Mobile Content Portability Fuels Positive Outlook for FusionOne

Headquartered in San Jose, California with additional offices in Tallinn, Estonia, FusionOne provides mobile subscribers the ability to transfer their mobile content between mobile devices and to share their content with popular Internet applications. FusionOne products currently support millions of subscribers on many major carriers worldwide, including Verizon (News - Alert) and TELUS, among others.

 

FusionOne recently deployed their MightyBackup solution with TELUS (News - Alert). The service provides users the ability to backup their mobile contacts and restore services to its customers in the case of data loss. Marketed as TELUS Mobile Backup, the solution provides address book protection against loss or damage to a mobile phone and easy migration when subscribers upgrade their phones.

 

Mohan Sadashiva, FusionOne’s (News - Alert) senior vice president of marketing, took some time to answer some questions for TMCnet. Sadashiva remains optimistic about the coming year, and has hopes for a dramatic increase in revenues as FusionOne’s products continue to enjoy a high rate of adoption in 2009.

 

 

MS: 2008 was a very good year for FusionOne. We added several carrier customers, created and significantly grew our Content Partners program, and are rolling out our Network Address Book. Our Handset Transfer Solution gained traction. Our products were recognized by the industry with several awards. We were ranked in the Deloitte (News - Alert) and Touche Top 50 for Silicon Valley Internet, Entertainment, and Communications companies.

 

MS: I would say the content partners’ alliance (we have close to 50 content partners signed now!) which is a key component and differentiator in our Handset Transfer Solution.

 

MS: In 2009, we expect to enter into the European market and possibly Asia as well. We will continue adding new customers and gaining further momentum for our Handset Transfer Solution. We are working to make HTS directly available to consumers in retail stores next year. We also see Network Address Book as having a great deal of potential in ’09.

 

MS: I think it will be good. This past presidential campaign was the first one where mobile technology was used on a wide scale and that trend can only help the communications industry.

 

MS: We feel there’s going to be an increasing awareness of the need for mobile content portability — the idea that content that a consumer puts on their phone is just as important, if not more important, than the phone itself, and that as consumers upgrade and replace their mobile devices with new ones, they should be able to freely and easily move and share their content as they go.

 

MS: Our products help customers keep, maintain, and share their contacts and in these current market conditions, it is ever more important for customers to hold on to their precious business contacts. So we feel this downturn is actually is a prime opportunity for us as our products will help our customers do exactly that and thereby gain an extra edge. In these times, companies need every extra edge they can get.

 

MS: We invented and own the patents related to mobile content transfer technology. We are the only company with a deployed solution that has proven to be scalable for large carrier operators such as Verizon Wireless, where our product has supported millions of customers. We have the only legal solution for licensed content transfer on mobile handsets which has the blessing of the content creators themselves.

 

GG: If you had to make one bold prediction for 2009, what would it be?
MS: We will double our revenues as both the Handset Transfer Solution and Network Address Book take off in earnest.