COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE: HISTORY, FEATURES, BENEFITS, EXAMPLES - TECHNOLOGY - 2024

The commercial software is one operating system that is marketed and can be free or private use. In the first case, it offers open access so that users can use, modify or distribute the system; in the second case, there are strict restrictions related to these actions.

So, the characteristic associated with freedom or privacy has little to do with the monetary value of the software, but rather has to do with how many restrictions the operating system has in terms of the modifications to which its source code can be subjected..

Today, Adobe Photoshop is the most popular commercial image editing software. Source: pixabay.com

Among the most popular commercial software, Windows stands out, whose version number 10 was used by more than 500 million people in 2017. It can be said that most commercial software is proprietary; however, there is a good portion of these that are free.

In many cases, free commercial software offers an extensive technical support service, which allows users to manipulate the system with a significant degree of support. This characteristic also applies to private commercials.

History

Before 1970 there were no very clear regulations regarding the possibility or not of commercialization of software.

In fact, it was widely considered that the sharing of source codes of different operating systems was beneficial for the general development of the computer industry, especially in terms of the standardization of processes.

Proprietary software

At the end of the 70's and the beginning of the 80's, proprietary software began to emerge, the first commercial software to appear.

One of the precursors to this scenario was Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft. According to Gates, sharing an operating system was the same as stealing, as he considered that the value of the work carried out by the software developers was not being taken into account.

Around this time, the US government forced operating system companies to distinguish between hardware and software. Many researchers consider that from then on the first source codes began to be regulated.

The IBM company was also a pioneer in creating the legal structure that would allow them to market their operating systems.

Background of free software

A decade later, in 1983, American-born programmer Richard Stallman started a movement for free software. Stallman's idea was to make a totally free operating system available to the general public.

This freedom meant that users could use, distribute and modify said system at will. The name of this project presented by Stallman was GNU.

Three years later the term free software was registered, which meant changing a paradigm that had been established years before.

Present

After years of development, nowadays there are many forms of commercial software, each with different manipulation possibilities and with different offerings of experiences for the user.

Among the most prominent are the BSD (Berkley Software Distribution) license, Shareware software and, of course, Microsoft, one of the best known and most widely used worldwide.

Commercial software features

Is payment

The main characteristics of commercial software is that they are sold for a certain amount of money. They are operating systems that are marketed, so they require the user to pay for their use.

It can be free or private

Not all commercial software is proprietary. There are operating systems that have their source codes restricted, but there are others that allow users to modify and / or distribute the platform as they deem necessary.

Can be updated

Commercial software offers possibilities for updating, since the creative companies are constantly developing new technologies and improvements to the existing platform.

May have little chance of modification

Given that some commercial software is proprietary - in fact, most are - it is difficult to find systems of this type that allow modifying the source code, or that have few restrictions regarding distribution.

They are usually reliable

Behind the creation of commercial software there are usually incorporated companies that provide guarantees to their users. Therefore, these companies present themselves as trustworthy to buyers, who are willing to invest in the operating systems they offer.

They are not personalized

Commercial software is structured in a certain way. Custom versions are not offered, so these systems will always work the same for all users.

They have a guarantee

The reliability that we mentioned above is reflected in the different guarantees that these companies usually offer. Some of the guarantees include from offering free technical advice to the possibility of refunding the money in case of not being satisfied after a certain time of use.

QA

Commercial operating systems have undergone various quality control tests, this with the intention of ensuring that users will be satisfied with the operation of the software.

Different forms of payment

Each software can offer different payment options. For example, some request a one-time payment, others offer annual memberships, and others request monthly payments.

Price range

Just as there are a wide variety of types of commercial operating systems, there is also a wide range of prices. These will depend on the technical characteristics of the software and the additional services offered to users to improve the experience.

Advantage

Accessible

In general, commercial software is quite accessible, both for its prices and for the sites from which it can be obtained.

Nowadays it is possible to access these systems just by having an Internet connection. They can also be purchased at any physical store specialized in computing.

Greater compatibility

Commercial operating systems are often much more compatible with each other and with other programs than non-commercial software.

