Red Bend Blog

Will Mobile Operators Face a Capacity Crunch Soon?

2010-04-19T16:58:00.003-04:00

By Richard Kinder
VP of Technology and New Business for Europe
Red Bend Software

Mobile data has finally arrived. After years of hype, the volume of data on mobile networks is reported to have surpassed that of voice traffic. Whilst the majority of this traffic is driven by people with mobile broadband subscriptions, undoubtedly the new breed of data-intensive mobile devices contributes significantly to this rapid growth. This bandwidth consumption is stressing the edge of the network and backhaul, resulting in a potential field day for providers of optical and microwave infrastructure. I could successfully argue that the capacity crunch is already upon us.

A frequently cited answer to congestion problems is to off-load mobile data from the mobile core network. Various techniques may be deployed to achieve this, such as WiFi or Femtocell offload. For the best results, both approaches rely on mobile devices being aware of their network context and acting accordingly. Unfortunately, the majority of handset software platforms have yet to acquire the necessary smarts to make best use of these whilst staying within the strict energy budgets imposed by today’s battery technologies.

We should not forget that bandwidth usage is only one metric by which to measure mobile network capacity. As has been highlighted in numerous articles, blogs and elsewhere during and since Mobile World Congress 2010, today’s mobile devices also impose a greater signalling burden on the mobile network. Whilst I am yet to receive a clear explanation of exactly what signalling traffic is generated, one can hypothesise that the desire to preserve battery life results in these devices frequently establishing and tearing down PDP contexts, which in turn creates signalling traffic within the operator’s infrastructure.

So what can the industry do about this? 4G standards such as LTE and WiMAX eventually will allow for future growth in mobile data usage – the key word being future! Prior to the halcyon days and unlimited bandwidth of 4G, network operators are committing significant amounts of money to enhancing their existing 3G infrastructure. As developers of device software, we too have a role to play, for example:

Consider the requirements of least-cost (to the network) routing balanced with least-energy routing. How many device TCP/IP stacks have actually been designed to take into account the vagaries of mobile data? Is inheriting networking stacks from desktop platforms acceptable?
3G networks perform best (data transfer per mW is one measure) when communications are less “bursty” and the full bandwidth of the air interface is utilised at once rather than in dribs and drabs. Consider how this can be accommodated in client / server interactions.
Be efficient in the use of data. For example, why send a full software update over the air when a binary difference can be used instead (Red Bend Software Ltd might be able to help you here!)

We cannot rely solely on network operators’ investments in infrastructure to address the capacity crunch. We have a responsibility to use what they provide as efficiently as possible. Services and platforms that can help operators manage their capacity concerns just may be more appealing to them.

To misquote Scott McNealy (he of “the-network-is-the-computer fame”), one day datatone will be as important as dialtone. That day is here.

Are we on the eve of distraction?

2010-02-18T19:42:00.003-05:00

By Yair Noam
System Architect,
Red Bend Software

Stepped into the Microsoft booth at MWC the other day to watch the demo of Windows phone 7. I tell you, the device certainly looks good and the new user experience concept is cool. Although I didn't actually get to hold a real device in my hands. I had to settle for a huge touch-screen with a canned demo which failed to tell me how the screen would look on a real (smaller) device.

Anyway, after a good night sleep, I realized what was bothering me, in addition to not seeing a real device. The thing with a Windows Phone 7 is that it is always trying to get your attention. The phone will introduce a lot of information on the screen, information that it "thinks" is important for you.

You can certainly call me old fashioned :-) Well, you can even guestimate my age by the theme song that I picked - Eve of destruction - 1965 by P. F. Sloan. Anyway, in my mind, I would like to be able to use my mobile device in a semi-automatic way. Meaning, I know what buttons I need to press when I want to do some operation and I know what to expect them to do when pushing these buttons.

My device should do what I tell it to and not try to distract me from that by flashing icons and displaying amazing animations. We had that on the PC not too long ago and it did drive the more techie guys crazy... good old clip and the cute little doggy...

And now we wait...

2009 Reflections and 2010 Outlook

2010-02-07T22:42:00.000-05:00

By Yoram Salinger
CEO,
Red Bend Software

The 2009 global economic climate was terrible. Handset shipments saw a decline and manufacturers and operators struggled to maintain market share. How did Red Bend fare amid the rollercoaster? Simply put, despite market challenges, 2009 was an extremely good year for us. Our customer momentum, market expansion and financials were stronger than ever. We renewed and expanded key contracts and added many new customers, including Borqs, Fujitsu and Sagem Communications.

