If you have never used OnLive, the streaming, cloud-based gaming service, let me tell you about its most surprising feature: It actually works. Somehow, despite the fact that all of the computation and rendering is done on a remote server, and that the graphics and audio have to be encoded and sent across the internet, gaming with OnLive is really very good. Now, however — starting in 2012 — OnLive wants to tap into the real money: It wants to use its technology to provide the PC desktop as a service. It wants to give you access to Photoshop running on a high-end server, from the OnLive client on your laptop, smartphone, or TV.

Desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) is kind of like software-as-a-service (Office 365, Gmail), but taken to the next level. It’s like using Remote Desktop on Windows Thin PC to log into an instance of Windows running on a Windows 2008 Hyper-V server — but instead of the server being located in your local office, it’s in a third-party data center somewhere. Basically, DaaS is all about providing a desktop-like experience over an internet connection, both for employees at the office, or those at home or on the road. This is quite tough because the average internet connection is only a few megabits — but fortunately, that’s all that OnLive needs.

Just like OnLive for games, which replaces an expensive Xbox 360 or PS3 with a “mini console” for your TV (or just an app on your Windows or Mac computer), OnLive DaaS would mean that a business would only ever have to buy minimum-spec computers for its employees. Instead of investing in expensive workstations that can run Final Cut Pro or Photoshop, all a business needs is a big display attached to an internet-connected thin client capable of decoding OnLive’s signal. Imagine the smile on the IT admin’s face when you tell him that the only software he ever has to update is the OnLive client. If your company still has an IT admin after switching to OnLive, that is…

The other important aspect of DaaS is platform agnosticism: It doesn’t matter if you want to run a Windows app or game, but you only own a Mac; as long as your device can decode OnLive’s codec, you’re fine. This also extends to mobile devices — OnLive is coming to iOS and Android, meaning you’ll soon be able to play Crysis on your iPhone — and dumb devices like TVs or projectors. In other words, assuming a decent 3G or 4G connection, you’ll be able to keep all of your files in the OnLive cloud, and then just tap into it when needed; at the office, at home, at the airport, on the plane, and when giving a presentation in a foreign country.

Of course, once you nail the deal, you’ll be able to retire to your hotel room and play a few rounds of OnLive Modern Warfare 3, too.

Read more at Technology Review