The technology industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation. Activity is driven by the increasing adoption of cloud-based services, the need for efficient resource utilisation, rising demand for scalable infrastructure, and growing importance of technologies such as virtualisation, containerisation, orchestration frameworks, and software-defined networking (SDN), which collectively enable the seamless deployment and management of applications in a highly dynamic and distributed environment. In the last three years alone, there have been over 3.6 million patents filed and granted in the technology industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Cloud: Multiprogramming operating systems. Buy the report here.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 2.5 million patents to analyse innovation intensity for the technology industry, there are 300+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Multiprogramming operating systems is a key innovation area in cloud

Multiprogramming operating systems facilitate the concurrent execution of multiple programmes, enabling efficient resource sharing among them. These operating systems enable effective utilisation of computer resources, including CPU time, memory, and input/output, while accommodating multiple users and running multiple applications simultaneously. By supporting concurrent operations, multiprogramming operating systems enhance system efficiency and enable efficient multitasking capabilities.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 180+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established technology companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of multiprogramming operating systems.

Key players in multiprogramming operating systems – a disruptive innovation in the technology industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Patent volumes related to multiprogramming operating systems

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
International Business Machines (IBM) 545 Unlock Company Profile
Microsoft 473 Unlock Company Profile
Intel 373 Unlock Company Profile
Oracle 210 Unlock Company Profile
JD.com 151 Unlock Company Profile
Huawei Investment & Holding 150 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 137 Unlock Company Profile
SoftBank Group 128 Unlock Company Profile
Ping An Insurance 126 Unlock Company Profile
GuangDong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications 106 Unlock Company Profile
Apple 105 Unlock Company Profile
Alphabet 101 Unlock Company Profile
Tencent 91 Unlock Company Profile
SAP 91 Unlock Company Profile
Inspur Electronic Information Industry 78 Unlock Company Profile
Dell Technologies 74 Unlock Company Profile
NVIDIA 62 Unlock Company Profile
China Investment 59 Unlock Company Profile
Furukawa 59 Unlock Company Profile
Baidu 54 Unlock Company Profile
ZTE 51 Unlock Company Profile
Nokia 44 Unlock Company Profile
Citrix Systems 41 Unlock Company Profile
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson 41 Unlock Company Profile
Canon 40 Unlock Company Profile
Qualcomm 38 Unlock Company Profile
Salesforce 34 Unlock Company Profile
Amazon.com 34 Unlock Company Profile
China Tower 32 Unlock Company Profile
Wuhan Note Exchange Center 32 Unlock Company Profile
Sony Group 28 Unlock Company Profile
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 27 Unlock Company Profile
Desktone 27 Unlock Company Profile
Nasdaq 26 Unlock Company Profile
State Grid 25 Unlock Company Profile
Ab Initio Software 25 Unlock Company Profile
Honeywell International 25 Unlock Company Profile
Hitachi 24 Unlock Company Profile
BlackBerry 23 Unlock Company Profile
Beijing ByteDance Technology 22 Unlock Company Profile
Tata Sons 20 Unlock Company Profile
NEC 20 Unlock Company Profile
360 Security Technology 19 Unlock Company Profile
Splunk 19 Unlock Company Profile
Advanced Micro Devices 19 Unlock Company Profile
NetApp 19 Unlock Company Profile
Cbfi Investment 18 Unlock Company Profile
HP 18 Unlock Company Profile
Lufax 17 Unlock Company Profile
JOYY 17 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

IBM is a leading patent filer in multiprogramming operating systems. The company’s patents are aimed at invention describing systems and methods for scheduling homogeneous workloads including batch jobs, and heterogeneous workloads including batch and dedicated jobs, with run-time elasticity wherein resource requirements for a given job can change during run-time execution of the job.

Other prominent patent filers in the space include Microsoft and Intel.

By geographic reach, Corizon leads the pack, followed by Ericsson and Thomson Licensing. In terms of application diversity, Dolby Laboratories holds the top position, followed by Canon and Sonos.

Multiprogramming operating systems have transformed the way computing resources are utilised and managed. Multiprogramming operating systems enable simultaneous execution of multiple programs, optimising resource allocation and enhancing overall system efficiency. With the cloud's flexibility and scalability, multiprogramming operating systems can handle diverse workloads, seamlessly share resources, and optimise resource utilisation.

To further understand how cloud is disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cloud Computing – Thematic Intelligence.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.