Which platforms should Platform developers aim at?
The mobile phase that focuses on segmented mobile providers will result in many changes for the players on the mobile market – and especially for the technology providers. The technology providers want to be able to influence the market in a positive direction, but also need a basic knowledge of the mechanics of a mobile market characterised by segmented mobile providers without their own network, to be able to adapt to that the market both now and in the future.
Technology companies have for long time been selling their products using a classic business model based on a fixed-price per unit/platform. But by using other types of business models, the technology companies and their customers can gain a number of significant advantages.
Many platform providers have extensive experience in delivering platforms like SMS- and MMS platforms that handle one specific network operation. On the future segmented mobile market, successful platform providers will instead need to be able to develop and implement specialised/adapted platforms that can handle specific services and that can additionally be branded by the mobile providers.
This development is especially a result of the increasing number of small segmented mobile providers that will demand to have their own mobile services platforms to enable them to offer their customers mobile services in their own name. Many of these providers will need to be able to differentiate themselves on other things than only their brand and having their own mobile services will be a good addition to the traditional services all mobile providers are offering. Platforms that offer specialised services could be IM platforms, location platforms, mobile e-mail platforms etc. The investments in specialised platforms will not be especially cost heavy to the mobile providers, as on the future mobile market specialised platforms will be sold/licensed on revenue sharing terms or the equivalent, whereby the required investment is very small.
This development will also result in it becoming necessary to have a much larger focus on service and technology providers will therefore need to be able to offer an end-to-end solution, where they both can handle the platform implementation and the support. So the technology providers – to coin a phrase – can no longer just expect to be able to deliver a platform to the mobile provider’s front door and then move on to the next customer.
In our new report ”How to get success in the second Generation MVNO Market”, these issues and many other challenges are examined and analysed, making the report an excellent and effective tool to help technology providers choose and create optimal business models.
