‘The way forward is software as a service, which is hard to believe’ – PXS Distribution

Rob Hall MD of PXS Distribution believes users are now more mobile than ever before thanks to cloud computing and faster broadband speeds. But what does this mean for businesses…

With the ongoing trend for consumers and businesses to move away from annual subscriptions to end point products, the focus has to change from a fixed product launch once a year to a constant improvement of features and functionality within products.

This is clearly demonstrated by the launch of Windows 10 as the final version of Windows, in addition, the fact that Apple OS X has effectively been stuck on OS X 10 for years and new releases have been free of charge.

When you add the cloud-based Office 365 subscription, which allows users to pay monthly and always have the latest version, it makes version numbers obsolete. The same is true for Adobe with its Creative Cloud offering.

For consumers, this means that finally, after decades of software companies offering various license models, the way forward is software as a service, which is hard to believe after the cold reception SaaS originally received. This once again shows that all ideas are only as good as the market players that support them.

With the rise of cloud-based storage, and ever increasing broadband speeds, consumers and businesses are making use of these services to their benefit. Business users are now more mobile and more productive when mobile. Yes, you always saw people hammering out documents and spreadsheets on their notebooks on the train, but now they are able to send and receive email, create documents and work as normal even when working remotely.

Smaller, lighter and more powerful computers mean that when you do want to get something done, it is not a 12-act drama getting your notebook out. It is more and more acceptable that devices no longer have 500GB of storage; files are stored in the cloud. Consumers are more willing to trust the cloud too.

It helps that Microsoft and Google are offering fantastic products which rely heavily on cloud services. Without these key market players, SaaS and cloud storage would only be used by uber geeks, like me.

As a geek, I have always liked the idea of a fully immersive gaming or entertainment experience, but the tech always failed to actually deliver.

Now we have products like Oculus Rift and the tether-free VR One giving users a real taste of VR. We still have an issue with the games and apps playing catchup, but at least the hardware side of things is getting closer to what it should be.

At Gamescom I visited the VR One booth and was blown away to see a queue around the stand, with people patiently waiting to test the Trinus VR app, which allows PC games to be streamed wirelessly to a smartphone in the VR One headset.

When it comes to fun, it is amazing to finally see virtual reality gaining mainstream traction.

Rob Hall is MD of PXS Distribution.