What is a Proprietary System?
A proprietary system is a software application, hardware device or technology owned and controlled by a specific organisation. It’s designed for internal use or to provide a competitive advantage and is typically protected by intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights or trademarks. Unlike open-source systems, the source code and underlying technology of proprietary systems are not publicly available.
Benefits:
Competitive Advantage: Proprietary systems can provide a unique selling proposition and differentiate an organisation from its competitors.
Control: Organisations have full control over the system’s development, customisation and updates.
Security: Proprietary systems can be more secure as the codebase is not publicly accessible.
Revenue Generation: Proprietary systems can be licensed or sold to generate revenue.
Use Cases:
Financial Services: Trading platforms, risk management systems.
Manufacturing: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, supply chain management software.
Retail: Point-of-sale systems, customer relationship management (CRM) platforms.
Technology: Operating systems (e.g., Windows, macOS), office suites (e.g., Microsoft Office).
Key Components:
Intellectual property: Patents, copyrights, or trademarks protecting the system.
Source code: The underlying programming code that defines the system’s functionality.
Data: Information processed and stored by the system.
User interface: The way users interact with the system.
Licensing agreements: Terms and conditions for using the system.
