The Livewire blog creates the forum for Infosys, Communication Service Providers and Media and Entertainment Companies to discuss and share insights on the key industry challenges, opportunities, trends and solutions.

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May 31, 2009

Riding the Netbook wave

We have seen a number of announcements from Wireless Operators recently regarding Netbooks. Most of them have either announced plans to sell netbooks or have already started selling them. With advent of iPhone and other Smart Phones, a new form factor of devices emerged which was seen as an opportunity for Wireless operators to promote high-priced data plans. This not only helped them to monetize these phones and grow their customer base but they also saw a multi-fold rise in data usage.

Many industry analysts have reported sluggishness and slow down in the uptake of smart phones in general given this economic climate. Operators have now started to see these ultraportable laptops (with built-in wireless broadband) as a means to promote their Wireless Broadband services through higher priced data plans.

With evolution of these devices, many leading PC makers and even Mobile equipment makers have announced plans to introduce Netbooks. We are starting to see intense competition brewing in this space. I believe the most interesting competition will be in the retail sales of these devices. I am waiting to see who will lead the sales of these devices (whether it will be the PC/Laptop retailers or the Wireless Operators). With a wide network of Retail locations, I believe Wireless Operators are in a much better position to succeed in this space.

The price of these devices will also determine its adoption. Wireless operators have usually promoted mobile device adoption by subsidizing the price of the devices and relying on the service contracts. We are starting to see the same kind of subsidies on Netbooks also. With the GEN Y population wanting to be always connected, these subsidies (resulting in prices as low as $99) will definitely increase the uptake of these devices by Gen Y and students especially.

I am definitely interested in seeing how this is going to take shape in developing countries where internet usage is still low. Subsidized netbooks can reach a wider population in these countries and result in the proliferation of Internet usage (similar to the way mobile phone usage proliferated).

What are your thoughts on this new emerging device category? Will Netbooks provide more revenue opportunities for the Wireless Operators or will these devices result in operators becoming simple pipes carrying data (like the traditional broadband operators) in an already “open” world where the walled gardens have already crumbled in the Mobile space?

Posted by Sandeep Chandrasekar Seshadri at 4:51 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

May 20, 2009

Twitter says NO to ad revenue

When the whole world is moving towards putting ads and making revenues, Twitter is looking for something different - how to monetize without ads.

Twitter believes that putting ad next to their 140 character messages might irritate users. Also, running an AD business is a big venture.

 

Twitter is exploring corporate tie-ups for paid services. In UK, it has reportedly struck a deal with Vodafone for an add-on service that provides directory of commerical accounts, that can be used to verify the legitimacy of accounts.

Twitter is looking for ideas.. 

 

Posted by Sankara Krishnan at 6:03 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 15, 2009

International CTIA Wireless 2009 – The Final Roundup

Wireless industry is perhaps one of the most innovative among other industries. The industry players are constantly trying to “woo” their customers through innovations in device, content and the core-network that serves the customers.

Infosys was present at CTIA Wireless 2009 to showcase its capabilities in the Wireless space and witness the latest buzz in the industry. We had a chance to meet with people from various walks of the industry, some leading industry analysts and visionaries and we experienced first hand the latest innovations that are currently happening in this very interesting space. Apple’s influence on the industry was clearly felt throughout the conference and there is so much ongoing effort for innovations in application software space. Now that everyone is launching an App Store, its time for the Carriers to leverage this tide and monetize the potential of the App Store business model.

Latha Kalainesan, our Wireless Practice Head from Communication, Media and Entertainment group was interviewed by BNet TV during the event. In this video interview, she articulated our vision in the wireless domain and talked about what Infosys is currently pursuing in the Wireless space that can help operators address the tremendous opportunity that exists for them.

Posted by Sandeep Chandrasekar Seshadri at 6:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Innovative ways to generate revenues from Mobile Games

The previous post on Livewire by Sankar highlights one pretty interesting fact about the increasing willingness of the users to pay for Mobile Games. With the advent of iPhone and other smart phones, there is a transformation happening in the Handheld Gaming space and we are seeing sophisticated games coming to mobile phones.

The question on the table now is – How can Operators, mobile game developers, advertisers and brands leverage this growing industry and increase their consumer’s share of the wallet? What innovations can they pursue to create revenues from the consumers who are still undecided about paying an “upfront cost” for a game?

