Although a key must be physically connected in order to access or run an application, end users are not required to install any device drivers on their machines.
The virtual nature of software keys eliminates the need to ship a physical product, thus enabling end users to quickly install and use an application with minimal fuss.
An independent report by Vanson Bourne found that software vendors are losing revenue due to rigid licensing and delivery options.
[6] Since the demands of enterprise and end users are constantly evolving, software companies and device vendors must be able to adapt their pricing and packaging strategies on the fly.
[8] An entitlement management solution makes it possible to activate and provision cloud, on-premises, and embedded software applications from a single platform.
Self-service web portals allow end users to perform a variety of tasks themselves, cutting down on support calls and improving customer satisfaction.
Advanced data collection and reporting tools help optimize investment in the product roadmap and drive future business strategies.
[10] Only by analyzing end-user behaviors can software companies and device vendors make sound pricing, packaging, and marketing decisions that will improve their business processes and enhance the customer experience.
[14] However, since the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), that paradigm is shifting toward a more software-centric focus, as device vendors large and small make the inevitable business transformation into software companies.
"As I’ve noted in the past, it makes sense for us to closely examine technology markets to ensure consumers benefit from free and fair competition.
[21][22] Fines are insufficient to deter anti-competitive practices by high tech giants, according to European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.
"[23] Gig economy online marketplaces like Uber, Lyft, Handy, Amazon Home Services, DoorDash, and Instacart have perfected a process where workers deal bilaterally with gigs whose employers have none of the standard obligations of employers, while the platform operates the entire labor market to its own benefit – what some antitrust experts call a "for-profit hiring hall.
In response to price fixing allegations, Uber publicly stated that: "we believe the law is on our side and that"s why in four years no anti-trust agency has raised this as an issue and there has been no similar litigation like it in the U.S."[25] The spirit of the antitrust law is to protect consumers from the anticompetitive behavior of businesses that have either monopoly power in their market or companies that have banded together to exert cartel market behavior.
For example, the United States federal Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 criminalizes monopolistic business practices, specifically agreements that restraint of trade or commerce.
Antitrust law doesn't condemn a firm for developing a universally popular search engine, such as Google, even if that success leads to market dominance.