Reverse Engineering

Case Study

Anurag Yadu — 22119015

Pratyush Shastri — 22119070
K.S.S Karthik — 22119039
Priyanshu Kumar — 22119073
 REVERSE ENGINEERING

IDENTIFY
DISASSEMBLE ANALYZE THE DOCUMENT
THE DEVELOP A
PURPOSE HYPOTHESIS COMPONENTS THE PROCESS
 OVERVIEW OF IBM
1911
Founded as a computing, tabulating, and
recording company.
1980
By the 1980s, IBM became a key player in
personal computing.
2000s
IBM’s Role in the Tech Industry: Leading
innovations in computer hardware and
software development.

1911 1924 1950 1970s 1981 2000 Onwards

INTITIALLY IBM FORMED: MAINFRAME MINICOMPUTE PERSONAL QUANTUM &

NAMED CTR CALCULATORS ERA: IBM 305 RS & FLOPPY COMPUTER & CLOUD
WAS & PUNCH RAMAC DISKS SOFTWARE : COMPUTING:
FORMED MACHINES IBM PC 5150 IBM WATSON
THE IBM PC (1981) – A TURNING POINT

IBM’S ENTRY INTO THE PC MARKET:

LAUNCHED THE IBM PC TO COMPETE WITH

EMERGING PLAYERS LIKE APPLE.
FEATURED AN OPEN SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE,
ALLOWING OTHER COMPANIES TO PRODUCE
COMPATIBLE COMPONENTS AND SOFTWARE.

OPEN ARCHITECTURE & MARKET GROWTH:

ENCOURAGED A BROADER ECOSYSTEM OF THIRD-

PARTY DEVELOPERS.
CRUCIAL IN MAKING PERSONAL COMPUTERS MORE
ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE.
 BIOS (Basic Input/Output System):
Controlled the basic functions that allowed the
computer’s hardware to communicate with its
software.

REVERSE Companies like Compaq reverse-engineered IBM's

ENGINEERING BIOS without infringing intellectual property by using a

"clean-room" design.

OF IBM PC This enabled them to produce IBM-compatible PCs,

How Reverse Engineering Powered IBM's PC contributing to the explosive growth of the personal
Revolution computer market.

Legacy of Setting Standards: Even though it lost the

battle in terms of PC sales, the IBM-compatible model
became the foundation upon which the entire personal
computing industry grew.
 Functional Analysis
Engineers conducted detailed testing on IBM's BIOS. They fed it a
variety of inputs and observed the outputs. For example, they would
see how the BIOS interacted with peripherals like printers,

DECODING
keyboards, and disk drives.

Deconstruction
REVERSE ENGINEERING OF IBM’S BIOS
Based on these tests, the analysis team created a specification
document that described what the BIOS needed to do, without
CLEAN ROOM METHOD copying IBM's original work.

This method involved separating the reverse engineering process

into two distinct teams:
Development of a New BIOS
Team 1 (Analysis Team): This group would study IBM's BIOS by The specification document was used to write new code that
observing its inputs and outputs without ever looking at the actual replicated the functionality of IBM’s BIOS but did so independently.
code.
Team 2 (Development Team): This second group were tasked
with writing an original BIOS based solely on the specifications Validation and Testing
and behavioral outputs provided by Team 1. Once the new BIOS was written, it was rigorously tested. The goal
By keeping these teams isolated from one another, companies
was to ensure that the new BIOS behaved in the same way as IBM’s
like Compaq could ensure that their version of the BIOS was
when interacting with hardware and software.
entirely original and not a copy of IBM’s intellectual property.
FUELING INNOVATION
HOW REVERSE ENGINEERING TRANSFORMED THE PC INDUSTRY

Catalyst for Innovation Creation of Standards

01 IBM’s open system allowed competitors to 02 By permitting third-party manufacturing, IBM
improve on their design, fostering rapid set a standard architecture, which created
technological advancements in computing. compatibility and interoperability across devices.

Market Expansion Diversification of the Ecosystem

03 This approach made personal computers 04 Reverse engineering allowed a diverse range of manufacturers
more affordable, leading to global adoption to create custom hardware and software solutions compatible
by both businesses and consumers. with IBM’s architecture, resulting in a richer and more versatile
ecosystem of products.
CHALLENGES
OF REVERSE Intellectual
ENGINEERING Property
& Legal Risks
Reverse engineering brought significant challenges and risks for both
IBM and its competitors. Intellectual property concerns were at the
forefront, as companies had to ensure their methods, like the clean-
room approach, complied with legal standards to avoid infringement on
IBM’s proprietary BIOS. Loss of Market
Despite enabling innovation, reverse engineering led to a loss of market Share for IBM
control for IBM, as competitors like Compaq capitalized on IBM's open
architecture, creating cheaper alternatives. This increased
competitive pressure, ultimately driving IBM out of the PC market as
rivals gained dominance with faster, more adaptable products.

Competitive
Pressure
BROADER IMPACT OF REVERSE ENGINEERING

Shaping
Influence on Modern
Tech Industry
Compatibility
Standards Applications 55%
IBM’s experience demonstrated the Open architectures and reverse Today, it’s widely used for software
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 CONCLUSION

KEY
INFLUENCE ON
IBM’s Strategic MARKET
TAKEAWAYS
Gamble DYNAMICS
IBM’s decision to allow Innovation vs Control Leveraging Reverse
Reverse engineering
open system architecture,
proved to be a crucial Engineering
though it led to
factor in the rapid
competitors overtaking
innovation and affordability Companies must balance the Companies can use reverse
them in the PC market, engineering to understand
of PCs, revolutionizing how benefits of encouraging
contributed significantly to innovation with the risks of competitors and innovate, but
technology is adopted and
the global expansion of losing market dominance must navigate the legal
spread.
personal computing. landscape carefully