That was the key question for the panel I was on this week.
It's an interesting question for mobile operators (that is, cell phone companies) around the globe.
The future of mobile networks is -- surprise -- IP-based.
And once you're running open devices on an open network, you going to have to think a bit harder about how you're going to differentiate.
Once Again, I Am No Expert
The telecommunications industry appears very tight-knit to me. Everyone seems to know everyone else. Like any other specialized industry, they use a very specialized language and acronym set to describe things.
At this particular event, I have to admit -- I didn't really feel part of the club. But I felt that -- since my premise is that the mobile business might need a fresh perspective or two -- maybe I could just wade in and offer up a few points of view.
Or at least be entertaining ... ;-)
History Paints A Bleak Picture
There's a reasonable chance that mobile web evolution might mirror what happened with landline connectivity. If that's the case, the picture isn't especially pretty for mobile operators.
At one time, you could make money being an ISP. Many of us remember a time where outfits like AOL were both our ISP and our primary portal.
But that "walled garden" model didn't last long. AOL and others are still around, but they're not nearly as relevant, or profitable. All the value moved to other players, and the "connectivity guys" ended up being ruthlessly commoditized.
Different Approaches
We heard some interesting ideas from different panel vendors.
One person suggested that the future might be in monetizing location-aware applications. You know, things like navigation, recommending a local restaurant, and so on.
My take? Interesting, but once you get beyond a few simple applications, the market looks a bit limited. And you've always have to ask yourself -- what would someone pay for this? I think the answer is "something, but not too much".
Another was targeting the young teen market with avatars that you could share with your (presumably mobile) peer network. Cooler avatars cost more money, of course.
Sure, that's a cool idea. But how much money are you going to make selling avatars to pre-teens? Or other social networking feature for that matter?
And what if all your friends are on different mobile networks?
Another popular theme was ever-more-unified communications: SMS, email, voice mail, newer things like Twitter, and so on. As a consumer, would I like this? Sure. But I wouldn't pay a lot for it, maybe a small premium, nothing more.
I offered that what the industry might need is a few ideas about how to generate, say, an extra 20 or 30 euros (or dollars) per subscriber per month, as opposed to 2 or 3.
And to do that, the industry is going to have to start thinking more about "information" and less about "communication and connectivity".
That got people's attention.
So, What Did EMC Talk About?
Glad you asked. And, if you've been following this blog, it won't be much of a surprise.
Simply put, I asked "who are going to be the bankers for personal information?".
Now, everyone looked at me a bit funny, wondering if I hadn't gotten enough sleep or something.
I started by sharing that my grandparents grew up during the Great Depression in the US. They never, ever learned to really trust banks with their money. For them, if you couldn't hold it in your hands, it didn't exist.
But we've all learned to trust banks with our money, haven't we?
Money can come from anywhere, go anywhere, at any time. I can travel the world, and I have access -- and control -- over my money. And if it's not there for any reason, someone's got some explaining to do.
Managing our personal money has become, well, essentially frictionless for the most part, hasn't it?
Now, let's shift the focus to my personal information. I'd like the same sort of relationship with someone.
I'd like to "bank" any type of information, from anywhere, at any time.
I'd like to be able to get to it, from any device, in any location. I'd like it to always be there, please.
And -- most importantly -- I want to control with a fair degree of precision who sees what: under what circumstances, how long, etc.
I want a bank for my personal information, please.
The Argument For Telecom Companies
It's simple. Sooner or later, different companies are going to bid for this "trust relationship" with consumers around their personal information.
There are gonna be a lot of companies vying for the right to be your "personal information bank". It's inevitable, as far as I can see.
And I'd argue that "triple play" or "quad play" companies (mobile, landline, IP, cable, etc.) might be in a unique position to offer services that meet this emerging market requirement.
Why's that?
They own and manage all the delivery channels for a consumer's information. They have a billing relationship already established with the consumer. They have decent customer support processes.
I don't know if I've shared this, but recently we've become an all-Verizon household: phone, cable, internet and mobile. They now own all the pipes in my family.
And so far, very very good. Like 20Mbs on the internet good. And a bazillion HD channels good. And a great deal as well.
If they and their competitors can keep this level of service up, they'll have some very satisfied customers. Some of which might be willing to take a "next step".
Like trusting them with personal information "banks".
The first thing people think is "why not Google?". I'm sure that there will be people who are willing to share their personal information in exchange for a free service.
I'm not one of those people.
The Market Will Evolve
My planning assumption for this market is that it will start with a-la-carte services that might seem to be relatively unconnected, but rapidly converge into broad, unified offerings.
Early offerings might be backing up your PCs at home, or maybe your mobile. Perhaps content caching for your video streams. Or a home device that can let you share between all your different PCs, video consoles, TV sets, etc. etc.
What's the common thread? They're all managing personal information.
Later on, more unification might be wanted. I want one service that backs up *all* my devices. When I purchase content, I want to be able to get it from *all* my devices. If I've got some sort of shared data store, I want to get to it from *anywhere*.
Of course, just like money in a bank, I expect that information to be there when I need it -- perhaps over a very long period of time.
And -- ultimately -- I would want very fine-grained control of who gets to see what. Just like people who might want my money.
And EMC's Angle Might Be?
We believe that telecommunication operators would be best served by thinking in terms of a "platform" for different aspects around this new opportunity of personal information management.
Individual, tactical offerings will coalesce quickly into broader, unified ones. There'll be plenty of incentive to innovate, package, bundle, upsell -- all in an effort to earn the role of my personal information "banker".
One focal point for personal information management will most certainly be in the home. Many people will want a device they can point to and say "this is where all my information lives", complemented by services such as remote backup, content loading, and more.
Another focal point will certainly be the cloud; there will be those who are comfortable -- and may even prefer -- having their personal information managed professionally in a remote data center; accessible even if the house burns down, so to speak.
Security will be a concern -- not only will the technical capabilities be required, but a "trust brand" will need to be established, similar to what banks did in the US with the FDIC ("your deposits insured to $100,000')
Not to mention the need for end-to-end service delivery over multiple IP networks and multiple devices. Or perhaps specialized cloud storage for these large personal information repositories.
And, finally, there'll need to be the "killer app" for personal information management -- something that everyone will want to use, from every device they own -- something that's smart enough to work the way they do.
If those are the questions, what might the answers be?
From the EMC portfolio: Lifeline, Iomega, Mozy, RSA, Smarts, "Maui", Pi -- and maybe a few more pieces that aren't entirely visible yet.
Taken together, it's a platform of capabilities that can help telecommunication companies make the transition -- from a communication company, to an information company.
And that's a transition that's going to be interesting to watch unfold over the next few years.
I'll keep you posted ... ;-)
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