baraldi
|publisher=Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>  Accurately predicting convergence between telephony and data technologies, EIS instructed the Alfaskop group to begin working on a design for Ericsson's first PC – the EPC, which was released 16 months later in 1984.<ref name=wiklund />
Following market difficulties in the United States, particularly with a disappointing launch of its PC, Ericsson decided to abandon its "[[paperless office]]" strategy.<ref name=baraldi />  In 1988, the division was sold to Nokia and later to ICL in 1990.<ref name=wiklund />  The final act was its sale by ICL to [[Wyse Technology]] who eventually wound down manufacturing.
==The Alfaskop range==
[[File:Alfaskop (I197708).jpg|thumb|Alfaskop terminal]]
Due to its work for the aviation industry, one of SRT's core competencies was the display of [[radar]] images.  It was this expertise that led to the development of the Alfaskop terminal, which was inspired by the launch of [[IBM]]'s range of display terminals.<ref name=history>{{cite web
|url=http://se.services.fujitsu.com/veteran/00q4/001006.htm
|title=History of the computer industry in Sweden
|author=Gunnar Wedell
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>   These terminals made interaction with computers much easier than with earlier [[punched card]] or [[paper tape]] interfaces.  The [[alphanumeric]], 80 character, 24 line terminal quickly became a standard.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/255/ibmrd2505E.pdf
|title=IBM Data Communications: A Quarter Century of Evolution and Progress
|author=David R. Jarema & [[Edward H. Sussenguth]]
|publisher=IBM system communications division laboratory
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>  The Alfaskop terminals were designed to be [[pin compatible]] with the IBM equipment.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.diva-portal.org/diva/getDocument?urn_nbn_se_liu_diva-4695-1__fulltext.pdf
|title=Smart, Fast and Beautiful. On Rhetoric of Technology and Computing Discourse in Sweden 1955-1995
|author=Magnus Johansson
|publisher=Linköping Studies in Arts and Science
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>  The Alfaskop 3100, the first model, was designed to compete with the [[IBM 2260]], while the later 3500 was developed in response to the [[IBM 3270]].  There followed a refreshed 3500 called System 37 followed by a System 41 – a new design.<ref name=wiklund /> The 3500 series were also produced in Poland under the name MERA 7900.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}
The first Ericsson PC - the EPC, was released at the [[CeBit]] fair in [[Hanover]] in 1984.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://se.services.fujitsu.com/veteran/03q1/030315.htm
|title=My time in the Swedish Data Industry
|author=Jörgen Sjöström
|language=Swedish
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>  The [[Ericsson Portable PC]] followed a year later.  In subsequent years, with the growth in demand for IBM-compatible PCs, several Alfaskop PC models were released.<ref name="history" />
While Ericsson had tried to build its own brand in the PC business, Nokia was willing to trade on the Alfaskop name.  By 1989, they were showing the "Alfaskop Workgroup System" comprising [[80386]]-based [[Server (computing)|servers]], [[80286]]-based [[Desktop computer|desktops]] and [[Ethernet]] or [[Token Ring]] networking.  Office software included the [[X400]]-compatible Alfaskop Mail, [[WordPerfect]] and [[Lotus Freelance]].  The systems were offered with either [[MS-DOS]] or [[OS/2]].
==Commercial success==
The Alfaskop terminals enjoyed considerable success, even outselling IBM in some markets, particularly in Sweden.  By the early 1980s the company had accumulated profits of about one billion [[Swedish krona|kronor]].<ref name="history" />  Customers included airlines, newspapers, police, councils and telecommunications companies.<ref name="wiklund" />
A key benefit of the terminals was that they were IBM compatible but cost less. This meant discounts for volume customers made the terminals attractive. Reflecting the profit contribution made by Alfaskop (other product ranges at Stansaab/Datasaab were losing money), Ericsson invested 40 million kronor in the manufacturing facility at Järfälla outside [[Stockholm]].<ref name=baraldi />  Ericsson had predicted that their Eritex workstation comprising a telex and data terminal would take over from Alfaskop but demand continued with 100,000 units sold by 1983 with annual sales climbing above 25,000.<ref name="wiklund" />  Eritex was retired by the mid-1980s. Deliveries of Alfaskop continued through the Nokia years and by the time production ceased, more than 900 000 units had been shipped.<ref name="baraldi" />
==Alfaskop AB==
From 1990, Nokia Data encouraged the development of several franchise partners to drive sales of PCs and [[computer network|network]] technologies.  From 1994 these companies were co-operating closely and delivering network technologies, [[Microsoft]] solutions, and [[systems integration]].  In 1995, these companies were merged to form Alfaskop AB.
In 1997, the company was listed on the Stockholm [[Stock Exchange]].<ref name=solving>{{cite web
|url=http://se.services.fujitsu.com/veteran/06q2/060504.htm
|title=History of the computer industry in Sweden
|author=Björn Sölving
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>
By 2000, Alfaskop had 660 employees with 18 offices in Sweden.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Final+Agreement+Between+Scribona+and+Alfaskop.-a059665847
|title=Alfaskop, Scribona Press Release
|publisher=Business Wire
|accessdate=2008-10-29
}}</ref>  However, by 2001, the company was bankrupt and its remaining 400 employees were laid off.<ref name=bankrupt />  Business Wire reported that about half of the employees found employment at Meteorit AB, another IT consultancy.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_79402079
|title=Alfaskop Developers Choose Meteorit AB as Their New Employer
|publisher=Business Wire
|accessdate=2008-10-29
| date=2001-10-24
}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
[[Category:Science and technology in Sweden]]
[[Category:Defunct companies of Sweden]]
[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Saab]]