Unregulated Software vs Compliant Software

Developers should understand unregulated software to navigate ethical, legal, and security implications in fields such as cybersecurity, data privacy, and compliance-driven industries meets developers should learn and apply compliant software practices when building applications that handle sensitive data, operate in regulated industries, or require certification for legal operation. Here's our take.

Unregulated Software

Nice Pick

Developers should understand unregulated software to navigate ethical, legal, and security implications in fields such as cybersecurity, data privacy, and compliance-driven industries

Pros

• It is relevant when working on projects in ungoverned environments, assessing risks in software supply chains, or contributing to open-source communities where self-regulation is common
• Related to: software-compliance, open-source-governance

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Compliant Software

Developers should learn and apply compliant software practices when building applications that handle sensitive data, operate in regulated industries, or require certification for legal operation

Pros

• Specific use cases include developing medical software under HIPAA, financial applications under PCI-DSS, or any system processing personal data under GDPR to avoid legal penalties and build trust
• Related to: security-compliance, data-privacy

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Unregulated Software is a concept while Compliant Software is a methodology. We picked Unregulated Software based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Unregulated Software wins

Based on overall popularity. Unregulated Software is more widely used, but Compliant Software excels in its own space.