We are already seeing some traction in this area with some early adopters trying out innovative ways to make money from Mobile Games. Some thoughts:

In-Game Advertising – This is something we have already started seeing in the mobile games. Advertisers and Operators can leverage this and place dynamic, targeted yet non-intrusive ad placements within the games. Most often, since users are engaged completely in the games, any non invasive but intelligent placements of Ads will not go unnoticed. This way, operators can drive more adoption by distributing games for free yet create revenue streams through Ad-placements. Imagine ad placements within the game’s real estate (like you see a brand being promoted in a movie), wont you notice the ad or the brand? Other opportunities exist for ad-placements like the moments when users wait for a new level or the game itself to load. These are opportunities not only for targeted ad-placements but also related content or other game recommendations.

In-Game Micro Transactions – Imagine playing a game and you are 1 level from finish line and the only way to get to the next level is by defeating the evil king who stands between you and the next level. You have only 2 lives remaining and you have almost exhausted your artillery. You wish if only you had that magic weapon that has the power to make your opponent disappear. Would you be interested in buying that weapon at that moment for 10 cents? I think you will!! Since gamers are intensely focused and actively involved in the gaming experience, Operators and Gaming developers should look at leveraging these “impulse buy” situations. If such innovations can be pursued, the basic game can be distributed free of cost to drive adoption and revenues can be achieved through these micro-transactions.

Increase Brand Presence – Brands are increasingly looking at mobile and social media as the next frontier to promote their brand presence and connect with their target consumers. Why not look at Mobile Games as another channel for increasing the brand presence? Brands and Game developers can collaborate to create games centered on the brand, a particular theme or a specific product. Telcos and Content Providers can also look at such theme-based games and applications to promote specific content like Ring Tones and Wallpapers (through micro-transactions) related to an artist tour or a movie release.

What other innovations can the Operators and Game developers pursue in the mobile gaming space?

Of course, all these aren’t possible without the Operators being able to support such flexible new ways of billing for micro-transactions in the middle of a game or the Ad Providers/Operators being able to insert relevant ads within the games? Are the operators equipped for this?

What are your thoughts?

Posted by Sandeep Chandrasekar Seshadri at 2:18 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

May 8, 2009

One in four are willing to pay for a game

Finally, US seems to be catching up with Japan and Korea in wireless madness. When I was in Korea, I noticed normal households having 2GBPS bandwidth and I was stunned. In my previous company, I launched wireless sites on NTT DoCoMos I-menu and the wait times were an average 18-24 months. In the US, it is much easier to create an iPhone app - you dont have to wait that long to get noticed, if you can create that stickiness and addiction.

The new survey by PopCap Games on 57% of AT&T's wireless customers shows some interesting statistics - 50% play games during work time, 62% of the people play 15 minutes or less, and 40% play weekly or more often.

The question for the game developers is "Do they pay". The answer from this survey is 26% of them who played paid for it and overall 15% of users paid for it.

The argument may be is that the adoption is growing but conversion to paid customer is low. I would argue the other way around. 26% is phenomenal adoption for a country which did not even use mobile phones just a few years ago. The invention of the iPhone and other smart phones are creating the next generation gaming platforms.

Not surprisingly, if you are not a wireless-centric telco, you are history!

* Source Acknowledged:  PopGap games survey results.

Posted by Sankara Krishnan at 10:58 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Outdoor 3.0 GDBOS platform

In my last article, I mentioned..

* It is not about what is shown on ‘The big screen’.
* It is beyond attractive digital displays.
* It is not about ‘how many are watching’.
* It is not about population-driven metric.

* It is about WHO is watching, WHERE are they watching it from, ADVANCED ANALYTICS around it and the COSMIC INTEGRATION with traffic and media planning systems.

Carrying on from that..

Outdoor leaders need to radically transform their IT strategies to support outdoor 3.0, from developing an application for static and digital billboards, to building the next generation Global Digital Billboard OS (GDBOS) platform which will be flexible, plug and play and global, built on open standards and web 2.0 technologies. The platform will need to have a double-arrow focus.

Internally, the GDBOS platform needs to be

A) Built on open web 2.0 standards promoting scalability and flexibility at lowest incremental cost
B) Promote a streamlined business process driven by key business metrics
C) Support an agile information architecture that provides one global view of the customer and provides leadership access to current information and reports, enabling them to make rapid business decisions and navigate the challenges of the economy
D) Provide an internet platform for the sales and business users to rapidly drive business results.
E) Drive Customer Experience and Loyalty Management at the core.

