Looking out on a landscape that includes a wider variety of choices than ever before – regional firms, national firms, global firms, virtual firms, legal outsourcing providers and contract firms, among others — their purchasing decisions continue to evolve.
According to this view, the fundamental building blocks of the economy will one day be "virtual firms", ever-changing networks of subcontractors and freelancers, managed by a core of people with a good idea.
The effectiveness of Cloud collaboration makes it easy for consultants and other professionals to band together in virtual firms.
Garlick says the move to becoming a virtual law firm means all staff are offered flexible and remote working, while the firm benefits from increased geographical coverage and the potential to expand its client base.
Magic Leap is often described as a potential rival to Oculus Rift, the virtual reality firm bought by Facebook for $2bn in 2014.
Anthony Batt, co-founder of virtual reality firm Wevr, says: "You can see brands creating room-scale simulations where consumers will interact with branded content.
Bradley Rhine, 46, who works out of his home in San Jose, Calif., is a chief executive of Cogentes, a virtual consulting firm specializing in the information technology industry.
Traditional firms will focus on R&D and marketing; manufacturing will be a service provided by global suppliers.Probably the best example of such a virtual electronics firm is Cisco, which makes Internet-routing gear.
In March 2014 after Facebook announced the acquisition of virtual reality firm Oculus, Persson cancelled a planned version of Minecraft for the company's Rift headset, saying that "Facebook creeps me out".
Facebook-owned virtual reality firm Oculus VR is getting into filmmaking with a new division called Story Studio, staffed by a team of veterans from the likes of Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic.
