Provides mobile operators and Application Service Providers potential added subscription-based revenue stream
Synchronica, an international provider of mobile synchronization and device management solutions, has announced a new back-up and restore solution to mobile operators and Application Service Providers (ASP) that will allow them to generate additional revenue streams from consumers. As a part of the device management suite Mobile Manager 2.5, this new module allows operators and ASPs to offer consumers a subscription-based mobile back-up and restore service that will seamlessly enable the return of lost data in the event of the device being lost or stolen.
Subscribers today often value the data residing on their phone – contact details, SMS messages and calendar entries – higher than the device itself, so a technology that ensures the return of lost data is becoming increasingly invaluable.
Already in 2004, the research group Zelos found that 15-20 percent of mobile subscribers expressed a strong need for a mechanism to back up data with 66 percent ranking contact data as the top priority – a service that consumers were willing to pay for up to £3 per month. The need has probably increased by now, since consumers today rely more and more on their mobile devices as the primary repository for vital contact information.
“Mobile operators are always looking for new revenue streams – OTA back-up and restore service may be the first mobile data application beyond SMS which will be successful in the mass-market,” said Synchronica CEO Carsten Brinkschulte. “For many consumers, the mobile phone has become their main communication method and they often use only the phone’s address book to store phone numbers. If they lose their phone, they lose contact to their social network. Think of our Mobile Manager Backup & Restore as an insurance policy for your personal data.”
As well as providing a safety net for consumers who lose their phones, a back-up and restore service also makes upgrading to a new phone easier. Customers can use the back-up and restore facility to transfer their personal information over-the-air to their new phone.
One of the first customers using Synchronica´s backup and restore solution is the mobile operator NetCom with 1.4 million subscribers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the TeliaSonera Group that has more than 22 million subscribers in the Nordic and Baltic region.
“We wanted to be able to offer our customers an OTA back-up and restore facility for their personal data which would mean that a change of phone – either due to loss or upgrading – would not mean losing all important information,” said Arne Igesund, Manager of Data Services at Netcom. “With the Synchronica solution we can provide our customers with seamless data migration from one device to another, quickly and easily. We also liked the fact that Synchronica’s software is based on the SyncML open standard, meaning it works on a wide range of devices.”
Synchronica’s Mobile Manager back-up and restore module is based entirely on the dominant SyncML/OMA DS industry standard supported by the majority of feature phones and Smartphones from all leading vendors. Unlike other solutions, it does not require a client to be installed on the device, but instead uses the built-in SyncML client of the device. Since it does not require an additional client, it works with mass-market feature phones – a clear requirement for a successful product introduction in the consumer market.
The solution includes built-in connectors to carrier-grade Personal Information Management (PIM) systems such as Sun Java Enterprise System providing a web interface for end-users to view and edit their data. Alternatively, it can be integrated with existing address books and PIM systems using its flexible plug-in architecture.