Monetizing RCS-e. Telcos as online security providers to 3rd parties.

Following our last post we now show how the RCS-e End User Confirmation Requests works and how it could be useful for 3rd parties needing to "securize" transactions in a more interactive and real time way that as it is done with SMS.



Solaiemes has an RCS-e End User Confirmation Request Server not only for internal billing messages of the Service Provider (Telco) but opened with API to enable 3rd parties to use the capability becoming a brand new monetizing stream for telcos.

A brand new way to RCS-e monetization: End User Confirmation Request API.

RCS-e includes an amazing feature "End User Confirmation Request" (section 12.3 of the spec ), implementing a new mechanism to communicate with the user about the service and query for confirmation (or not) for actions. In the client UI this might map to, e.g., a pop-up or similar UI element.
The original spec talks about a sample use case, accepting an "extra charge" for a large file transfer. Other RCS-e centered use cases can be thought: terms and conditions acceptance, etc.

But we believe this has the potential to much more, it can be extended to profitable, non-purely RCS-e use cases. With an appropriate API, any screen with RCS-e access can use this for any transaction requiring user confirmation or acceptance. With the carriers as trusted partner, and, of course, charging suitable fees.

In many countries SIM owners are legally identified and RCS-e is backed by the IMS security and AAA framework, the telco can send a "End User Confirmation Request" required by a bank to one of the customers making a credit card transacton to confirm (or to ask to introduce the PIN). With this approach telcos have the tool to become a security masterpiece of online transactions, fits naturally in their role as trusted parties, much more than OTTs are right now.

With an open End User Confirmation Request API, that makes easy to 3rd parties to access this capabilities, carriers can become a provider of "identified confirmations" to lots of services that need better mass market security for their mobile online services such as banking, online ticketing, micropayments...and it could be a new revenue stream generators for carriers. In many forums where the RCS-e pricing is discussed the alternatives are only about end user fees, but there is also the complementary alternative of business models billing 3rd parties for securized and registered transactions, a huge market in the "online" era.

The model is simple. The telco host the platform, and registered 3rd parties can request confirmations through RCS-e (using a simple REST-like API) and pay for them and telcos monetize one of the most valuable assets, subscriber relationship and identity, to provide more security for their own subscriber and helping the ecosystem to build more compelling solutions, win-win-win.

Solaiemes is working on this and will shortly unveil it to the world:

• RCS-e End User Confirmation Request Server with REST API.
• Support of RCS-e User Confirmation Request Server pop-up in the Web Clients served from the RCS Thin Client Server.
• Adding new API calls to RCS Solution Gateway to allow 3rd party developers creating services on top of RCS-e to request "securized" transactions trough the carrier "end user confirmation" service.

the Solaiemes team

RCS-e chat with Facebook & Google Talk by Solaiemes

Just to preview our new platform RCS-e <-> XMPP Gateway, an extension of our RCS Solution Gateway product to allow telcos to smoothly interconect their RCS messagin with popular OTT (internet) messaging tooks based on XMPP as Facebook Chat or Google Talk. Soon we will explain more about our platform that does not need hard integration with IMS or IM Server (it is core independent).

The IMS core used in this demo was the Acme Packet Net-Net SMX.
Feedback welcomed

The new Solaiemes RCS-e Web Client for smartphones

We just released a new version of RCS-e Web Client for smartphones served from our RCS Thin Client Server, with the same look&feel as apps, but with the advantadges of web technology (JQuery), no need to install apps, not permission needed from device or OS providers, just using the browser to provide enhanced messaging, person to person and person to application. Just 2 minutes, have a look.



The IMS core used was the Acme Packet Net-Net SMX.
You can also see the screenshots in our Facebook album here
Feedback welcomed

Solaiemes secures 375 K€ loan from CDTI

Solaiemes secured a soft loan from CDTI to complete the development of its RCS/RCS-e portfolio. This loan from CDTI completes the initial agreement with the CDTI Neotec programme, part of our seed round.
The 375 K€ loan is conditioned to the 125 K€ direct investment from 3rd parties. This mini-round will be covered by business angels and/or new executives taking a stake.
The speeding up of our portfolio development cycle, and new meaningful references to be disclosed in the coming months will mean to put the company in a new stage, consolidate our leadership in the innovation in enhanced messaging and RCS-e, and prepare the company to look for international VC funding to expand our operations to all countries where we are being requested info and we have not local presence or partnership structure yet.