Perhaps the most noteworthy accomplishment, however, was in our expansion of relationships with some of the most respected global operators. China Mobile chose Red Bend to provide FOTA and device management for mobile phones that use the Android-based OPhone OS (Open Mobile Phone Operating System). And NTT DOCOMO signed a multi-year agreement for our full Mobile Software Management (MSM) product suite for use across DOCOMO’s platforms.

Looking ahead in 2010, industry experts are predicting a “recovery” of sorts this year. While there is no crystal ball, I believe it will be another strong year for Red Bend. The number of customer engagements already underway continues to exceed those of past years, and every Red Bend territory is forecasting growth as we expand into new products and new markets.

From a broad market perspective, we expect to see merger and acquisition activity heat up. While some companies closed their doors in 2009, those who were doing well were hard to value amid market instability. Now, with a sense of recovery, many companies are hurrying to make smart acquisitions before a full recovery equals increased valuations.

Our company vision goes far beyond mobile phones. We believe we have an important role to play in managing software in the growing number of wirelessly connected devices from netbooks to e-readers to automobiles to utility meters, and to device types not yet launched. We will be listening and responding carefully to changing market requirements.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and respond to macro-level trends in the mobile ecosystem. We were the first to truly understand the significant role that software would play in generating value for the mobile industry and for delivering a compelling user experience for mobile consumers. The players that know how to harness and manage those software assets will win, and this is what Red Bend is enabling for its customers.

At the end of the day, when people ask me which factors I feel contribute most to our success, I confidently point to the un-matched dedication of our people. It is because of them that we can earn the trust of our customers through both our innovative products and our top-notch support. 2010 will be no different in that respect.

To our customers, partners, press, analysts and peers – We thank you for joining us along the way and we look forward to working with you to make 2010 a great year for the mobile industry.

The ROI of MSM: Enhancing the Consumer Experience and Mobile Revenues

2010-02-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

By Guy Agin
Director of Strategy and Business Development,
Red Bend Software

The mobile industry is increasingly recognizing Mobile Software Management (MSM) as vital for enabling the next generation of mobile services. One reason is because the business case is so compelling.

MSM encompasses a set of technologies, standards and business processes which enable service providers to perform management actions on the software assets of mobile devices. By enabling the software on a broad range of devices to be dynamically manipulated over the air, MSM equips service providers with the ability to launch new services independently of device release schedules and replacement cycles.

The ability to instantly push a new service to the installed base increases the ROI significantly and achieves a critical mass of penetration more rapidly. In our latest white paper, we calculated the ROI a service provider could expect with MSM, assuming a subscriber base of 20 million and planning to launch a service that would add $2 per month for users of the new service. It is assumed that without MSM capability, the installed base for the new service grows from 1 percent to 15 percent over 3 years, while having an MSM solution in place means the installed base starts at 10 percent and grows to 30 percent. This difference alone increases the incremental revenue from the service by 180 percent over three years.

Mobile Software Management doesn’t just have the potential to increase revenues for the service provider though – imagine what it can do for the consumer!

Over-the-air software updates give consumers a continuous stream of new features and performance improvements. This is especially important as phones get smarter and more complex. Mobile phones now have cameras, Wi-Fi, video, TV and music, and consumers are accustomed to getting these services on-demand. This updating enhances the value of the phone throughout the phone’s lifetime, and delivers a more compelling user experience that keeps consumers satisfied and builds brand loyalty.

The white paper presents different revenue and business models that enable the mobile value chain to monetize MSM.

To learn more, download the White Paper>>

Should SCOTA Supersede FOTA?

2010-02-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

By Ilana Bogomolny
Sr. Product Manager,
Red Bend Software

FOTA – Updating of Firmware Over the Air – is a successful mobile technology that is routinely used in millions of mobile phones and devices to introduce new features and provide performance improvements. In comparison, SCOTA – managing Software Components Over the Air – is a relative newcomer. SCOTA, however, has already become a common feature in operators’ requirements and device specifications, with early adopters among some of the leading device manufacturers.

Red Bend customers who are implementing, or planning to implement, SCOTA on their mobile devices expect to use it as the only software management process for the entire device software stack. Therefore, the question arises whether devices that support SCOTA should still use FOTA to update firmware, or whether SCOTA can and should absorb FOTA functionality, making SCOTA the sole software-managing mechanism.

With FOTA, the entire firmware is updated, from the OS kernel and middleware to the top of the built-in application stack. FOTA uses the OMA DM (Open Mobile Alliance Device Management) enabler called FUMO – Firmware Update Management Object.

