Editing Compaq (section)

====Compaq SystemPro====
Compaq's technical leadership and the rivalry with IBM was emphasized when the [[Compaq SystemPro|SystemPro]] server was launched in late 1989 – this was a true server product with standard support for a second CPU and [[RAID]], but also the first product to feature the [[Extended Industry Standard Architecture|EISA]] bus, designed in reaction to IBM's MCA ([[Micro Channel Architecture]]) which was incompatible with the original AT bus.

Although Compaq had become successful by being 100 percent IBM-compatible, it decided to continue with the original AT bus—which it renamed [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]]{{r|iw19890123}}—instead of licensing IBM's MCA. Prior to developing EISA Compaq had invested significant resources into reverse engineering MCA, but its executives correctly calculated that the $80 billion already spent by corporations on IBM-compatible technology would make it difficult for even IBM to force manufacturers to adopt the new MCA design. Instead of cloning MCA, Compaq led an alliance with Hewlett Packard and seven other major manufacturers, known collectively as the "[[Gang of Nine]]", to develop EISA.<ref name="britannica1"/>{{r|iw19890123}}<ref name=bane19881120>{{cite journal | last=Bane | first=Michael | date=November 20, 1988 | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-11-20-8802180783-story.html | title=9 Clonemakers Unite to Take On the Industry Giant | journal=Chicago Tribune | page=11 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024817/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-11-20-8802180783-story.html | archivedate=November 12, 2020}} {{ProQuest|282556133}}</ref>