Jose Recio video about Solaiemes.

Jose Recio, talk about Solaiemes story, milestones, product vision, current needs, followed by a portfolio brief review. this video was filmed for the IBM SmartCamp competition.

When the small teams are the only ones who can make the elephants run.

2011 is a very important year for our company, RCS-e is launching, and we are in a good position with 2 ready to market platforms, opening RCS-e and making RCS-e ubiquitous; both interoperated with most core and client vendors, and recognized with the RCS DevChallenge Award as the most innovative RCS solutons.

On the other hand, we are a small team, with limited funding, and facing what the carriers consider "your problem is your size". Obviously it is and egg-and-chicken issue, if customers or potential customers are delaying orders or keeping under NDA the initial references and the company is based in Spain, waiting for VC rounds is basically expect a miracle, and we also gave up trying to actively raise funding (but of course, new business angels or VC's are welcomed on board).

We understood that the "risk avoidance" way of thinking from decision takers is still present coming from decades of inertia, but the timing has changed. The established telecom giant vendors have failed to move the telco elephants but the elephants need to move in the new scenario where they have the OTT's as competitors.

Most of the alternative OTT's are also small team, working fast and with offerings tested and used everyday by zillions of individuals ... their technologies work, are proven to be scalable and their vision is accepted by the users. Of course, Skype is now a relatively big company, but what about WhatsApp? great messaging product by a small focused team.

If telcos need to make feasible their own alternative OTT vision, they need to rely on small companies: motivated teams to help them moving to the next stage. Reluctance to work with small companies means missing opportunities, stay stopped while things happens around you, and new scenarios and business communication models are apearing every day. We are eager to cooperate with telcos & the telco business need some fresh blood, take us in count and elephants will run faster than the Road Runner :-)

Review of IMS World Forum 2011

Last week in Barcelona took place the 8th IMS World Forum (by Informa Telecom&Media). It was quite impressive how the number of delegates, speakers and sponsors were up from previous editions and most important, now optimism regarding IMS future was present.
All keynotes and panels were very interesting, and both carriers and suppliers took about present and future strategies and current deployments. Also the analysts have a leading role trying to get the most of possible info to be discussed. As a summary, the key points that in our opinion are the key takeaways are:

• Finally IMS "is happening".
• LTE and RCS-e seem to be the key enablers
• There are appearing simplified IMS "cores" to make easy and affordable the IMS.
• The business models are converging and at the same way that OTT's are being in some way "telcos", telcos must become soon in some ways "OTT's".  IMS should be the technological base of a Telco-OTT style. This was our point in the 2 panels we participated.
• Carriers are starting to test some OTT models, Telefonica acquisition of local social network Tuenti, and launching an associated MVNO could be a good example. Still to see how to integrate telco technology to make better the OTT delivery.
• Very interesting strategies explained by Verizon Wireless (US) & Rogers (Canada).

The exhibitors booths showcase their IMS architecture, and yes, it seems now it is happening. Particulary interesting the SMX product by Acme Packet, a cost-effective IMS architecture to allow whatever type of service provider to enable IMS services as VoIP & RCS-e. RCS-e could be enabled with SMX without the need of Instant Messaging server if the carrier prefers to launch without chat 1-to-many and store&forward features. A good trade off then.

And last, we hope to see IMS and their key enablers launchs very soon in many places, and of course we are eager to participate, remember our RCS Open&Ubiquitous trial as a Service :-)

GSMA video featuring RCS DevChallenge Winning products.

The GSMA just uploaded to their RCS Channel in Youtube a video filmed during the past MWC with the winners of RCS DevChallenge Competition. You can see there the products of Jibe Mobile (best RCS mobile client) , Movial (best RCS pc client)  and Solaiemes (best RCS innovation). In our demo you can see how interacting using chat with services based on RCS Solution Gateway, and also our RCS Web Client based on RCS Thin Client Server including the History feature.



Kudos to GSMA for pushing RCS ahead.
regards :-)

Proposal to telcos, Try RCS/RCS-e Open & Ubiquitous as a Service!

