Thanks James, it's good to hear insights from someone...

Thanks James, it's good to hear insights from someone entrenched in the industry of scanning/surveying.

So i suppose there was always going to be the need for desktop based CAD/Point cloud software. Especially for processing and tidying up the initial data.

I guess the main advantage of browser based software like Pointerra is having no requirement for software installation if sharing datasets between offices or companies and less training required for use by non-technical staff? E.g. those who may just be taking measurements, ensuring adequate coverage was picked up in the field or adding comments and annotations/document attachments to the shared environment?

I haven't used it myself but the data management functions straight from the browser sound quite useful as well. E.g. Running a large Mobile Laser Scan(MLS) survey along a corridor and then allowing the easy clipping and exporting of sub-sections to contractors etc. For major projects with many contractors that kind of capability sounds quite useful.

I recall working on a major road project and trying to get the various Lidar files off contractors became difficult, with many files each in a grid etc and then different surveyor contractors delivering massive file sizes, with duplicate overlaps of MLS scans that would basically crash most pcs. I then saw some of this data in Pointerra through a Geocortex plugin in and me and my colleague were very impressed with the performance (although obviously the detail became reduced a little)

To me this data management aspect and increasing analytics options sound like the main value adds, most likely with the large projects and companies but I'm sure some small firms might like it for the easy sharing of data and especially if more flexible subscriptions came on offer.

But i do see your points around the power of the free desktop installed viewers with none of the limitations of the web browsers, it seems Pointerra and others will need to keep identifying the pain points and adding the conveniences. sounds like Ian and the team are really trying hard to reach out and solve these sorts of workflow issues so i am confident!