Proprietary hardware is computer hardware

Computer hardware

Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...

 which is owned by the proprietor.

Historically, most early computer hardware was designed as proprietary until the 1980s, when IBM PC

IBM PC

The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...

 changed this paradigm. Earlier, in 1970s, many vendors tried to challenge IBM's monopoly in the mainframe computer

Mainframe computer

Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...

 market by reverse engineering

Reverse engineering

Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...

 and producing hardware components electrically compatible with expensive equipment and (usually) able to run the same software. Those vendors were nicknamed plug compatible manufacturers (PCMs).

See also

• Vendor lock-in
  Vendor lock-in
  In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products and services, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs...
  
  
• Micro Channel architecture
  Micro Channel architecture
  Micro Channel Architecture was a proprietary 16- or 32-bit parallel computer bus introduced by IBM in 1987 which was used on PS/2 and other computers through the mid 1990s.- Background :...
  
  , a commonly cited historical example of proprietary hardware
• 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...