SCOTA enables more granular and flexible management of discrete software components. With SCOTA, one or more piece of software can be changed without requiring an update to the rest of the device. SCOTA’s popularity will increase with the proliferation of app stores as there is now a need to update software components so that consumers can have access to the latest applications, without needing to replace devices. SCOTA uses the OMA DM enabler called SCOMO – Software Component Management Object.

The main advantage for a single, unified mechanism on the device for managing software components, as well as for the device firmware, is that it enables dependencies to be defined between software components and the firmware version they require. When such a dependency exists and a new or updated software component requires a firmware update, it becomes possible to implement a single, holistic update operation handling both the software and firmware components by the same mechanisms. The result is a seamless update and a properly working device no matter how the consumer wants to personalize it.

Merging FOTA into SCOTA also makes it simple to transition the management of some software components that are embedded in the firmware image and updated via FUMO to be handled as individual entities managed via SCOMO. Operator-branded applications packs are a good example.

Of course, for devices where only FOTA is required and where component management of any kind is not planned, there is no advantage in replacing FOTA with SCOTA.

For OEMs and operators that have already implemented FOTA (FUMO) and are introducing SCOTA (SCOMO) on their device, it only takes a few steps to make sure that firmware updates are managed through SCOMO. Looking toward the future, the OMA DM SCOMO standard is almost ready to handle firmware updates. There are a few enhancements that need to be made to the SCOMO standard if it is to fully supersede FUMO as the FOTA enabler. The good news is that planning has started for the next version of the SCOMO standard, so certain features will be promoted to enable the FOTA-SCOTA merger.

To read more, download the Position Paper>>

When GAAP and MSM Intersect: Business Catches up to Demand for Software Updating

2009-11-30T15:14:00.001-05:00

By Lori Sylvia
EVP Marketing,
Red Bend Software

We envision a world where software updates occur every second of the day, improving the mobile user experience while generating additional value for mobile providers. The technology is here today to enable this vision, with OMA DM servers adopted widely by tier-1 and tier-2 operators globally and with about half of handsets already supporting over-the-air software updating.

Now, the business environment is catching up to market demand for software updates, as reflected by some recent changes to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

In the old days when hardware ruled, consumer electronics manufacturers would sell a device and recognize the sale of that device in that month. Then, software got more sophisticated and more essential to the functionality of a product. If OEMs delivered software updates to the device after it was sold, it meant OEMs had to spread the revenue recognition throughout the device’s lifetime.

Years ago, we heard more than one OEM cite the accounting implications if they were to deliver FOTA updates. FOTA technology was used primarily as an insurance policy to prevent a product recall. But soon the leading OEMs and operators realized the strategic value of delivering continuous software updates. Today, FOTA is much more than fixing defects. It’s used to deliver new features as well as to improve a device’s performance. New advancements in the technology enable updating individual software components over the air (SCOTA) on-demand to support consumers personalizing their device with new applications and services. Software updating has become an important way to keep consumers satisfied with their mobile service and loyal to the experience they get from their handset maker.

Changes to the GAAP rules now allow manufacturers that are delivering software updates to recognize more revenue sooner, even if they are offering those updates free of charge (otherwise bundled in the original price), and even if the contents of the software updates are unspecified at the time the original device is sold.

One of the most vocal advocates of this change has been Apple. The company provides free software updates to iPhone users. Because some of the value of the iPhone is delivered after the product’s initial sale and because the software updates are not sold separately, the former GAAP rules forced Apple to bundle the value of the iPhone with the software updates and spread the revenue over the 24 month AT&T subscription term. Now, Apple and other manufacturers will be able to separate the value of the device from any future software updates. The product’s sales can be recognized in that quarter, while only the value of the device’s future software updates will be deferred.

Software updating is becoming increasingly commonplace in mobile phones and is spreading quickly to other wirelessly connected devices. New business models will emerge that capitalize on this powerful capability to meet the increasing demands of mobile consumers. Mobile devices are no longer static products whose functionality is set when the device ships. Mobile Software Management is the key enabler that allows mobile providers to deliver more value to their consumers throughout the entire mobile user experience.

Red Bend Enables China Mobile to Manage Android Devices

2009-11-30T14:59:00.002-05:00

By Seger (Gang) Shen
Sales Director for China,
Red Bend Software

3G has arrived in China, and with it has come a wave of innovative handsets. To drive usage of its new 3G service, China Mobile has developed an exciting new Android-based software platform called the OPhone OS (Open Mobile Phone Operating System). The OPhone OS has been developed by Borqs for China Mobile and is quickly expanding to Japan and other regions. OPhone smartphones are designed to compete with Apple’s iPhone, which is being offered by China Unicom.

