IMS Bridges the Gap, Part 2

 
By Marc Leclerc
In Part 1, we discussed ‘the great divide’ between the telecom business, the internet and mass media, and used the convergence of the consumer retail and advertising businesses as a model to examine solutions these businesses created. In Parts 2 and 3, we’ll see if we can usefully apply this model to the emerging networked multimedia market and see the role IMS can play to help facilitate the convergence of the telecom, Internet and media industries into a unified market.

With the development of the World Wide Web and search engines, by the year 2000 the internet was overtaking print as the easiest and least expensive way for people to publish and find information and content. Amazon and eBay were providing ways to spend money on the internet, but for the most part revenues were generated via advertising, and users expected services to be provided at no charge.

During this same period, usage of mobile phones exploded, bringing affordable communication to the most remote areas. As costs for mobile phones dropped, even those in very humble circumstances could benefit by gaining access to a wider social network and better, more current information.

Just as the industrial revolution created an abundance of manufactured goods, the internet has created yet more abundance of information, of choice, of social interactions, and even of ways to “be.” As the internet expands social networking options, users are becoming far less homogeneous in outlook and habits. This forces advertisers to target an increasing number of smaller market segments, making the mass-market methods of the past less effective.

Three legs make a stool

So let’s apply the lessons from consumer retail in resolving the issues raised in merging the telecom, internet, and media industries into networked multimedia.

1. What Telecoms Can Provide:

• Efficient point-of-sale and billing: unlike the media and most internet businesses, telecom maintains a very efficient direct relationship with end users.

• The power of mobility and ubiquitous access. An old joke goes “Question: what are the three most important factors in retail success? Answer: location, location, location.” Cell phone users are “in the store” 24/7. What other retailer in history can make such a claim?

• Linking the real world with the data space: location-based advertising and services.

• Presence and availability: finding out what is the immediately addressable market, and using changes in user activities to trigger commercial opportunities.

• User profile information and dealing with preferences, social associations for viral marketing, and identity management for personalized services and targeted advertising.

• A unified, coherent end-user experience that works across terminal, application, network, and geographic borders.

2. What the Internet Brings:

• Access to digital information and services such as e-mail, instant messaging, and blogs.

• A place to publish and share information.

• Search engines to find desired content out of the massive sea of text, music and video available.

• Social networking: a way to find people who share common interests, and a place in which to share.

• An audience for advertising in both targeted and broadcast models (individuals and communities).

3. What the Media Industry Provides:

• Professionally produced text, music and video for direct sale, or as sponsored content delivered “for free”.

• Content prepared for broadcast media and general advertising.

• Targeted advertising content.

Marc Leclerc (marc.leclerc@ericsson.com) has been involved in the computing and communications industries since 1982, including positions in product design for software and hardware, product management and marketing. A member of the strategy and marketing group within Ericsson’s (News - Alert) Business Unit Multimedia, he is a frequent speaker at industry events. He is also manager of the Ericsson Mobility World Global IMS Expert Center at Ericsson Canada. Education: McGill University, Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computing; MBA 1998.

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