Final answer:
Storage devices, particularly those with magnetic encoding like hard drives, and microprocessors are essential for computers to process and store large amounts of data permanently.
Step-by-step explanation:
Computer systems always include storage devices for permanent storage of instructions and data. The device that made it possible for digital computers to efficiently process large amounts of information was the microprocessor. It is an integrated circuit that allowed computer technology, which used to fill an entire room, to fit within a small box, leading to the widespread use of personal computers.
The development of digital devices significantly benefited from the ability to produce and use magnetic fields to magnetically encode information, as seen in devices like hard drives. By the end of the 1980s, microprocessors were found not just in computers but in various electronic devices, demonstrating their crucial role in modern computing.