For any industry to truly succeed it will need exceptional people to drive it…Mobile Data Services or VAS (Value Added Services), as it is called in India, is no different.
This industry needs a different set of skills and talent which is presently quite short in supply. This is because very few head hunters truly understand the role of the VAS Professional. Thankfully a new job services portal- VASjobs.com might help fill that gap and make available the right kind of jobs to the right people- it has tons of jobs posted already!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives
An interesting article on how cellphones are changing how we live and how we think about information. Courtesy: NYT
Telecom Operator as Dumb Pipe -2
As you read this, handset manufacturers and content companies are slowly clawing their way into the content services space and loosening the grip of the almighty carrier. With their inherent quick decision making and execution, unlike carriers, handset manufacturers have developed or are developing strong content marketplaces to rival the carrier’s own content store.
Handset companies like Nokia, Apple and the likes have, with great speed and agility, become THE place to go to for content publishers to distribute content and consumers to find cutting edge content and services. This again sounds like the inevitability of carriers becoming ‘dumb pipes’ with no role to play in content and services. What's worse for the carrier’s is that the device makers are bringing aboard alternative modes of payment and billing that totally bypass the operator’s most prized advantage- the direct relationship with the subscriber. When you give away billing to external parties, you lose valuable information on the subscriber’s consumption patterns, preferences and of course, the ability to make that much needed ARPU-swelling transactional revenue.
The iphone has already made AT&T a bystander to the content services that the Apple is providing to its subscribers through the itunes app store. Since the average monthly phone bill for an iPhone user is $95.34 and the average bill for other users is $59.59 AT&T probably isn't too worried about this. However, they should, it’s a shame that carriers cannot capitalize on the inherent advantages that they hold- subscriber information and relationships, billing capability, the networks, the content store, the massive infrastructure and resources!...need I say more?!
Its going to get tougher for carriers with Nokia putting all its muscle behind OVI, Blackberry too is toying with the idea of an app store (makes great synergy) and so is Sony Ericsson…
With so much influence in the space, it is absolutely important that operators not give into “easy money” by becoming dumb pipes like the ISPs. It’s time for carriers to start shaping the future of the mobile services space.
Handset companies like Nokia, Apple and the likes have, with great speed and agility, become THE place to go to for content publishers to distribute content and consumers to find cutting edge content and services. This again sounds like the inevitability of carriers becoming ‘dumb pipes’ with no role to play in content and services. What's worse for the carrier’s is that the device makers are bringing aboard alternative modes of payment and billing that totally bypass the operator’s most prized advantage- the direct relationship with the subscriber. When you give away billing to external parties, you lose valuable information on the subscriber’s consumption patterns, preferences and of course, the ability to make that much needed ARPU-swelling transactional revenue.
The iphone has already made AT&T a bystander to the content services that the Apple is providing to its subscribers through the itunes app store. Since the average monthly phone bill for an iPhone user is $95.34 and the average bill for other users is $59.59 AT&T probably isn't too worried about this. However, they should, it’s a shame that carriers cannot capitalize on the inherent advantages that they hold- subscriber information and relationships, billing capability, the networks, the content store, the massive infrastructure and resources!...need I say more?!
Its going to get tougher for carriers with Nokia putting all its muscle behind OVI, Blackberry too is toying with the idea of an app store (makes great synergy) and so is Sony Ericsson…
With so much influence in the space, it is absolutely important that operators not give into “easy money” by becoming dumb pipes like the ISPs. It’s time for carriers to start shaping the future of the mobile services space.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Telecom Operator as Dumb Pipe?
In the heady early days of the Mobile Web, telecom operators proudly proclaimed that they would not go down the path of their wired ISP brethren and become “dumb pipes”. They would control the media and services built around the mobile web unlike the AOLs of the world. So they built what they called, a “walled garden”- an operator controlled portal to be accessed by subscribers. The operators in their desire for total control decided to build services and products on their own and limit access to the open internet. Subscribers, on the other hand, resisted and wanted more from their wireless internet services. So operators instead of partnering with the popular service companies and building customized monetisable services for their subscribers decided to do what they resisted in the first place- open the floodgates and replicate the ISP model of allowing unrestricted access to the web.
