Starting in the late 1960s, data networks were created to connect supercomputers and, later, other intelligent devices. A revolution in communications was in the making. By the late 1970s, computing and communications technologies were leading us from a world of local markets trading in capital goods to one of global markets trading in capital anytime, anyplace. Some involved in information technology saw themselves as midwives to a world of 24x7 information and services available at lower costs on a global basis.