In deal which will no doubt spur the Internet’s transformation into a giant voice network, VoIP provider Jajah and “social communications” company Jangl have teamed up to make IP telephony a standard and integral part of the Web.
This deal is huge, as these two companies have already done much to make VoIP a familiar term to millions of Web users. Jajah specializes in “click-to-call” VoIP for online advertising and retail Web sites, in addition to offering its popular Web-based telephony service via its Web site, Jajah.com, which connects users all over the globe. Meanwhile, Jangl offers a similar service (using your email address) and also specializes in bringing click-to-call VoIP and text messaging to social Web sites, including technology that lets members communicate via their Web-enabled mobile phones. This partnership will combine the strengths of the two companies and promises to bring new, innovative and low-cost text and VoIP services to consumers, thus making Web-based voice communications to become practically ubiquitous. The two companies will work together to market their combined solutions and bring new solutions to the fore.
"The goal of this partnership is to create several natural synergies for both Jajah and Jangl, and has the potential to strengthen both companies' positions going forward," said Rebecca Swensen, research analyst, VoIP Services for IDC, Inc., in a press release. "Anytime two companies collaborate at an integral level -- on product development, marketing and more -- additional opportunities invariably arise. This is one of the first major collaborations we've seen in the 'Voice 2.0' market and, to the extent that both companies execute well, this could have some very interesting ramifications for others in this space, as well."
Both companies are reportedly working on new initiatives which they will make public soon. Jajah claims it has become the Web telephony platform of choice worldwide, while Jangl reports that it is developing services for several new partners. In addition, Jangl is working with Google on its OpenSocial initiative.
As per the terms of the deal, Jangl will leverage Jajah's telephony infrastructure to deliver phone services in 122 countries, further speeding Jangl's growth as it continues to forge partnerships with top online personals and social networking communities, where it already powers in-context calling capabilities in more than 40 million online profiles. In addition, the two companies will collaborate in serving voice advertising (also known as in-call media, or ad supported telephony) for mobile and landline calls. Jangl will become a publisher of ads and will use Jajah’s in-call advertising appliance to overlay audio advertising on Jangl calls.
"More and more, Jajah is becoming the platform of choice, and we are delighted to work with Jangl," said Trevor Healy, Jajah CEO, in the press release. "It shows the great leaps we have made since opening our platform. Thanks to Jangl's position within the online community and Jajah's new advertising services, both companies significantly expand our advertising capabilities and monetization potential."
"Jangl has always been about bridging the phone and the Web," said Michael Cerda, Jangl co-founder and CEO. "By giving people the same level of control with their phones, as they have with IM and email, we're proving out our strategy. By contrast, Jajah has excelled at providing low-priced, high-quality international phone calling, and they've established a stellar back end operation along the way. Our partnership is about leveraging our complements and strengths, which will manifest in new initiatives and products in the very near future."
A few things to consider in this deal are: How long will it be before consumers are really ready to start making Internet-based phone calls via their PCs, laptops and mobile devices? For example, one of the hindrances to consumer adoption of “softphone”-based VoIP, which has been around for a while, is the fact the users typically have to don a headset with microphone in order to make phone calls. This is often viewed as an inconvenience compared to making calls via a regular handset. Jajah’s Web-based service lets a user use a regular phone, but it requires the user to enter the destination/origin number on a Web page, click “call” and then the user's phone rings back when the call is connected. This is certainly not the same level of convenience afforded through the VoIP services currently offered through cable or telco or other stand alone VoIP providers such as Vonage, which allow users to make calls directly from their handsets. Maybe it isn't part of the plan, but I hope that Jajah and Jangl will team to deliver a USB phone that plugs into one’s computer or perhaps even a router enabling a home phone network via one’s PC to help accelerate adoption of their Web-based services. I think letting users also use a regular handset, in addition to their computer, would go a long way to accelerate adoption of the two companies’ Internet phone services.
And then there’s the ad-supported telephony phenomenon, which is still in its infancy. This is where advertisements are injected into call streams to off-set the cost of the call for the user and to generate new revenue streams for telephony providers. I’m not sure many consumers are ready to embrace this model, particularly since for years VoIP has been marketed on the promise that this new technology would enable a better call experience for less money. To ask consumers to sit through brief advertisements in order to get free calls may or may not work (and it will probably depend largely on the type of ads, i.e. the content). Perhaps success for ad-supported telephony will only be realized as the generations now using the Web as a social networking tool mature and come to accept such business models as the “norm.”