So now you have telecom operators peddling unrestricted FREE internet services on their phones in their desire to get the subscriber on to their data plans. This has lead to subscribers accessing FREE Sports scores and News on the mobile Web. You know that the business model of the mobile web is all wrong when the most profitable services on SMS-Sports scores and News, are being made available for FREE on the mobile web. The content companies that provide these services for free on the mobile web, in their quest for eyeballs have, for lack of a better word, foolishly replicated their business model of the internet where services are ‘ad supported’. There are already murmurs of discontent brewing about how this ad supported model of offering free services on the INTERNET too is a business model that doesn’t make sense.
As mentioned in my previous post, the mobile web allows for great exciting possibilities of revenue generation and these must be exploited by content companies as well as the operators. The subscriber is accustomed to paying for services like news, sport scores, astrology on the mobile sms/web till now but with growing access to free services, he will expect these services to be free- that expectation will be death knell for the operators and the content companies.
With the specter of recession looming large and mobile advertising hard to come by, it is more important now more than ever that Content companies and telecom operators go back to the drawing board and chart out a new saner business model where both parties thrive and subscriber interests are protected too. Telecom operators must take charge of this before they become irrelevant commodities in the brave new world.
So now you have telecom operators peddling unrestricted FREE internet services on their phones in their desire to get the subscriber on to their data plans. This has lead to subscribers accessing FREE Sports scores and News on the mobile Web. You know that the business model of the mobile web is all wrong when the most profitable services on SMS-Sports scores and News, are being made available for FREE on the mobile web. The content companies that provide these services for free on the mobile web, in their quest for eyeballs have, for lack of a better word, foolishly replicated their business model of the internet where services are ‘ad supported’. There are already murmurs of discontent brewing about how this ad supported model of offering free services on the INTERNET too is a business model that doesn’t make sense.
As mentioned in my previous post, the mobile web allows for great exciting possibilities of revenue generation and these must be exploited by content companies as well as the operators. The subscriber is accustomed to paying for services like news, sport scores, astrology on the mobile sms/web till now but with growing access to free services, he will expect these services to be free- that expectation will be death knell for the operators and the content companies.
With the specter of recession looming large and mobile advertising hard to come by, it is more important now more than ever that Content companies and telecom operators go back to the drawing board and chart out a new saner business model where both parties thrive and subscriber interests are protected too. Telecom operators must take charge of this before they become irrelevant commodities in the brave new world.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
How to Monetise the Mobile Internet
Should the mobile internet business model replicate the internet business model of free services monetised through ads and page views? It would be a shame if it does.
The mobile internet offers a much better model of monetising services than the internet because -
a. Consumers are exposed to paying for mobile entertainment services like ringtones, jokes etc... unlike the internet where consumers expect services to be free. Hence the model of asking subscribers to pay for using mobile internet services is more palatable.
b. Monetising through ads like the internet is still at least 2 years away and is not a sustainable revenue source. With the slowdown, marketers are not willing to spend on mainstream ad media like hoardings so for mobile advertising to succeed in these times, it will take nothing short of a miracle.
So how do you monetise the mobile internet? Well, let me illustrate with some real world examples...I and my friends recently suddenly made plans to eat out as we were heading home from work and we wanted a location that was not too far away from our residences…What did we do? We fired up our trusty Mobile phones and logged on to burrp.com (a site that specializes in restaurant listings in India) from our phone browsers. A few search queries later, presto, we found a restaurant listing that fit in with our requirement. We were satisfied, the mobile operator was satisfied since we just burnt some data and added to their data charges kitty and Burrp.com was happy since they got some users to use the mobile portal. The question is how will a company like Burrp make money out of our transaction? They replicated the internet model...We used their services completely for Free and our page views were hardly worth monetizing…
On the other hand, my other experience with the mobile internet shows that there is a smarter way of making money. I was on vacation in a village in Karnataka and needed to know if my seats on the train back home was confirmed and out of the waiting list. Well, the fastest way I could check that was that I could log on to the Indian Railways site on my laptop but I just could not connect to the internet due to the remoteness of my location… The only other way to do so was to log on to the mobile portal of the Indian Railways through my operator wap portal. To my relief, it opens up. Every bit of information on the mobile portal is transaction-based, a few Rupees here, a few Rupees there and I gladly pay to get the information that I need. I get the information that I need and am happy even the service is not free; the mobile operator too is really happy since I used up my data plan and also paid a few Rupees to access the Railway service; the Indian railways are really happy too since they have a satisfied consumer who transacted with them.
