GSMA launches the Rich Communication Virtual Exhibition

The GSMA has just launched the Rich Communication Visual Exhibition. It is a virtual exhibition where vendors involved in the RCS / RCS-e technology can have a permanent virtual booth showcasing their portfolios.
Solaiemes is one of the vendors initially exhibiting (the others are Alcatel-Lucent, NSN, Tekelec, Huawei, Wit, Mavenir and Neusoft).
In our stand you can see our ppt evangelizing RCS-e and explaining briefly the 5 platforms to make open, ubiquitous and smartly monetizable  Rich Communication Suite, and several videos of how our technology works and the use cases that could be implemented on top of RCS-e using our approach and portfolio.
We congratulate GSMA, this idea was great and will let carriers to know the full potential of RCS-e, to know exactly what vendor is offering and also will make easier for vendors to find complementarities and search for partnerships/alliances.

See you there, visit our virtual booth :-)

Is RCS-e too late & too little? Our views.

Just read an interesting article from Strategy Analysis we would like to explain our views about the hype of mobile messaging and the competition between OTT & Telco approaches.

New OTT messaging market is getting hot, Whatsapp, Thrutu, Google Huddle, Apple iMessage and others are great and will help RCS-e to succeed once launched. Till now, big telcos acting did not want to cannibalize SMS setting up their own messaging alternatives with probably less revenue. But today, most of them are realizing that auto-cannibalization is better than being devoured by others.
Current OTT messaging alternatives on mobile, such as Whatsapp and soon iMessage and Google Huddle, are getting people used to see IM as their phonebook or phonebook alike. RCS-e can allow carriers to surf that wave to their advantage. RCS-e is arriving perhaps late but with nice assets:

- Carriers can get manufacturers to include RCS-e (messaging) client in mid, and even low, device tiers.
- Interoperability, use the IM with the same reliability than SMS: the IM will arrive whatever carrier is serving your contact.
- In many countries telcos are required to know real customer identities. Carrier-based IM can then be used to facilitate and intermediate transactions, especially interesting in countries where banking access is basically done through the mobile phone.
- Telco API's to easily create person to solution use cases, that can be accessed through phonebook entries. It may replicate the success of SMS for VAS: once the use of SMS is learnt, it is the same to send an SMS to a person than to a service (sms-to-tv, buy ringtones, voting, etc).
- RCS-e VideoShare is a very powerful feature to be used as tool for live streaming or multimedia user generated content, competing with advantages over current closed OTT solutions.
- Also, telcos can offer RCS-e as ubiquitous access, offering clients for screens where perhaps the connectivity is not theirs (i.e: a Widget capable TV connected to another telco DSL).

RCS-e is not only about personal messaging but a service enabler, and even, RCS-e and OTT offering may co-exist and be complementary in delighting the user/customers, then not too late nor too little.
Your views?

Solaiemes launches a new site explaining our RCS-e portfolio

We just launched a new company site focused in the RCS-e portfolio aiming to allow to undertand our proposition for RCS-e in 20 minutes combining short introductory texts and videos.
We explain our 5 RCS-e platforms to help carriers to offer more than a new messaging player but a powerful enabler of value added services, alternative to apps and mobile browsing.
www.rcseopenandubiquitous.com
also accessible as
www.rcse.tv

Solaiemes opens RCS-e VideoShare to internet use cases with LiveServe product

We are proud of the adaptation of our first product (LiveServe) to RCS-e to help telcos and ecosystem to build compelling use cases using telco features as communication enablers for 3rd party solutions.
The LiveServe RCS-e media server combined with the RCS-e Solution Gateway API's allow to create use cases as the below example, a live video streaming site created on blogger. No app needed in the mobile, no changes required in the core network, and soon, available in mid tier deviced powering RCS-e native clients. The power of real multimedia from your phonebook.



Feedback welcomed :-)

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 !!!