Capterra Glossary
Platform-independent
Platform independent refers to software that runs on a variety of operating systems or hardware platforms. It is the opposite of platform dependent, which refers to software that is only to run on one operating system or hardware platform. An example of platform-independent software is Microsoft Windows, which also runs on Mac systems. Because platform-independent software works across different computing environments, businesses don't have to maintain multiple versions of a type of program.
What Small and Midsize Businesses Need to Know About Platform-independent
SMBs, which typically have smaller tech budgets than larger companies, benefit from platform-independent software because it is cheaper than purchasing different software for different operating systems and hardware platforms. These companies also don't have to invest in expensive training for their staff to use multiple types of software.
Related Terms
- Synchronous
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Intranet
- Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR)
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Managed Service Provider (MSP)
- Haptics
- WAN (Wide-Area Network)
- Service-oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Augmented Reality (AR)
- Chief Information Officer (CIO)
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Service-Level Agreement (SLA)
- Scalability
- Data Center
- Authorization
- Multitenancy