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Back Me Up!

October 27, 2010 | Posted by Alex Chow

Anyone who has ever lost or misplaced their mobile device knows the feeling. It begins immediately after you realize the device is not at your fingertips. Panic sets in and that pit in your stomach starts to groan as you realize all of your contacts, photos and music are gone.

With five billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide, it is no surprise to anyone that our mobile phones and connected devices have essentially become our life line. They keep us plugged in to not only business but our personal world and social circles.

Some people, however, will never feel that panic when they misplace their device. Those people utilize technology, such as ConvergenceNow® Plus+ platform’s MightyBackup™ to automatically copy their address book to a secure web vault, where they can manage, add, edit, and print their contacts.

Recently I came across the following tweets validating the importance of backing up and synchronizing your connected devices:

“ugh. verizon hadda reset my phone. i lost all of my texts and ringtones. smh. thank god for backup assistant”

“i wanna thank the person who invented backup assistant for cell phones cause that makes it too easy to transfer numbers lol”

Having the capability to backup and synchronize contacts to a secure Web vault is critical. By offering a simple backup solution for mobile phones and making it a transparent process, consumers can have peace of mind knowing that their digital life – valuable mobile content and contact information – is safe and easily accessible – even when their device is lost, stolen or damaged.

Synchronoss enables communications service providers (CSP), OEMs and retailer/e-tailers to centrally manage the end-to-end processes associated with activation, provisioning, content transfer and synchronization, improving the customer experience while retaining subscriber bases and increasing revenue opportunities. This not only allows providers to deliver a unique activation experience at the point of purchase, but also enables mobile subscribers to transfer and synchronize their content across mobile devices.
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CTIA Enterprise & Applications Wrap-Up

October 18, 2010 | Posted by Omar Tellez

As I mentioned in my previous post, CTIA Enterprise and Applications 2010: Growth of Mobile in the Enterprise, the team here at Synchronoss attended the show in San Francisco two weeks ago. The theme for this year’s show was enterprise mobility and the huge opportunity for connected devices to impact the enterprise. Here are a few observations:

  • The Race for LTE: Verizon Wireless dominated the show with its announcement that it would be rolling out its new 4G wireless broadband network to 38 cities throughout the United States. The 4G network will provide higher data speeds with lower latencies—which will truly benefit enterprise users.
  • Tablets Get Serious: According to Forrester, tablets are expected to make up one-quarter of all U.S. computer sales in the next five years. Many operators and service providers noted that they are increasingly getting questions about managing tablets. Samsung launched its enterprise-ready tablet, the Galaxy S, which the company said will include interactive educational tools, support services, medical and drug reference resources, mobile application platforms and mobile device management and security.
  • Droid Pushes the Enterprise: Motorola announced the new Google Android smartphone which boasts a 3.1-inch touch screen display and a QWERTY keypad, the first Android phone designed specifically for business users. Many corporate IT departments have been reluctant to support Android devices because of their lack of security features—however with Motorola’s claims to have addressed these issues with the new device.

With the continued excitement around connected devices we are very eager to see what the holiday season and beyond at CES will bring to the industry. As the leading provider in connected device activation, we are looking forward to helping our customers deliver the best experience.

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Verizon Goes Long…Term Evolution

October 8, 2010 | Posted by Alex Chow

During the CTIA Enterprise & Applications™ show in San Francisco yesterday, Verizon announced that it would be rolling out its new 4G wireless broadband network to 38 cities throughout the United States. That number has increased from its initial announcement of only targeting 30 NFL cities for its LTE (Long-Term Evolution) service.

The 4G network will provide higher data speeds with lower latencies—which will truly benefit the connected devices, M2M and applications markets. Lowell McAdam’s noted “Our 700 MHz, the in-building penetration is the best in the market. That has important connotations for machine-to-machine connectivity.”

The availability of the LTE network will enable OEMs and other manufacturers to develop 4G connected devices. In addition to the devices, the increase in speed will be a key enabler for content transfer and synchronization of connected devices.

With the phenomenal data rates from LTE, the NFL is in talks with Verizon to bring game day video content to all types of connected devices including new tablets.

As the leading provider in connected device activation, everyone at Synchronoss is very excited to see what the next few months will bring for the connected devices market.

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The Most Powerful Enterprise Mobility Experience

October 6, 2010 | Posted by Stacie Hiras

Enterprise adoption of mobile devices is expected to hit $12.5 billion by 2015 according to ABI Research. With adoption averaging 55% per year, enterprises are finding virtually endless opportunities to utilize connected devices.

With the advancement in wireless services and broadband, connected devices (smart phones, tablets, netbooks and notebooks) have emerged as necessary tools to help enterprise users improve mobility, customer service and productivity.  As evidence of the growing market opportunity for enterprise mobility, today we announced a partnership with Panasonic to expand its existing Wireless Partner Program (WPP) for the Toughbook product division. This partnership enables Toughbook computer resellers with the capability to deliver value-added activation and connectivity solutions from Tier 1 U.S. carrier partners as they sell to the enterprise market.

Additionally, we announced today that the ConvergenceNow® Plus+ platform has been enhanced to include white-label activation capabilities to further support mobility for enterprises across the globe. The enhancements provide enterprises and value added resellers (VAR) with the ability to offer, activate and provision connected devices with greater efficiencies, lower support costs and a transformational B2B customer experience.

Furthering expanding on our roadmap for enterprise mobility, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Omar Tellez will be participating in The Enterprise Device Update Panel during the 2010 CTIA Enterprise and Applications conference.

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Growth of the Indirect Channel

September 29, 2010 | Posted by Omar Tellez

The Indirect Channel, defined as mass merchandisers, electronic, food and drug, and independent/kiosk stores, has gained market share in recent years and is forecast to grow even more.  A recent IDC study indicated that 47 percent of surveyed respondents in 2009 would purchase their next phone at a retailer location, up from 35 percent in 2008.

We at Synchronoss see five elements driving the growth of this channel:

•      Mobile saturation According to Chetan Sharma Consulting is currently at 100% in the USA. This has driven CSPs to address the upcoming stagnation in top line growth, and led them to become very receptive to new types of business models when dealing with the indirect channel.

•      Communication Service Providers (CSPs) attempting to reduce costs and streamline their channels have been reducing their combined store count, now at 7,600, down from 8,100 in 2008 (according to Barclays Capital).

•      The “One stop shopping” approach of the Indirect Channel has allowed consumers to compare/contrast offers from multiple carriers/OEMs in one location. This is even more relevant in an environment of very advanced functionality generated by the launch of new smartphones and advanced operating systems.

•      Attractive CSP bounties (~ $200 – $300 for two year post paid programs) are driving higher margins for the indirect channel (i.e.: as much as 40% vs. low teens for other consumer electronics) and thus making it more attractive for them to grow their channel share.

•      Advantaged pricing net of mail-in rebates. A recent sampling of four popular prepaid phones and 12 post-paid indicated that the ARPU was approximately 36% lower across
retailers versus at the CSPs.

As this channel begins to realize growth, it is important to understand the need for a superior customer experience that enables speed to market, with higher conversion rates quickly through the enablement of automated subscriber self-service. Our ConvergenceNow® Plus+™ platform provides an integrated process management business model sol­ution inclusive of order management, activations, operations and content transfer & synchronization that are tightly integrated with the software platform. This allows Synchronoss to ensure a better customer experience.

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