Spheris, an exciting new application distribution platform, is hoping to revolutionize the way that developers and consumers connect. Sergey Tsyba, one of Spheris’ co-founders, describes the platform as “an open source decentralized application marketplace, a platform open for everyone who wants to buy and sell applications, from mobile apps and PC games to utility programs and enterprise software.”
In a day and age where the application marketplace is ruled by tech giants like Apple’s App Store and Google’s Google Play, Spheris aims to challenge the conventional model of software transactions and downloading capabilities. The proprietary platform utilizes blockchain technology, giving it significant advantages over the current application distribution systems.
The App Store and Google Play Meet their Match
It’s hard to believe how rapidly both the App Store and Google Play have grown in the past nine years. Both platforms were launched by Apple and Google, respectively, in 2008 and have both garnered over 2 million apps–soon to be 3 million. In 2016, Google Play received over 75 billion downloads, while its competitor the App Store received over 25 billion downloads.
Yet the incredible expansion of these platforms has not been without its pitfalls. Both platforms have strict quality control processes, as developers are required to submit their finished apps for review.
Of course, these reviews are important for security reasons. But they can often stifle would be app makers and software developers due to their more stringent requirements. Apple has undertaken in a process to shorten its approval process, as teams were “spending weeks to compile their products with all of Apple’s guidelines and ensuring the app didn’t contain any element that might harm its users.”
Nonetheless, Apple runs a tight ship, and developers are frequently notified by the Apple team to update their apps or face removal from the marketplace. The Google Play platform requires apps to be reviewed by an internal team, which can shorten the approval time from weeks to days, though there is no guarantee that the approval will happen this quickly.
Despite the attempts to speed up the approval process, App Store and Google Play would-be developers and app makers face a common problem–centralization. All products must go through either Apple or Google’s approval process and meet their set of rules to participate in the marketplace.
This adds security and predictability to the system, to be sure, but it can result in a more limited marketplace. This is where Spheris and its blockchain platform come to the forefront.
The system allows for direct connection between software developers and consumers. Developers, rather than having to rely on a centralized marketplace, can create their own markets and still be guaranteed security, payment, and anonymity.
The decentralization of the application and software marketplace means that more developers can connect with more consumers, thereby allowing products to spread and expand at even faster rates. Decentralization also creates a more competitive market, resulting in lower overall prices.
Out with the Middle Man
On traditional software and application marketplace systems like the App Store and Google Play, the middleman has a significant amount of power. Credit card companies and banks, which funnel payments from the consumer to the marketplace owner, can pass through operational costs to developers and consumers alike.
Developers are often charged transaction fees, sometimes from the market makers, banks, and credit card companies. Centralized systems that use middlemen are also much more susceptible to global events and exchange rate fluctuations.
With Spheris’ new blockchain platform, these risks are no longer relevant. The removal of the middleman that connects developer and consumer enables direct connection between the two parties and thereby cuts out additional transaction costs and fees.
The platform, powered by Ethereum, hopes to become the new standard in the decentralized application payment processing market as blockchain technology continues to increase in popularity and functionality.
Spheris’ Technology and Crowdsale
The Spheris platform is quite simple (click here for a more detailed explanation). Developers create and integrate an application and then register it with Spheris’ platform. Once the developer and application are registered, the developer can upload the application to Spheris’ storage system and its catalog.
On the other side of the table, any consumer can use the Spheris browser to search applications. Once the desired application is found, it is downloaded from the storage system while payment is made via the Spheris platform.
The entire process runs on the blockchain platform, resulting in a quick, easy transaction, free from middleman interference. The crowd sale for the platform begins on September 19, 2017, and can be accessed via the company’s website. With adequate funding and proper support, Spheris will revolutionize the way developers and consumers utilize the software and application marketplace.