Proprietary software, unlike open source software, is a pay-to-use service. Propriety software is developed by a small number of professionals working in a corporate think tank. These companies, to protect their intellectual property, provide the end user with only the binary code of a program (the part that only a computer can read). Because these companies make money by selling their programs, rather than their support packages, the source code proves invaluable.

Although the general trend of software development companies is to go open source, the biggest companies have resisted the temptation of open source. Microsoft, the infamous software giant, has been a leader in the proprietary software business model since the dawn of the computer age. Apple, the company holding the second largest share of the market, is also strictly proprietary. Apple even manufactures proprietary hardware, specific to Apple software. The fact that the two largest companies in the software industry have resisted opening their source code shows that proprietary software is still alive and profitable.

Apple computers have always dominated the multi-media market and are a strong force for proprietary software.

Check out the following links to proprietary software companies:
Microsoft
Apple

 

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