Commercial software
Encyclopedia
Commercial software, or less commonly, payware, is computer software
that is produced for sale
or that serves commercial
purposes.
Commercial software is most often proprietary software
, but free software
packages may also be commercial software.
All or parts of software packages and services that support commerce are increasingly made available as free software
.
This includes products from Red Hat
, Apple Computer
, Sun Microsystems
, Google
, and Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft Corporation uses "commercial software", to describe their business model
.
and open-source software
may also be commercial software.
This is a fact that the Free Software Foundation
emphasizes, and is the basis of the Open Source Initiative
.
Under the free software business model, free software vendors may charge a fee for distribution and offer pay support and software customization services.
Proprietary software uses a different business model, where a customer of the proprietary software pays a fee for a license to use the software.
This license may grant the customer the ability to configure some or no parts of the software themselves.
Often some level of support is included in the purchase of proprietary software, but additional support services (especially for enterprise applications) are usually available for an additional fee.
Some proprietary software vendors will also customize software for a fee.
Free software is generally available at no cost and can result in permanently lower costs compared to proprietary software
.
With free software, businesses can fit software to their specific needs by changing the software themselves or by hiring programmers to modify it for them.
Free software often has no warranty, and more importantly, generally does not assign legal liability to anyone.
However, warranties are permitted between any two parties upon the condition of the software and its usage.
Such an agreement is made separately from the free software license.
A report by Standish Group says that adoption of open source
has caused a drop in revenue to the proprietary software
industry by about $60 billion per year.
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
that is produced for sale
Selling
Selling is offering to exchange something of value for something else. The something of value being offered may be tangible or intangible. The something else, usually money, is most often seen by the seller as being of equal or greater value than that being offered for sale.Another person or...
or that serves commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
purposes.
Commercial software is most often proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
, but free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
packages may also be commercial software.
All or parts of software packages and services that support commerce are increasingly made available as free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
.
This includes products from Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
, Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, and Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft Corporation uses "commercial software", to describe their business model
Business model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
.
Free and open-source software
While less common than commercial proprietary software, freeFree software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and open-source software
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
may also be commercial software.
This is a fact that the Free Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
emphasizes, and is the basis of the Open Source Initiative
Open Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product...
.
Under the free software business model, free software vendors may charge a fee for distribution and offer pay support and software customization services.
Proprietary software uses a different business model, where a customer of the proprietary software pays a fee for a license to use the software.
This license may grant the customer the ability to configure some or no parts of the software themselves.
Often some level of support is included in the purchase of proprietary software, but additional support services (especially for enterprise applications) are usually available for an additional fee.
Some proprietary software vendors will also customize software for a fee.
Free software is generally available at no cost and can result in permanently lower costs compared to proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
.
With free software, businesses can fit software to their specific needs by changing the software themselves or by hiring programmers to modify it for them.
Free software often has no warranty, and more importantly, generally does not assign legal liability to anyone.
However, warranties are permitted between any two parties upon the condition of the software and its usage.
Such an agreement is made separately from the free software license.
A report by Standish Group says that adoption of open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
has caused a drop in revenue to the proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
industry by about $60 billion per year.
See also
- Commercial off-the-shelfCommercial off-the-shelfIn the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...
- Retail softwareRetail softwareRetail software is computer software sold to end consumers, usually under restricted licenses. Until the emergence of the Internet, retail software represented, until the 2000s, the vast majority of all end consumer software used and was referred to as shrinkware because software almost always...
- Proprietary softwareProprietary softwareProprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
- Gratis versus LibreGratis versus LibreGratis versus libre is the distinction between two meanings of the English adjective "free"; namely, "for zero price" and "with little or no restriction"...
- SharewareSharewareThe term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...