By Special Guest: Wim Van Daele, Director, Communications – Mobile Commerce, Video & Immersive Communications, Alcatel-Lucent

Service providers are discovering new opportunities brought by the expanding market for the delivery of digital media services (applications, music, games, e-books, and more). Answering the question how to leverage this opportunity is one thing; but even more important is the question how to successfully monetize it.

In other words, how can service providers position themselves as critical components in application and content value chains to add value? How can they successfully differentiate from/compete with players such as Apple and Google?

The first part of the answer lies in service providers’ unique ability to deliver digital media services across the breadth of connected screens and devices – whatever the brand or operating system. Secondly, they should develop superior marketing and merchandizing strategies, such as using the Alcatel-Lucent Digital Media Store (DMS), an end-to-end hosted and managed digital media store service that can leverage SP reach and trusted relationship with consumers

Creating an “it’s-all-about-me” consumer experience

Multimedia multitasking is becoming the norm.  However, as consumers’ content libraries grow (and more devices are used), keeping everything synchronized and organized is becoming a growing burden. At the same time, however, consumers expect nothing less than a fully personalized, seamless service experience.

Recognizing and meeting these expectations is a way for service and content providers to differentiate. They should create an “it’s-all-about-me” multi-content consumer experience – facilitating easy discovery of relevant content across any connected screen and device, adding value with compelling (local) content, etc.

Using a powerful marketing and merchandizing engine

Secondly, service and content providers require a powerful merchandising and analytics engine that supports focused marketing programs designed to effectively compete with Internet-based players, and increase revenues and customer loyalty. As such, they cannot only support transaction-based purchase models, but also cross-content bundles, monthly subscriptions, gifting and more. In short, they need a store — one that not only is customer and device friendly but is also developer friendly. 

Please click the link for more information about The Digital Media Store.