Through an agreement with China Mobile Research Institute, Red Bend is enabling China Mobile to manage its Android-based devices by providing FOTA and DM software for the OPhone OS. Devices running OPhone, such as the HTC Dopod A6188, have already launched in the Chinese market.

3G devices are feature rich, and therefore more complex. When developing the OPhone OS, China Mobile and Borqs decided to build in management support to ensure that the platform could be easily and efficiently updated over the air with the latest features and software improvements.

“At Borqs, we understand that mobile phones and the software on these phones need to be updated at any time, from anywhere, and we needed a solution that could do this,” said Bob Li, senior vice president of business development at Borqs. “While the hardware of a phone can last for a long time, this is not the case with the software. Software comes with many functions and applications that require updates.”

According to Li, “Red Bend has a good history, and the company has many global customers and a great deal of support experience. I believe Borqs will maintain our partnership with Red Bend into the future, and I’m sure we will have many opportunities to work with them.”

Device Management Is Essential for Managing a Range of Wirelessly Connected Devices

2009-11-30T14:32:00.002-05:00

By Yoram Berholtz
Senior Product Manager,
Red Bend Software

The demand for constant connectivity is at an all-time high. Consumers want mobile phones that work wherever they are and whenever they need them–at home, in the office, on the road and across geographies. These demands create a big challenge for mobile operators, which want to manage all the devices in their network in a unified way, regardless of the type of device or software platform. As a result, operators globally are harnessing the Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA DM) standard to meet the demands of this increasingly diverse environment and ensure a consistent and satisfying mobile user experience.

Ovum recently reported that 36% of global handset shipments support OMA DM. Device management has become especially crucial to open platforms like Android, Brew Mobile Platform, Symbian and LiMo, as these platforms are feature-rich and geared to support rapidly evolving applications. Typical capabilities of DM include subscriber provisioning, connectivity configuration, firmware updating, diagnostics and monitoring, and software installation—all of which can be performed over the air (OTA). These capabilities result in lower support and maintenance costs for OEMs and operators while providing increased consumer satisfaction with their mobile device and service.

With DM, operators and handset manufacturers can activate new subscribers on the network, configure parameters including preferred roaming lists, retrieve data such as billing and inventory as well as conduct “lock and wipe”—remotely shutting down the mobile phone and deleting its memory in case it’s lost or stolen.

It’s not just mobile phones that require DM. Recent WiMAX deployments in the United States (Clearwire) and Japan (UQ Communications) adopted OMA DM as the main provisioning and management standard. These service providers are actively equipping their mobile devices, such as WiMAX modems and chipsets, with DM client software. By embracing the OMA DM standards, companies can ensure out-of-the-box interoperability in all the major WiMAX networks. As important as OMA DM is to the current phase of WiMAX deployment, it will be even more important as these networks evolve by being able to deliver more advanced applications and services to WiMAX consumers in the future. The prospects for WiMAX are merely up to the imaginations of the operators and their ability to offer attractive services, regardless of the device. The bandwidth capabilities anticipated in WiMAX will likely bring unprecedented access to video, movies and more, driving additional revenue streams to operators, manufacturers and ISVs as new services and applications become available.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) is another wireless segment that has adopted OMA DM for two reasons: 1) the nomadic nature of some M2M segments (e.g., automotive and telematics) force the module to engage with several networks and even roam to other countries; thus, the module must be able to work in a multi-server environment, and (2) the cost of adopting standards-based DM is much less expensive than a proprietary environment because the integration with devices and the certification with networks can be quicker. With the inherent functionality that exists in OMA DM, such as provisioning, managing security and the ability to work globally, operators can benefit from lower cost of ownership by using their already deployed OMA DM infrastructure and utilizing it for M2M.

Red Bend Software’s vDirect Mobile™ is the leading independent DM client. vDirect Mobile has been adopted by more than 30 manufacturers of wirelessly connected devices in the mobile, WiMAX and M2M markets, and is interoperable with any DM server supporting OMA DM standards. It also uniquely supports the WiMAX Management Object (MO) for managing mobile WiMAX devices according to specifications from the WiMAX Forum.

During the next five years, mobile devices will become more advanced and have many integrated features and connectivity standards. Device management is essential for enabling manufacturers and operators to manage such a diverse installed base in a unified way.

Rise of the Machines in Europe

2009-11-30T14:24:00.002-05:00

FOTA Software Is a Must-Have Feature for Managing Remotely Connected M2M Devices

By Calogero (Lillo) Licata
Director of Technology and New Business for Europe,
Red Bend Software

The machine-to-machine (M2M) market is a fast-growing area in the wireless sector. M2M applications can be found in a range of industries and used in a number of ways, including automotive telematics and transportation, environmental and energy control, physical surveillance and security, retail vending and even remote patient monitoring.

