Along the same lines, most companies now want "subscriptions" to their product. Customer subscriptions are highly sought after.

For example, toothpicks are perishable (or maybe more accurately consumable), but there are a lot of toothpick brands to choose from. Wouldn't it be nice if you could lock in a customer to recurring purchases of just your brand? Enter subscriptions. You see it happening all the time, everywhere.

On Amazon "subscribe and save" to any household perishable good. Microsoft replacing its corporate HUP program (which let you buy full office for $10) with a bogus replacement that just lets you get discounted subscriptions to 365. And of course, the most egregious offender, Adobe Creative Cloud.

Durable products, be they physical or software, are great for consumers but bad for companies. Hence, companies are moving away from them.