Proprietary

When you have to make the choice between proprietary and open standards for a product you are offering, you have to consider the long term implications of that.

A few years ago, Microsoft launched a new type of DRM. It was called "PlaysForSure." Their thought was that it should be a new standard that all the online music stores and digital music players would be able to use. The intent was that if everyone used the same DRM format, everyone would be much happier. The fact is that DRM is designed to take features away and not to enhance the listener experience.

So, there are two concepts that I am talking about here.

The first is providing a service that is unique to you. We all want to "lock" our customers in to using our technology. We hope that if we "lock" them in to our service or product using proprietary technology that we'll have a greater chance at customer retention. More often than not, we want to "lock" them in because we know that we are terrible at customer support and the customer experience, so we have to trick them in to sticking with us. continue reading...