In just two decades easy access to everything a consumer might desire has become the expected norm. Kicking off tentatively when the first secure online purchases were made in the mid 90s, the public quickly embraced online shopping. From books to music, fashion to food, the logistics of delivering quickly to consumers were soon mastered and the public too were persuaded of the security of buying what they might not have seen in the flesh, feeling secure enough to pay merchants they might not have been familiar with.

In all these instances traditional business is simply finding a new outlet. Warehouses remain stocked and food and fashion items produced, not knowing whether these products will remain on the shelves – or in the case of food, in the bin. Streaming of music, film and audiobook content is certainly a step forward if you consider waste, and without the need for as many physical disks to be produced there certainly is a little less to worry about if you have a flop on your hands, though a consumable is still being produced and at a very high cost.

And it is waste reduction that is a key driver for the latest peer-to-peer technology that revolves around lifestyle and service, with the emphasis shifting to unused opportunity (or indeed opportunity a customer would be hard-pushed to find themself). Airbnb might have launched a year before Uber, but some catchy naming on the part of the car service platform founded in San Francisco led to the coining of the term Uberisation for such a concept and the technology needed to fulfil it.

With peer-to-peer platforms the greatest benefit is efficiency, and linking people to people, rather than to a product, is a big difference. Passengers connect with close by drivers and it means a quick pick up for the passenger and also prevents drivers wasting time waiting for their paths to cross with a potential next customer.

 

 
With everyone so used to a model like this for ground transportation, why not take to the skies with it? As the first real-time private jet booking platform Stratajet does just that – and by doing so is opening up what might have been considered the reserve of the wealthy elite to a wider audience looking for better and more efficient ways of travelling. Connectivity is key, and maximizing the possibilities that already exist means the best value for customers. Platforms like this are complex and difficult to create and have to manage numerous variables in an instant. The result once achieved however, ultimately delivers total control to passengers, over timings, locations, and plane.

But what next? Platforms exist to maximise empty appointments at hairdressers, salons, and restaurants, and a new environmentally-friendly app To Good To Go launched recently helps restaurants sell remaining food at the end of the day rather than dispose of it. But what about doctors and dentists for example? With emergency appointments often required and healthcare bodies rightfully complaining about the cost of missed appointments, perhaps this is one advance that would benefit the public at large, and the industry too.

For now however it is time to ride the wave of the latest technology that is delivering a new ease to day-to-day living. So, choose where you want to go and make sure you get there when you want, how you want, and with the least amount of hassle.