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By Creating Messaging Applications that Deliver Value PocketThis provides mobile data services software to operators that help their subscribers save Web/WAP, Directory Assistance and Desktop-based information in an operator-branded "pocket" on their mobile phones, seamlessly linking that information to relevant mobile data services. This approach represents a huge departure in thinking from traditional Web/WAP application development. It's helping operators worldwide reach their data services revenue targets. PocketThis is working because their strategy connects mobile data services to the sources of information people already use today prompting them to take action rather than waiting for subscribers to initiate activity on their own. We had an opportunity to talk with Jay Sullivan, Vice President and Co-founder, to learn more about their user-based development process. Would you describe how you create new services? We study how subscribers currently get the information that's important to them in their personal and work lives and then figure out which mobile data services could add value to their real-world activities. Then, we build an intuitive experience that takes subscribers on a journey leading from the sources of information they use today to the use of mobile data services. This increases subscriber satisfaction and drives revenue for mobile network operators. We're not asking people to radically change their behavior; we simply lead them to mobile data services in an evolutionary way. What are the use cases you choose and how do they create incremental revenue for carriers (not just traffic)? One example is a solution we provide that enhances the operator's directory assistance service. Each time a subscriber calls 411, instead of simply having the call connected, a WAP push is sent to the mobile phone. The message leads directly to a menu of relevant services like call now, maps, directions, find nearby businesses, send to friend, etc. What's interesting is that many of the services in the menu are already provided by the operator today, but aren't used because they are completely disconnected from the subscriber's initial touch-point with the network, which was the original call to directory assistance. We turn the subscriber experience on its head. Instead of the making the subscriber aware of the mobile Internet and making them navigate to the mapping application and type in the address and zip code (which he doesn't have at hand anyway), our software passes all that information to the mobile behind the scenes. The subscriber gets the map with a single click. We break down the barriers. Today, subscribers are simply unaware of what the operator has to offer, and in the cases where awareness exists; it takes too many clicks to use the services. Because we make the network understand the context of what the subscriber is doing, these problems go away, and the result is an intuitive, rewarding user experience. Specifically, what technologies are you using? What developer tools do you use to build out new services? We use SMS, MMS, WAP 1.x and WAP 2.0, including WML, XHTML and WAP Push. On the development side, we use the Openwave Phone Simulator, the MMS SDK and WAP Push Library. We're also starting to work with Location Studio. How does working with Openwave give you an advantage (MAG and client)? For our solution to work perfectly, we need several things that the Openwave MAG provides. The WAP Push Proxy Gateway allows us to send push messages in an intelligent way, regardless of what handset the subscriber has. We also take advantage of the ability to build rich user interfaces in XHTML. And of course, interoperability and backward compatibility is important because we want to provide value on all handsets, not just the latest and greatest. What do you do to market your services? We sell our software platform, called AMO Server, directly to mobile network operators. The operators use the platform to create and deploy services like the directory assistance application. The services are branded and marketed by the operator, and are a seamless part of the subscriber experience they offer. Do you have any advice for developers? My advice is to start by focusing on your target subscriber market and what those people are really trying to accomplish. Interview as many subscribers as you can, and give them prototypes they can use and give you feedback on. The key is to make sure that the whole experience works smoothly from end to end. Whether it's travel, entertainment, sports, or shopping, the key is to focus on the customer, not the technology; to be humble and take subscriber feedback to heart. Contact Info:Jay Sullivan, VP and Co-founder, www.pocketthis.com Want your application to be featured in an upcoming issue of the Developer Newsletter? Contact the Openwave Developer Network to find out how! |