I really like the idea of software-as-a-service. But I’m not ready yet to give up my own applications. They’re too powerful, too handy, and too hard to live without.
But maybe that’s about to change.
For me—and for many other people—that’s what software-as-a-service has been about. Web-based solutions designed to be used by people connected to the Internet. Of course, another approach to software has a service has been technologies like Java or browser plug-ins, which enable people to selectively and dynamically download and use software programs.
But there’s another angle to software-as-a-service. It doesn’t just have to be about using Web interfaces and browsers to access hosted software, or downloading plug-ins. It can also be about streaming full-blown Windows applications from a centralized location (hosted environment, corporate servers, etc.) down to local computers (laptops or desktops). Most users have plenty of raw processing power available. What’s been missing is a way to easily package applications, stream them efficiently, install them correctly, and manage any licensing requirements on an on-going basis.
That’s were companies like Endeavors Technologies comes in. While Endeavors (based in Irvine, California, www.endeavors.com) has been around for a dozen years or so and has had successful application streaming products available for years, their new Application Jukebox SaaS Edition directly addresses the issues of packaging and managing the delivery of desktop applications, upgrades and patches to customers in a software-as-a-service model.
I believe that there’s a big opportunity for both software companies and organizations when it comes to the “virtualization” of traditional desktop software programs and software-as-a-service, and that the market is going to see a significant expansion of their use over the next years.
