China Standard Software (CSS) said Monday that its computer operating system (OS) NeoKylin is prepared to compete in the domestic market.

The company commented after two major US computer manufacturers started using its proprietary OS on their computers sold in the Chinese mainland.       

As China's technology in the OS area has advanced rapidly, and the Chinese public's concern over information security is surging, "our NeoKylin has a competitive edge over foreign systems in the Chinese market," Li Zhenning, a spokesperson for CSS, told the Global Times Monday.

Li said CSS signed a deal with Dell Inc last year and has provided the NeoKylin OS for 42 percent of Dell's personal computers sold in China, which media reports said was the first time a Western computer producer had used a China-developed OS.    

Another major US computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) has also agreed to install NeoKylin on its machines sold in China, after signing an agreement with CSS in June, said Li, adding that installation of NeoKylin on HP computers has begun.

Media reports said that NeoKylin was developed jointly by CSS and the National University of Defense Technology with significant government funding. China has been looking to develop an OS to reduce reliance on foreign systems, especially in light of the exposure of massive US spy programs by former National Security Agency (NSA) employee Edward Snowden.

"The exposure of the NSA's Prism program shows the importance of having a domestic OS that is autonomous and controllable," said Li. "And in that regard, we have a competitive advantage over other OS in the Chinese market."

NeoKylin OS has been widely used by the government as well as companies involved in defense, finance, education, public security and various other key sectors, and it has also been used in more than 30 provinces, according to a product description on the CSS website.

The description said NeoKylin dominated the market for Linux-based OS from 2011 to 2013.

Media reports suggested that given NeoKylin's growing market share in China, Dell and HP, which want to expand sales in the country, agreed to install the OS because it is preferred by government entities and State-owned enterprises.

More than that, Li noted, the development is a recognition of China's technology in the area of OS development.

Li said NeoKylin will grow rapidly as the technology keeps advancing.