Strategies to effectively compete with a computer company that is using a proprietary operating system
As the computer industry is developing at geometrical rates, so does the competition. Companies protect their rights and ideas in order to stay successful within the demanding market. The proprietary operating system enables a company to own all materials and products, particularly, software, ideas, and programs with the rights of ownership and primary developers. This greatly adds to the competition between companies and others are forced to come up with alternative avenues in securing their place in the business.
The proprietary operating system creates a sort of monopoly that allows the owner to use the software or program, make any copies of it, and add modifications in a complete or partial set. Since there are legal laws and patents that protect the usage of systems by other companies, other organizations have to come up with ways to counteract the competition. Privately owned software is usually encrypted with passwords or codes, is readable on a limited amount of computers or programs, and is restricted to the use of only a particular company.
In order for competitors to succeed, they could follow a similar strategy and limit the customer in their investment and usage of the software. So, a company could provide a person with a program or software and any add-ons or extensions of the software can only be purchased from the primary company, as they will only function with the original software (Stair 158). Often, competitors use high pricing, so that the customer is discouraged to pay a large sum of money again by switching to another company.
In this case, the customer has no choice but to continue using the products and services of the company he dealt with from the beginning. This is sometimes referred to as a “lock-in” strategy where a person is limited in their choices by the wants of the company (Zhu and Zhou 2). But the process changes when a company competes with another business that does not have private ownership of products and services.
The most effective type of pricing strategy
The modern world has experienced a great leap forward in computer technology and other innovations. This led to a lot of companies providing software that can be used publicly. This creates serious completion for companies that do not share their programs and ideas. Customers that acquire services of proprietary vendors become dependent on the company, whereas open-source programs and distributors allow for free access, modification, distribution, and copying of software.
Comparing to the privately-owned information, the public ones have less competition with the industry and are able to have lower expenses in producing and maintaining the software. Discounts and special offers can be used to attract returning customers and thus, the equation benefits both companies and consumers (Amant 104).
In the end, the benefits of public software outweigh the privately-owned ones because the decrease in competition and costs leads to a better attitude and return rates. People are able to exchange information, copy and upgrade the software using a vast amount of programs, and the number of companies involved in the business drastically increases. It is clearly evident that public networking and sharing of information is far more beneficial for companies than private ownership.
Works Cited
Amant, Kirk. Handbook of Research on Open Source Software. Hershey, United States: Idea Group Inc., 2007. Print.
Stair, Ralph. Principles of Information Systems. Boston, United States: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Zhu, Kevin and Zach Zhou. “Lock-In Strategy in Software Competition: Open-Source Software vs. Proprietary Software.” Articles in Advance 1110.0358 (2011): 1-10. Print.