Today's most powerful operating system companies offer commercial systems, so they have a large number of programs that complement each other and that they market to the public.

Easy to use

The interfaces of this type of software are usually easy to use. They are characterized by offering intuitive platforms and are usually very focused on providing an optimal user experience in all senses.

This is why, in addition to offering specific functionalities that solve user problems, they focus their efforts on making the interface friendly.

Majority use

This type of software is used in most areas of society. Universities, colleges, research centers and other institutions are some examples of influential bodies that, for the most part, use commercial software.

Technical support

One of the most popular characteristics of commercial software is that personalized technical service is part of its offering.

Since many of the people who use these systems are not familiar with the field of computing, the fact of having technical support represents one of the main advantages of such software.

Disadvantages

More expensive

Although in many cases commercial software is affordable, it is more expensive. This is because, in most cases, a greater number of people participate in the creation of commercial operating systems, which implies that the work of a larger team must be recognized.

There are few companies that generate them

The market for commercial software is occupied by a few large companies, which has a number of important consequences.

First, there are fewer options on the market, which means that there is quite a limited variety. This may mean that there are users who do not see their needs satisfied by any of the companies that provide commercial software.

On the other hand, in a monopoly scenario like this, there are very high entry barriers for new companies that want to participate in the field of commercial operating systems.

Dependence

As a consequence of the previous point, users can end up being very dependent on a particular company, because it is the only one that offers commercial software related to a specific field.

This implies that the user has very little possibility of experimentation. Likewise, it is at the mercy of the changes made by the supplier company, since it depends entirely on its products.

If the company goes bankrupt, everything disappears

Companies that offer commercial operating systems are usually quite strong. However, there is the possibility that these companies may declare bankruptcy.

If this happens, everything related to the operating system will stop working. This ranges from the software itself to updates and other additional services that are being provided.

As a consequence of the dependency described in the previous point, a scenario of disappearance of the provider company would leave the user in a situation of abandonment.

Differences with free software

As the developers of GNU free software, one of the first free software projects ever to appear, point out, commercial software may or may not be free.

Free software is one whose interface allows users to modify, distribute, run and even improve the operating system in question, and it can be free or paid. In other words, for software to be free it must have its source code available to users.

On the other hand, commercial software is one that is marketed. That is, users can access it by paying a certain amount of money.

For this reason, they are not opposite notions: although the majority of commercial software is proprietary, there are also free commercial operating systems.

Examples of commercial software

Microsoft Windows

It is the leading commercial software today, with more than 500 million users worldwide. It first emerged in 1985 and quickly displaced the proposal that Apple offered to the market a year earlier, in 1984.

The most revolutionary thing about Windows was that it offered an interface based on windows (which are translated into English as windows); in this way the user experience was much friendlier.

The most recent versions of Microsoft Windows include the option to unify the different devices that users have - such as tablets, mobile phones, desktop computers and others - with the intention of making the experience much more fluid and complete.

Adobe photoshop

This system is mainly focused on professional image editing. In fact, it is currently the most used for it. Adobe Photoshop emerged in 1990, first only for Apple systems and then for Windows as well.

The different programs associated with Adobe Photoshop offer very specific and varied functionalities to users. For example, it is possible to make 3D designs and share the images through the network in a very simple way.

Although the focus of Adobe Photoshop is on images, it has also included other functions that, if you like, are complementary. For example, such is the case of the treatment of fonts, as well as the possibility of exporting designs directly to web pages and the option of including plugins produced by other companies, among many others.

Avast Antivirus

More than 400 million people use this antivirus on their computers. It is a software that has a free version and another called pro, which is paid.

The most outstanding feature of this antivirus is that it has an artificial intelligence engine through which the system learns very quickly about the best actions to defend against a cyber attack in real time.

Thanks to this functionality, the company is constantly updated in relation to new threats that arise and can develop mechanisms to protect its users very soon.

This company was born in 1991, and what made it popular in the beginning was the creation of totally free software with all the necessary functionalities to efficiently protect users.

Currently they continue to offer this version for free, but they also offer payment options, especially aimed at large companies that have more sophisticated cybersecurity needs.

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