PowerPoint has been the de facto presentation software for an astounding 25 years. Microsoft released PowerPoint with Windows 3.0 in 1990. As of 2012, it accounted for 95% of the presentation software market, according to Bloomberg. Approximately 350 PowerPoint-based presentations are given every second, and the program has been installed on one billion computers.
It’s no secret that PowerPoint isn’t loved by all users. Yet as all other technologies change and evolve (except, perhaps, email), presentation software has made little progress over the years. Why?
It’s certainly not from a lack of trying. Several companies have developed Web-based and installable desktop software alternatives to PowerPoint. In fact, emaze recently listed 51 of them.
But so far no competitor has made much headway in dethroning PowerPoint.
A new player
That may be about to change. Experts say a new service called Swipe, which is backed by London VC Passion Capital, may have the best chance of truly disrupting the presentation software market. Swipe started in the education arena, where it has been available for several years at no cost to teachers. Now, the company is offering a Pro account with features tailored toward business users, and people are taking notice.
Swipe is a cloud-based tool that uses a device agnostic approach and responsive design to make creation and consumption capable with any modern browser, but with the ability to sync the playback of presentations in real time to allow for greater audience participation. Users can create interactive presentations that are hosted online and watch a presentation live on their own device.
In other words, users can present and control their slides live from any compatible device with a network connection, and as they “swipe” through the slides, everyone else who is viewing the same URL on their own device are able to see and interact with the deck in real time.
“We think presentations should be more like conversations, where the audience doesn’t only digest and consume but rather contributes to the flow and becomes an active part of it,” said Horia Cernusca, Swipe co-founder and CEO. “We move presentations into the mobile context, a participatory context, which sets them free from the projector and the traditional idea of a lecture.”
Feedback via Analytics
Perhaps an even more appealing aspect is the fact that business customers who use Swipe will also be able to use Google Analytics to see whether or not their presentations actually make an impact. They can measure how many people view their presentations and track how specific people interact with them. Businesses can even view click-through rates on a call-to-action, such as a live poll or sign-up form, or they can see when a viewer simply stopped following along completely. From this data, the business could potentially revise the presentation or devise ways to make it more engaging.
Swipe said its users already include employees at Facebook, Mozilla, Dropbox, Google, PayPal, Adidas and Skype.
Swipe’s impact may have even jarred Microsoft into taking action on the presentation software front. Microsoft recently developed Sway, its own version of a modern business presentation program. Sway was made available to the general public as of Aug. 5.