Regardless, this deal is huge and obviously these two companies are a great fit for each other. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
This deal is huge, as these two companies have already done much to make VoIP a familiar term to millions of Web users. Jajah specializes in “click-to-call” VoIP for online advertising and retail Web sites, in addition to offering its popular Web-based telephony service via its Web site, Jajah.com, which connects users all over the globe. Meanwhile, Jangl offers a similar service (using your email address) and also specializes in bringing click-to-call VoIP and text messaging to social Web sites, including technology that lets members communicate via their Web-enabled mobile phones. This partnership will combine the strengths of the two companies and promises to bring new, innovative and low-cost text and VoIP services to consumers, thus making Web-based voice communications to become practically ubiquitous. The two companies will work together to market their combined solutions and bring new solutions to the fore.
"The goal of this partnership is to create several natural synergies for both Jajah and Jangl, and has the potential to strengthen both companies' positions going forward," said Rebecca Swensen, research analyst, VoIP Services for IDC, Inc., in a press release. "Anytime two companies collaborate at an integral level -- on product development, marketing and more -- additional opportunities invariably arise. This is one of the first major collaborations we've seen in the 'Voice 2.0' market and, to the extent that both companies execute well, this could have some very interesting ramifications for others in this space, as well."
Both companies are reportedly working on new initiatives which they will make public soon. Jajah claims it has become the Web telephony platform of choice worldwide, while Jangl reports that it is developing services for several new partners. In addition, Jangl is working with Google on its OpenSocial initiative.
As per the terms of the deal, Jangl will leverage Jajah's telephony infrastructure to deliver phone services in 122 countries, further speeding Jangl's growth as it continues to forge partnerships with top online personals and social networking communities, where it already powers in-context calling capabilities in more than 40 million online profiles. In addition, the two companies will collaborate in serving voice advertising (also known as in-call media, or ad supported telephony) for mobile and landline calls. Jangl will become a publisher of ads and will use Jajah’s in-call advertising appliance to overlay audio advertising on Jangl calls.
"More and more, Jajah is becoming the platform of choice, and we are delighted to work with Jangl," said Trevor Healy, Jajah CEO, in the press release. "It shows the great leaps we have made since opening our platform. Thanks to Jangl's position within the online community and Jajah's new advertising services, both companies significantly expand our advertising capabilities and monetization potential."
"Jangl has always been about bridging the phone and the Web," said Michael Cerda, Jangl co-founder and CEO. "By giving people the same level of control with their phones, as they have with IM and email, we're proving out our strategy. By contrast, Jajah has excelled at providing low-priced, high-quality international phone calling, and they've established a stellar back end operation along the way. Our partnership is about leveraging our complements and strengths, which will manifest in new initiatives and products in the very near future."
A few things to consider in this deal are: How long will it be before consumers are really ready to start making Internet-based phone calls via their PCs, laptops and mobile devices? For example, one of the hindrances to consumer adoption of “softphone”-based VoIP, which has been around for a while, is the fact the users typically have to don a headset with microphone in order to make phone calls. This is often viewed as an inconvenience compared to making calls via a regular handset. Jajah’s Web-based service lets a user use a regular phone, but it requires the user to enter the destination/origin number on a Web page, click “call” and then the user's phone rings back when the call is connected. This is certainly not the same level of convenience afforded through the VoIP services currently offered through cable or telco or other stand alone VoIP providers such as Vonage, which allow users to make calls directly from their handsets. Maybe it isn't part of the plan, but I hope that Jajah and Jangl will team to deliver a USB phone that plugs into one’s computer or perhaps even a router enabling a home phone network via one’s PC to help accelerate adoption of their Web-based services. I think letting users also use a regular handset, in addition to their computer, would go a long way to accelerate adoption of the two companies’ Internet phone services.
And then there’s the ad-supported telephony phenomenon, which is still in its infancy. This is where advertisements are injected into call streams to off-set the cost of the call for the user and to generate new revenue streams for telephony providers. I’m not sure many consumers are ready to embrace this model, particularly since for years VoIP has been marketed on the promise that this new technology would enable a better call experience for less money. To ask consumers to sit through brief advertisements in order to get free calls may or may not work (and it will probably depend largely on the type of ads, i.e. the content). Perhaps success for ad-supported telephony will only be realized as the generations now using the Web as a social networking tool mature and come to accept such business models as the “norm.”
Regardless, this deal is huge and obviously these two companies are a great fit for each other. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
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