Takeaways from Mobile World Congress 2011

by Timo Laaksonen, VP Strategy & Business Development


Four intensive days of Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona - what were the key takeaways?

1) Smartphones and apps stole the center stage. Nokia partnership with Microsoft was the talk of the town. There were certainly enough people following Microsoft demos for Windows 7 to clog the main aisle of Hall 1. Maybe I only imagined but I could have sworn that some of them were also eyeing across the aisle towards "demos" in typical CBOSS style, i.e. gorgeous ladies on a catwalk. Android was present with a very large and definitely cool stand showcasing all their supported phone models out in the market as well as loads of application and service partners.

2) Financial sentiment appears to be "business as usual" in telecom and communications business. A member of the MWC sales team told me that they broke the all time attendance level on Tuesday, close to 60 000 people through the doors. Operators are considering serious investments in all areas: infrastructure, service platforms, customer experience, business support and customer care. There seemed to be considerably less hype around the show this year than in some of the previous years and more heads-down type business talk.

3) Major communication service providers are not going to watch from the sidelines how Apple and Google make all the money on their customers. Heads of Vodafone and Telefónica, among others, announced that they will not hand their customers on a silver plate over to the Internet giants. Major operator groups are working together to develop application, service and content ecosystems where their customer control, overall revenue and cut of advertising proceeds will be more prominent than in Apple or Google dominated scenarios. Operators will need to move fast to make a difference as the mobile Internet train is already picking up considerable speed.

4) Tecnotree's strategic value proposition to power the digital marketplace was welcomed by operators, press and analysts alike. As stated above, operators realize that they need to make concrete moves right now to develop a meaningful role for themselves as the underlying dynamics of the communications and media market are going through profound change. Our three step solution approach to becoming a digital marketplace was considered a clear path to short and long term success. As a result of MWC 2011 we have a lot of leads to follow up with both existing and new customers. This will be an exciting year of working with communication services providers the world over to extend and renew their current capabilities and to build new business critical solutions on their way to becoming flourishing digital marketplaces.