The Indian Railways provide the same set of services on the internet for free but charges them on the mobile portal. The pricing is extremely low but considering the volume of users using the services, I’m sure it makes healthy revenues. They might not have the flashy web 2.0 bells and whistles on the mobile portal but they got the business model of the mobile internet just right- Pay as you use on the mobile portal. In my opinion, this is the sustainable business model for telecom operators, content providers and mobile internet service companies, at least till mobile advertising becomes a sustainable revenue stream.
Telecom Operators in partnership with Content partner must ensure that this model evolves on the mobile internet. Companies that think otherwise and are replicating the internet business model are doomed. Just like the internet made brick and mortar business models obsolete, the mobile internet business model might make the internet model obsolete.
The mobile internet offers a much better model of monetising services than the internet because -
a. Consumers are exposed to paying for mobile entertainment services like ringtones, jokes etc... unlike the internet where consumers expect services to be free. Hence the model of asking subscribers to pay for using mobile internet services is more palatable.
b. Monetising through ads like the internet is still at least 2 years away and is not a sustainable revenue source. With the slowdown, marketers are not willing to spend on mainstream ad media like hoardings so for mobile advertising to succeed in these times, it will take nothing short of a miracle.
So how do you monetise the mobile internet? Well, let me illustrate with some real world examples...I and my friends recently suddenly made plans to eat out as we were heading home from work and we wanted a location that was not too far away from our residences…What did we do? We fired up our trusty Mobile phones and logged on to burrp.com (a site that specializes in restaurant listings in India) from our phone browsers. A few search queries later, presto, we found a restaurant listing that fit in with our requirement. We were satisfied, the mobile operator was satisfied since we just burnt some data and added to their data charges kitty and Burrp.com was happy since they got some users to use the mobile portal. The question is how will a company like Burrp make money out of our transaction? They replicated the internet model...We used their services completely for Free and our page views were hardly worth monetizing…
On the other hand, my other experience with the mobile internet shows that there is a smarter way of making money. I was on vacation in a village in Karnataka and needed to know if my seats on the train back home was confirmed and out of the waiting list. Well, the fastest way I could check that was that I could log on to the Indian Railways site on my laptop but I just could not connect to the internet due to the remoteness of my location… The only other way to do so was to log on to the mobile portal of the Indian Railways through my operator wap portal. To my relief, it opens up. Every bit of information on the mobile portal is transaction-based, a few Rupees here, a few Rupees there and I gladly pay to get the information that I need. I get the information that I need and am happy even the service is not free; the mobile operator too is really happy since I used up my data plan and also paid a few Rupees to access the Railway service; the Indian railways are really happy too since they have a satisfied consumer who transacted with them.
The Indian Railways provide the same set of services on the internet for free but charges them on the mobile portal. The pricing is extremely low but considering the volume of users using the services, I’m sure it makes healthy revenues. They might not have the flashy web 2.0 bells and whistles on the mobile portal but they got the business model of the mobile internet just right- Pay as you use on the mobile portal. In my opinion, this is the sustainable business model for telecom operators, content providers and mobile internet service companies, at least till mobile advertising becomes a sustainable revenue stream.
Telecom Operators in partnership with Content partner must ensure that this model evolves on the mobile internet. Companies that think otherwise and are replicating the internet business model are doomed. Just like the internet made brick and mortar business models obsolete, the mobile internet business model might make the internet model obsolete.
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