The Desktop is Dead: the Fourth Wave of Business Applications

Due to a number of different converging factors, we are finally at a time where the vision of on-demand software is becoming a reality. One important market driver is the growing popularity of online consumer applications like Google Gmail and Microsoft Virtual Earth. These products are changing public perceptions about web-based applications by exposing users to the benefits of having software delivered as a service via the web. With the growing popularity of web-based business products such as NetSuite and Salesforce.com, applications like ERP and CRM have become drivers in the corporate software arena. These on-demand applications allow businesses to quickly and easily extend the value of a program to the entire enterprise - a previously daunting task for organizations using the client/server-based approach.