- McLaughlin Research began furnishing automatic data processing (ADP) services, when it assisted the IBM Military Products Division in the preparation of the 14-volume SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Equipment) System parts catalog. The data processing hub was part of the system designed to monitor the skies 24/7 for incoming Soviet cold war bombers.
- This parts catalog was one of the first large projects to be prepared by ADP methods.
- For the next eight years, as IBM introduced design improvements in equipment, MRC developed innovative configuration management techniques to maintain this catalog up-to-date through 27 configurations of the system.
- During this period, MRC introduced ADP parts provisioning documentation to many companies, including IBM Commercial Products, General Electric, Sperry Gyroscope, Collins Radio, Sylvania, RCA, and Grumman.
