Its high time our IT service providers moved into Product development (especially for Web & Mobile) and creating IP for themselves rather than just servicing clients. These are the companies best suited to take the risk creating cutting edge products (Why does it have to be Google all the time :) – and what better domain to target than fast growing Indian Telecom Market.
Infosys Technologies has done just that !
Infosys has launched Flypp –a white labeled, ready-to-launch application platform for mobile operators that enables monetization through ready-to-use experiential applications across devices.
The initiative as summed up by the Sales and Marketing Head at Infosys,
“Smart applications are now making it possible to deliver a personalized and interactive user experience. Mobile service providers are seeing a steady shift in value from providing connectivity to monetizing digital demand. Flypp™ from Infosys enables this capability for mobile operators through a plug-and-play model. This is part of our continued thrust to provide platforms and products to help our clients rapidly capitalize on evolving business opportunities.”
The product is targeted at the bludgeoning mobile applications market and providing service providers with an option to monetize digital content. The detailed product features are not out as yet , but the premise looks interesting and in tune with the market.
Telecom and Digital Media is taking the world by storm. With the pricing wars in Mobile Communications market upping the affordability factor by a few notches and the 3G launch in the near future, Flypp looks well positioned to facilitate the Enterprise/Business process on the go.
Infosys is already a market leader with its Banking Solution – Finacle. So much so, that Finacle is listed in the Leaders Quadrant by Gartner. Flypp is another addition to the IP of Infosys. It is interesting to see a hardcore service provider investing in the development of its IP which transcends the service industry and lays focus on developing products.
Call it the need of the hour with tightening revenues and shrinking margins , it is heartening that large corporations are working towards contributing as Product Makers too.I am not too sure if Infosys intends to use Flypp as an Intellectual property and intends to use the application platform for its clients much like Finacle. May be with time, things will change and we will see these products available for all to use much like Oracle, SAP or even Google etc.
These baby steps towards building on the intellectual property by developing products will go a long way in shrugging off the Outsourcing/Service Provider image from the Indian IT industry. If each of the top 10 IT companies in India start rolling out products for the technology market, I have no doubt that India could very well enjoy a good slice of cake in the IT Product space too.
What is your take on this? Is the increasing focus on building IP a welcome move by the IT giant and would it provide the impetus for others to join the foray.
It’s too pre-mature to comment on the success of this product for Infosys. Mobile application (Product) market is too dynamic right now, especially in Western countries and how Infosys will place FLYPP in India and other countries will determine the long-term value for the shareholders of Infosys.
Yes, its too early to comment on the success of the product.What i wanted to highlight was the fact that Service Providers are making the shift to product based which is a welcome sign.
Moreover, with Infosys intending to provide it to exisitng operators, Flypp may not be a complete IP like Finacle.
It is interesting to say the least. However, with big VAS providers like OnMobile already working with the telecom operators, I am wondering who will use Flypp to develop the products? Would it be companies like Bharti, providers like OnMobile or individual developers who would use it?
@ Vishal, I don’t if the Infosys 3% stock move is due to this or not b’cos I have no clue how Infosys will benefit unless it is some sort of profit sharing arrangement but which is not disclosed just yet, nor has the company indicated that any telecom operators have indicated their interest in using this technology.
I agree Madhav that VAS has some major players.But, from what i could make out from the functional architecture on the site, it will targetted at an enterprise level and then they further leverage it as VAS.
I can bet my top dollar that Infosys will be profiting from the product.They dont have a history of creating duds:-) With a huge customer base , Infosys can make headway by pushing it to t existing clintele itself.
I’m not clear about this product of Infosys. So I can’t even think this product leveraging yet-to-launch 3G services. May be we need to wait some more time to get clearer picture.
Meanwhile, Alcatel-Lucent is doing some interesting work. Check out here – http://www.ngconnect.org/ and http://developer.openapiservice.com/
The product is aimed at the business/enterprise sector.So, 3G l definetely be leveraged given that it will have higher transfer/response speeds.
Yes, with time the picture will become more clear.
NG connect looks interesting, but again there is enough space in the market for more players.
Well i don’t know about the product, but is it infosys’s first product based project or do they already have products in the market. The product is pretty cool its gonna be widely used by telecom companies and its also gonna be profitable for software vendors. I think this is why Infosys was up 3% on Nasdaq today, should have bought the stock.