What Defines an "Era of Computing" Anymore?

In the past, it has been possible to describe computing eras strictly in terms of hardware: mainframe, mini-computer, personal computer. Sometime in the 2000s that framework began to fray, as computing moved from “business or enterprise” use cases to consumer content, commerce, education, information gathering and entertainment. 

These days, computing leadership often includes large app providers as well as hardware or software suppliers. 

Decade	Leaders	Area of Impact	Transition to Content/Social Media/Commerce
1960s to 70s	IBM	Enterprise computing	Not yet
Early 1980s	DEC, Wang Labs, HP	Mid-market computing	Not yet
Later 1980s	Microsoft, Intel	Personal computers, operating systems, semiconductor technology	Laid the foundation for widespread adoption of computing, enabling future digital content and communication.
1990s	Google, Netscape, Chrome, Amazon	Web browsers, search engines, e-commerce platforms	Facilitated access to information and commerce online, paving the way for content sharing and social interaction.
2000s	Social Media including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Wordpress	Social networking platforms, microblogging platforms	Created platforms for user-generated content, real-time communication, and community building.
2010s	Apple, Samsung, Google, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Netflix, Google Maps	Smartphones, mobile operating systems, cloud computing, mobile apps	Expanded access to the internet and digital services through mobile devices, driving content consumption and social interaction on the go.
2020s	Nvidia, Microsoft, AWS, Google,  AMD (and others coming)	Artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, edge computing	Enabling personalized content experiences, intelligent applications, and seamless integration of computing into various aspects of life.

Among other implications, it is likely the older models of “computing eras” will have to be redefined, as leadership now can come from software or content firms as easily as from hardware firms. Apple redefined its role when it switched from being a niche provider of personal computers to a major supplier of mobile devices and now services and content. 

Microsoft evolved from an operating system provider to a leader in cloud computing, enterprise and consumer applications, gaming, communications and so forth.

And today’s computing leaders mostly are dominant as providers of computing-enabled applications and services, ranging from search to social media to commerce and cloud computing “as a service.”

Hardware still matters, of course (Nvidia, for example). But eras of computing are unlikely to continue to be defined by hardware. Instead, platforms, devices and use cases seem to be what matters.