Externally, the platform needs to

A) Integrate with travel systems and media planning optimizers
B) Contain the ability to pick up micro-level data from devices such as GPS or TAB feeds or Bluetooth enabled devices.
C) Provide state-of-the-art analytics on each demography of focus
D) Enable advertisers to measure ROI and provide proof of performance and optimum marketing mix

 

Posted by Sankara Krishnan at 10:48 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 6, 2009

Outdoor 3.0

The Out-Of-Home (OOH) media is undergoing seismic changes on multiple fronts.  Outdoor 1.0 was characterized by static white screens – much like the dull white toothpaste. Digitization of the billboards has brought in Outdoor 2.0 and is making outdoor as "THE BIG SCREEN". It is fundamentally changing the way advertising buyers bought outdoor media and planned day parting - from buying locations to buying time. Population-driven metrics are able to measure outdoor advertising and its effectiveness.

I believe that Outdoor 3.0 is here. And it is out here to completely alter the landscape of Outdoor and OOH media as the ad industry has known it. Add this to the integration of technology ecosystem that encompasses wireless technologies and handheld devices and you have a powerful change at hand.   

It is not about what is shown on ‘The big screen’. It is beyond attractive digital displays. It is not about what is shown on ‘The big screen’. It is beyond attractive digital displays. It is not about ‘how many are watching’. It is not about population-driven metric. It is about WHO is watching, WHERE are they watching it from, ADVANCED ANALYTICS around it and the COSMIC INTEGRATION with traffic and media planning systems.

I will expand on this in my next article..

Posted by Sankara Krishnan at 2:02 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 5, 2009

"Humanics” : The mantra for the next-gen Telcos

The world of Telecom seems to be at an inflection point today.

Historically, Telcos have always viewed themselves as the “network guys” – being obsessed with QoS. The assumption being that if they got QoS right – almost nothing else mattered. It was not important to intimately know the customer. The business model seemed to be pretty much a “utilities business model” – turn on the connectivity, setup a billing address and run the billing meter!

 

 

 However today’s Gen-Y is a very different kind of customer. They are tech savvy and while they expect services to be available anytime/anywhere/anyhow, they seem to expect connectivity to be a given – almost free.  These customers seem to be willing to pay for “great experience” – not necessarily just connectivity. A good example is Apple with its billionth download of cool apps – resulting in some serious new revenues but leveraging just existing connectivity. Another example is Google – which fundamentally provides “over-the-top services” and creates great experience for its users – and generates a lot of revenues in the process. These customers also value personalization and are willing to partner in co-creation of these experiences for themselves and others (e.g. Facebook, YouTube etc) – they don’t want to be just a “billing-id” So while ARPUs from existing “connectivity services” are constantly on the decline, probably an indication of the perceived value attached to connectivity – the revenues from applications that provide great experience seem to be on the rise.

Also, the face of competition is changing fast. Industries are colliding – Telcos, Cable, Google etc – all want a piece of your quad-play action. “Walled gardens” are disappearing – there seem to be no set boundaries anymore. Approach points are different. Approach paths are different. But point-of-arrivals are colliding. So a Telco is building content delivery mechanisms and a Cable MSO is building calling mechanisms. And there are the “over the top” players – who do not own any significant network infrastructure but who can still ride along.

So given the changing demographics of the customer, their perception of value, the changing face of competition and a steady decline of ARPU from existing connectivity services, it seems like Telcos today need to answer a fundamental question:

Are we in the business of managing networks to provide ubiquitous connectivity backed with solid QoS (which is predominantly the “mechanics” of the business.)

OR

Are we in the business of creating and managing customer experiences leveraging our solid networks and QoS? (Which is predominantly the “humanics” of the business but also leveraging the existing “mechanics” of the business)

I believe that the way existing Telcos answer this question will determine their destiny. The new-gen Telcos will be those who will be as sharply focused on the “humanics” of their business as much as on the “mechanics” of their business. It will be imperative for the new-gen Telcos to start creating a robust and exciting applications ecosystem (rapidly – before others start occupying this space) and also focus on customer intimacy to identify, engage, excite and co-create personalized and “wow!” experiences for/with their customers!

There is a lesson to be learnt from the computer business. In the early days the guys who made boxes were at a premium – and it was all about competing for computing power. Then a certain Microsoft came along and changed the rules of business. While the “ARPU” on computing power kept decreasing steadily, the premium on applications kept increasing. Applications were all about generating “customer experience” by leveraging the underlying computing power. Today Microsoft, Oracle, Google are some of the power-houses of the “humanics” of the business, while the likes of Apple, IBM & HP have shown how “humanics” and “mechanics” can be blended to create a very successful business model. Today, it is hard to find a successful computer company who just focused on the “boxes” (mechanics) and is very profitable and is growing fast. I believe that the next-gen Telcos will do well to learn from the computer industry – because history seems to have a penchant for repeating itself

What do you think?

Posted by Samson David at 5:36 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)