IBM Company Trivia Quiz
IBM Company Trivia Quiz: Test your knowledge of the computing industry pioneer with our collection of IBM quizzes featuring questions about founders, computer history, mainframes, PCs, and more!
Welcome to our IBM Company Trivia Quiz collection!
Put your knowledge of the computing industry pioneer to the test – we're covering everything from the 1911 founding, mainframe era to the personal computer revolution. All quizzes are totally free, no sign-up needed, and you can play as many times as you like!
Our IBM trivia dives deep, spanning from the company's early tabulating machine business all the way to modern cloud computing and AI services. We've got questions on company history, product evolution, technological innovations, business models, and fascinating historical stories. Whether you're a computer history enthusiast or someone interested in technology development, we've got quizzes that'll challenge and entertain you!
For each quiz, 20 questions will be randomly selected from the list below. Are you a true IBM Expert? Come on and test your knowledge!
1What was the predecessor company to IBM?
International Time Recording Company
Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company
American Computer Corporation
National Cash Register
2In what year did IBM, an abbreviation for International Business Machines Corporation, officially adopt this name?
1911
1924
1935
1946
3Who is considered the key figure in transforming the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) into IBM?
Herman Hollerith
Thomas J. Watson Sr.
Charles Ranlett Flint
Thomas J. Watson Jr.
4Who coined IBM's motto, "THINK"?
Bill Gates
Thomas J. Watson Sr.
Steve Jobs
Louis Gerstner
5In what year did IBM launch its first personal computer, the IBM PC?
1975
1981
1984
1990
6What operating system did the original IBM PC use?
Windows 1.0
PC DOS (developed by Microsoft, also known as MS-DOS)
OS/2
CP/M
7Which IBM mainframe series dominated the market in the mid-to-late 20th century?
System/360
VAX series
UNIVAC
Altair 8800
8IBM's Deep Blue computer became famous for defeating a human world champion in what field?
Go
Chess
Poker
Jeopardy! quiz game
9IBM's Watson AI system initially gained fame for winning which TV quiz show?
Wheel of Fortune
Jeopardy!
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Family Feud
10To which company did IBM sell its personal computer business?
HP
Lenovo
Dell
Acer
11IBM's ThinkPad laptop series is known for its pointing stick of what color?
Blue
Red (TrackPoint)
Green
Black
12In which field is IBM a leader in quantum computing research?
Social media
Quantum computing
Smartphone manufacturing
Video game development
13Which IBM division focuses on consulting and global services?
IBM Hardware Division
IBM Consulting (formerly IBM Global Business Services - GBS)
IBM Research
IBM Software Division
14What is the likely origin of IBM's nickname "Big Blue"?
Its founder's favorite color was blue.
The color of its early computer casings and the company's size.
The main color of its company logo.
The color of its company stock certificates.
15Which IBM CEO successfully led the company's transformation in the 1990s?
Thomas J. Watson Jr.
Louis Gerstner Jr.
Sam Palmisano
Ginni Rometty
16What was IBM's early attitude towards "open standards" and the "PC clone" market?
Actively promoted and embraced them.
Allowed its PC architecture to be open, indirectly fostering the clone market.
Resolutely resisted and opposed them.
Completely indifferent.
17How did IBM's floppy disk drive technology impact early personal computers?
It had no significant impact.
It became an important standard for early PC data storage and software distribution.
It failed to gain popularity due to its high price.
It was primarily used in mainframes.
18With which company did IBM co-develop the OS/2 operating system?
Apple
Microsoft
Novell
Sun Microsystems
19What is one of the widely used operating systems on IBM mainframes?
Windows Server
z/OS (and its predecessors)
Linux
macOS Server
20What does IBM's "Smarter Planet" initiative focus on?
Space exploration
Using technology to solve global issues like urban development, energy, and transportation.
Developing faster personal computers.
Promoting IBM's social media platform.
21IBM is a major contributor and supporter of which famous open-source software foundation?
Mozilla Foundation
Apache Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation
22For what unique printing element was the IBM Selectric typewriter known?
Daisy wheel
Typeball
Dot matrix print head
Laser drum
23What type of product is IBM's DB2?
Word processing software
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)
Web browser
Operating system
24For what strict employee dress code was IBM historically known?
Casual wear
Dark suits, white shirts, and ties
Sportswear
Company uniform T-shirts
25During which period was IBM's "Y2K bug" solutions business very busy?
Late 1970s
Late 1990s to early 2000s
Mid-1980s
2010s
26IBM's Lotus Notes/Domino is primarily used for what kind of software?
Video editing
Enterprise collaboration, email, and application development platform
3D modeling
Personal finance management
27Which IBM research lab is one of the world's largest and most prestigious industrial research organizations?
Bell Labs
IBM Research
Xerox PARC
Microsoft Research
28What type of computers primarily use IBM's "Power" series microprocessors?
Smartphones and tablets
Servers, supercomputers, and workstations
Personal laptops
Game consoles
29Which major open-source software company did IBM acquire in 2019 to strengthen its hybrid cloud business?
SUSE
Red Hat
Canonical (parent company of Ubuntu)
GitHub
30IBM's AS/400 (later IBM i) is a computer system primarily aimed at which market?
