Gartner advises on top smartphone tools

Operators still on top, but must act now!

Gartner?s recent report into consumer mobile applications (apps) raises some interesting questions about the role mobile operators will take in controlling the mobile ecosystem. Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner commented that ?consumer mobile applications and services are no longer the prerogative of mobile carriers.? She explains that ?the increasing consumer interest in smart-phones, the participation of Internet players in the mobile space, and the emergence of application stores and cross-industry services are reducing the dominance of mobile carriers.? Whilst we agree that the mobile ecosystem is evolving, Telmap believes that mobile operators are well positioned to maintain their vital position in the mobile ecosystem, and they can facilitate its success, leveraging several assets at their disposal for revenue generation from consumer applications. These assets include the usage of the subscriber data and knowledge operators have at their fingertips, to provide a tailored mobile environment of apps and services to fit particular user segments, markets and geographies. Operators know their markets and subscribers best and can therefore help guide subscribers towards the best local content, best value-add and best customer experience. They can also customize the applications to their subscribers? preferences, striving for the ultimate customer experience rather than one-size-fits-all experiences. Operators can leverage their extensive marketing reach and point of sale presence, as well as their control over handset distribution and device pre-load app decision process to play a significant role in the distribution of applications and services to subscribers. Excellent customer care initiatives are also important. When in need of customer support, subscribers are looking for immediate attention by a customer care agent that can simply not be provided by an app store front or an anonymous app developer. Operators are also there to ensure that services offered on their networks are deployed across as many devices and platforms within their portfolio as possible, making access and usage of applications and services as easy as possible for the individual subscriber. All assets mentioned above lead to a trusted operator-subscriber relationship that?s being further cemented by the established, long-term billing relationship these two parties maintain. Operator?s billing capabilities, enabling flexible charging options which cater for both casual and more regular app usage, as well as seamless billing access to subscribers, are also very appealing to both consumers and app developers. To summarize, the potential contribution of operators to the mobile ecosystem as well as their revenue potential from consumer applications ? especially from LBS, which was ranked no. 2 in Gartner?s top 10 because of its perceived high user value and its influence on user loyalty, is great. The growing threat of Internet players though, means that operators can no longer take a cautious approach to their response. The window of opportunity is closing so they must act if they want to consolidate their position at the heart of the subscriber experience.

Posted by: Motti Kushnir, CMO, Telmap 01 Dec 2009