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Compaq Computer Corporation was a tech company that rose to prominence as a major player in personal computing in the 1980s and 1990s. Much of Compaq's success was directly attributable to its pioneering work producing portable personal computers (PCs) and IBM-compatible computers. Through its efforts in regard to the latter, Compaq also played a pivotal role in ensuring the preservation of the open-system model in the PC industry. For a time, Compaq was the world's largest supplier of personal computing systems. It remained one of the computer industry's biggest names until it encountered financial problems as a result of the dot-com bubble bust of the late 1990s and early 2000s and was purchased by Hewlett-Packard in 2002. Though Compaq lived on as the name brand of Hewlett-Packard's line of lower-end systems until 2013, the actual company ceased to exist. Regardless, Compaq's legacy as one of the most influential computer companies in history remains firmly cemented.