History

ITI has served the tech industry longer than any other trade group. As the industry has changed, ITI has changed and adapted along with it.

The organization was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1916 as the National Association of Office Appliance Manufacturers. In 1929, the name was changed to the Office Equipment Manufacturers Institute as the group set out to strengthen its role in public policy. The Institute was reorganized in 1961 to cope more effectively with the issues confronting a rapidly changing and expanding industry, and it became known as the Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA).

In 1973, BEMA became the Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (CBEMA). For the next two decades, the association's value to member companies was manifest in numerous regulatory and legislative accomplishments, in successful efforts to build a network with counterparts in other nations, and in its ability to sustain voluntary industry standards programs in the U.S. and abroad.

The association again reorganized in 1994 and was renamed the Information Technology Industry Council or ITI. The new name better reflected the dynamic IT industry as it is today -- consisting of manufacturers and suppliers of computers, telecommunications, business equipment, software, and IT services.

Today, ITI continues to represent companies on the cutting edge of technology, and its mission today is identical to that of its founders in 1916 -- to promote the global competitiveness of its member companies.