2011 is going to be the year of the first launchs of Rich Communication Suite, and the year when all the carriers might explore the RCS ways of monetization further the personal messaging service. Solaiemes RCS portfolio has been envisioned to help carriers to overcome the "app store" model where they are mainly "supporting role" and move to the "service contact store" or "network based solutions" with a very simple, powerful and common enabler, the enhanced phonebook.

We can interoperate easily with leading IMS, messaging& SBC  vendors, we can prove that, and once did that, the idea is helping telcos to develope their own cases on top of RCS and their own RCS thin client to make RCS ubiquitous. As our approach is UNI (user to network interface) our platforms can be safely placed in the cloud, as they behave as clients. Then we can offer a test enviroment for creating use cases for your own market research, user experience surveys, & creating automatic procedures to test terminal clients, defining particular needs to offer the API's to developers once the service will be launch.

Time is gold, and all the actors may cooperate reducing bureaucracy, and start working in what really matters, making RCS happen and becoming the telco alternative to apps. We designed a package (it could be customized) to be contracted from 3 months terms and with a nice discount for full year contracts.

Package (contract based on quarters or just 1 year with discount)

• 1 RCS Solution Gateway dedicated in the cloud
• 1 RCS Thin Client Server dedicated in the cloud
• Interoperation Service with Carrier RCS System (IMS+IM+SBC Server or just using IMS+SBC at all). Carrier can choose RCS-e or RCS release 2 spec.
• 1 Webinar
• Initial customization of 2 thin (Web) clients
• 8x5 support
• 1 Full documentation of RCS Solution API's
• 9 engineer days/quarter to prepare or help to prepare on demand demos.
• 3 days/month of 24/7 support to be used on important demos or events.

Special discounts for additional profesional services, on site training and future "on premise" licenses.

And the price ? Ask us, but just a clue, less than 6 figures for a full year !!!

Yes, our RCS portfolio is supporting new RCS-e spec!

After the past Mobile World Congress we were asked about future alignment of our RCS portfolio including RCS Solution Gateway and RCS Thin Client Server with the RCS-e spec promoted by leading carriers and just announced with comitted launch dates during the past MWC.
We just posted our views about this new scenario and now we are pleased to announce our platforms will be working as dual RCS release 2 and RCS-e after implementing the dynamic discovery capabilities based on SIP OPTIONS and will be adding all the feature set described in further specs of coming RCS-e.
As one of the argued reasons for new RCS-e is the need of early launch, and Solaiemes considers the real value of RCS-e will be as key enabler not only for personal messaging but alternative access to rich solutions/use cases (our open/ubiquitous RCS vision), from whatever device, it is mandatory to be on time to have our platforms at the launch dates :-)

Solaiemes to exhibit at CTIA WIRELESS 2011.

Solaiemes will participate as exhibitor in the coming CTIA Wireless 2011 show to be celebrated in Orlando (US) the next 22-24th of March.
Our stand will be the 1440-B inside the Spanish Pavillion area.
We will showcase our compelling RCS/RCS-e portfolio including the RCS Solution Gateway, Winner of GSMA RCS DevChallenge Innovation Category.
We are looking forward to meet there:

• Telco infrastructure vendors to partner.
• Carriers aiming to deploy RCS open to services/solutions and ubiquitous.
• VC's, yes, time for a proper round :-)

Send as an email or a Twitter DM to schedule a meeting and know more about us.

Just took out from the oven, our MWC 2011 Highlights video

This Mobile World Congress has been amazing for us, with very good news. We edited a video with our highlights, "the discloseable ones" ;-), to share with all of you.



the Solaiemes team

Solaiemes, GSMA RCS DevChallenge Innovation Category Winner.

We are happy, very happy, 15 months ago we deciced to focus on RCS, being a very risky decision, and now, finally carriers seem to be deploying RCS-e as announced yesterday and today, just one day after, we won the GSMA RCS DevChallenge competition in the Innovation Category.

The Solaiemes team thanks all the people supporting us, providing good feedback, customers, partners, analysts, and our VC, Eurecan.
We hope this could be a new start, having from now on to have more opportunities to work together with carriers "to deliver the next big thing in communications to the masses" :-)

Some pics from this journey here, in our Facebook page.