01.04.08

GXS spends a lot of time working on the concepts of “the hybrid model”, where software and services are integrated to work together to optimize B2B, but this hardware and services combination is pretty interesting as well!  The idea of hardware service combinations is old hat for cell phone users already, but this is a new approach.  I wonder if this could lead to the sale of USB hard drives that feature online backup services as well?  Could this catch on in the commercial space as well as for consumers?

The attraction of services in this kind of application is the universal availability characteristic.  I have often found myself using Google web applications — like Documents — not as application substitutes (I know it is not cool to speak well of new Microsoft versions, but I am really fond of Office 2007 — best yet!), but to have data available across systems and locations.  This is also a major advantage for companies that utilize supply chain applications running on the grid, as they can access — through a web UI — their information from anywhere they can connect, and know that they are looking at the same data as their partners.  To date the enterprise software market has approached software and SaaS as rivals (note the models of SAP), but I wonder if — like the USB disk — the future is more likely innovative combinations that combine the strength of both.