Individual consumers
Small and medium-sized businesses
Scientific research institutions
Graphic design studios
31The invention of IBM's "barcode" technology revolutionized which industry?
Healthcare
Retail and logistics
Aerospace
Financial services
32IBM's RAMAC 305 was the world's first computer to use what storage device?
Magnetic tape
Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Solid State Drive (SSD)
Optical disc
33For which field of computation was IBM's FORTRAN programming language compiler developed?
Business data processing
Scientific and engineering computation
Web development
Artificial intelligence
34With which airline did IBM co-develop the early computer reservation system, "SABRE"?
Pan Am
American Airlines
United Airlines
Delta Air Lines
35What early characteristic of IBM is reflected in its Chinese translated name "万国商业机器" (International Business Machines)?
Focus on the US domestic market
Globalized business and vision
Production of only one type of machine
Primarily serving government agencies
36What is one of the most prominent features of IBM's Mainframes?
High portability
High Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS)
Low price
Primarily used for running video games
37What type of software platform is IBM's WebSphere?
Operating system
Application server and middleware
Database management system
Office suite
38During which period was IBM's "Aptiva" a personal computer brand?
1970s
1990s
Early 2000s
Early 1980s
39In which areas is IBM's Blockchain technology primarily applied?
Only for cryptocurrency transactions
Supply chain management, financial services, healthcare, etc.
Personal social networking
Video game development
40What is the primary purpose of IBM's "Cognos" software?
Operating system kernel development
Business intelligence and performance management
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
Network security firewall
41What role did IBM play in the Apollo moon landing program?
Designed and manufactured rocket engines
Provided key computer systems and software support for navigation and mission control
Trained astronauts
Designed spacesuits
42What profound impact did IBM's "PC clone" concept have on the personal computer market?
Led to a sharp increase in personal computer prices
Promoted hardware and software standardization, creating a vast PC ecosystem
Allowed IBM to monopolize the personal computer market
Slowed down the development of personal computer technology
43In which field is IBM's "SPSS" software primarily used?
Graphic design
Statistical analysis and social science research
Video games
Music production
44In which area was IBM's "magnetic stripe card" technology first applied?
Access control systems
Credit cards and bank cards
Public transit cards
Phone cards
45IBM's "Thomas J. Watson Research Center" is the nerve center of which of its departments?
Marketing Department
IBM Research
Human Resources Department
Global Sales Department
46What contribution did IBM's invention of "Dynamic Random Access Memory" (DRAM) make to the computer industry?
Made computers run slower
Became the mainstream technology for modern computer memory, significantly reducing memory costs and increasing density
Primarily used in early calculators
Was completely replaced by Static RAM (SRAM)
47To the development of which field did IBM's "System R" project make pioneering contributions?
Operating systems
Relational databases and the SQL language
Network protocols
Graphical user interfaces
48How did IBM's "RISC architecture" (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) influence processor design?
Made processor instructions more complex
Drove the development of simpler, more efficient processor designs, influencing many modern CPUs
Was only used in IBM's internal products and had no industry impact
Led to a significant increase in processor power consumption
49On what type of computer did IBM's "MVS" (Multiple Virtual Storage) operating system primarily run?
Personal computers
IBM Mainframes
Minicomputers
Embedded systems
50Which prestigious award did IBM receive for the invention of the "Scanning Tunneling Microscope" (STM)?
Turing Award
Nobel Prize in Physics
Fields Medal
Pulitzer Prize
51IBM's "CICS" (Customer Information Control System) is a transaction processing system primarily used for what?
Scientific computing
Online Transaction Processing (OLTP), such as banking and airline reservation systems
Desktop publishing
Video streaming
52IBM's research in "fractal geometry" had a significant impact on which field?
Database design
Computer graphics, data compression, and modeling natural phenomena
Network security
Operating system scheduling algorithms
53Which area does IBM's "Tivoli" software portfolio primarily focus on?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
IT service management and systems management
Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Human Resource Management (HRM)
54What was the main challenge IBM faced when Louis Gerstner took over as CEO?
Lack of technological innovation
The company was on the verge of breaking up and needed major strategic adjustments and cultural changes
Intense competition from emerging internet companies
Low employee morale
55With which two companies did IBM co-develop the "Cell" microprocessor, which was used in the PlayStation 3 game console?
Microsoft and Nintendo
Sony and Toshiba
Apple and Motorola
AMD and NVIDIA
56IBM's "Watson Health" division primarily focuses on applying artificial intelligence to which industry?
Financial services
Healthcare
Retail
Transportation
57With which Japanese research institute did IBM co-develop the "K computer" supercomputer?
University of Tokyo
RIKEN
Kyoto University
Sony Corporation
58The concept of the "Uniform Resource Locator" (URL), in which IBM played a role, is crucial for the development of which field?
Database management
World Wide Web
Operating system design
Email systems
59To which field did IBM's "Data Encryption Standard" (DES) make significant contributions?
Computer graphics
Information security and cryptography
Artificial intelligence
Network routing protocols
60Who is the current Chairman and CEO of IBM (as of late 2023)?
Ginni Rometty
Arvind Krishna
Satya Nadella
Louis Gerstner Jr.