Wanting to deal with digital technologies, the history of the company Olivetti, is enlightening within the Italian IT development. It was technologically innovative. It brought Italian design to the world, influencing the information technology sector more than one might think. Adriano Olivetti, a visionary entrepreneur, was a social innovator.
IT'S OCTOBER 4, 1965
In New York, Olivetti presents the P101, which was effectively the first personal computer, ten years before Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Many will be the influences of Olivetti's thought that can be read in Apple's philosophy, in the design of the products and in the creation of Apple stores.
Olivetti is the symbolic image of “Ivrea Industrial City of the 20th Century”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018 thanks to Adriano Olivetti and his idea of a modern factory. In 1896, not far from the Ivrea railway station, on the land that grandfather Benedetto had donated to his father Camillo in via Castellamonte (now via Jervis), Olivetti was born.
«We have to do things right and let people know." And "without beauty and the experience of beauty, man would not be complete»: two of Adriano Olivetti's most famous mottos.
CREATIVE, TECHNOLOGIST AND HUMANIST
The latter was among the first Italian entrepreneurs to entrust prestigious designers (Mario Bellini, Marcello Nizzoli, Ettore Sottsass) with the creation of his products and his company headquarters (Carlo Scarpa, Franco Bellini, Ignazio Gardella…). Capable of recognizing, beyond the mere productive function, an essential and no less important aesthetic function.
"The design […] was the metaphor of his ongoing responsibility towards the environment, towards people and the fate of the product in society." – Ettore Sottsass
Olivetti, while best remembered for its typewriters, has had a significant impact on the world of computing. Its history in the computer industry is an example of how innovation, entrepreneurial courage and quality design can converge to create products that not only meet practical needs but also inspire and leave a lasting impression.
OLIVETTI'S ARCHITECTURES ARE STILL AN EXAMPLE TODAY
Olivetti is one of the most famous Italian companies and is a source of inspiration for “good living”. Factories which include residential neighborhoods, playgrounds, nurseries and libraries. Offices and shops that act as a business card to present the company and its values. A true "City of Man".
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OLIVETTI AND AI
Today we bring up Adriano Olivetti because he was a deeply contemporary entrepreneurial figure. It is also the best way to understand the impact of theAI in context working understood as: technological innovation in the close relationship between man and digital transformation. Olivetti would probably have used Artificial Intelligence as a tool so that people could work more efficiently and have more free time available. It would have engaged AI more in work-life balance for the employer branding of a company.
The real wealth today is time. When we talk about technology and business innovation we should think more about technological progress as a tool to improve the working method and life of a person.