In Europe, a number of drivers promise M2M market expansion. In April 2009, the U.K. passed new legislation to encourage energy efficiency. The legislation requires all profile-class type meters to upgrade to new “smart meters” by 2014. Smart metering, which affects hundreds of thousands of electricity and gas meters, will automate the reading of consumed energy and provide more frequent and accurate data to help save energy and meet the European Union directive to cut greenhouse gases. On the automotive front, analyst firm Berg Insight recently forecast that 3.5 million passenger cars in Europe will have on-board telematics by year’s end. Stolen vehicle tracking is the main application, followed by motor insurance telematics, connected navigation, automatic emergency call and driver assistance. In France, even M2M use for toll collection is expanding.

With M2M embedded systems growing in complexity, there is an inherent need to life-cycle manage the module modem and application software in these devices in order to enable new features and applications. Both OEMs and solution providers greatly benefit from the ability to update and maintain M2M devices by remotely performing software improvements over the air. After all, some of these devices are intended to have a 20-plus year lifespan.

The M2M market in Europe recognizes the importance of firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating for managing software and applications remotely. By keeping these devices up-to-date with the latest features and improvements, M2M manufacturers and service providers can ensure quality, avoid product recalls, reduce support costs and improve customer satisfaction. With FOTA support integrated into the M2M device, only hardware-related failures, which happen less often, need to be repaired manually in the field.

According to ABI Research’s Senior Analyst Sam Lucero, FOTA is becoming more important in the M2M market: “For M2M, the benefits are operational efficiency and cost reduction. With M2M modules growing in complexity, FOTA enables manufacturers to perform software improvements over the air, without needing to send a technician on-site.”

Four of the top five M2M module manufacturers, including Motorola’s Wireless Modules division and SIMCom Wireless Solutions Ltd., have adopted FOTA for use in their modules. Telit Wireless Solutions SpA., an international provider of cellular M2M technology, licensed Red Bend’s FOTA client software for use in its M2M product portfolio and now offers a FOTA service to its customers. In September, France-based Sagem Communications also selected Red Bend’s vRapid Mobile® FOTA solution in order to offer its customers software improvements and new functionality for Sagem’s M2M modules and devices.

By the end of 2010, Red Bend estimates that approximately 40% of new M2M modules will be FOTA capable. Besides having the extensive experience, Red Bend has the products and solutions to allow OTA delivery and updating of embedded devices/systems comprising compressed firmware image structures, applications, read-only file systems and distributed CPU architectures, which are becoming pervasive in M2M.

Red Bend is actively supporting M2M market expansion in Europe. Soon, M2M will help us all use energy more wisely, keep our cars running more efficiently and enable us to purchase goods and services on the go. Long live the machines!

Striking the Right Balance with Open Source Platforms

2009-11-29T21:36:00.008-05:00

By Richard Kinder
VP of Technology and New Business for Europe
Red Bend Software

Red Bend recently exhibited at Symbian Exchange and Exposition 2009 in London. As expected, attendance was down this year given the economic situation, but likely also in part from the fading excitement surrounding the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, which was big news at last year’s event. In many areas, the Symbian Foundation is ahead of the schedule they set themselves. For example, its kernel has been released under the Eclipse Public License. One should not underestimate the amount of work that has gone into an achievement such as this. As with any “new” platform, a major proof point is the availability of devices running on it. Once this happens, I am sure that there will be renewed enthusiasm for the show, but by then, who knows how far the iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices will have evolved.

All is not lost for Symbian yet. It has been successful in enabling delivery of smartphone functionality at increasingly lower device price points, but the industry has shifted its focus to usability and features. As Apple’s iPhone has proven, even in a down economy, consumers will pay for the right high-end smartphone with the right user experience. In the case of Samsung, which already has its own robust midrange solution, Symbian will need to offer something unique and compelling for the manufacturer to build on its platform. For Symbian to be successful, its platform must evolve and offer higher-end features in a way that is easily accessible to consumers in order to close the gap with Android and the iPhone. To do this, they must motivate their contributors to add value in the right areas.

The challenges for an open-source platform aren’t limited to Symbian. A key challenge is that of clear and fair governance rules. Each community has different takes on governance, making their challenges unique. Take Google’s Android, for example. Android is available under an open-source license but some do not consider it an open source project. The platform is controlled by Google, and a majority of the contributions are made by Google. While this approach has some advantages, it is difficult for a contributor to make a real difference to the platform and speed its innovation. It’s important to remember that the core ethos of what open source offers is a platform for somebody with an idea to share that idea with other people. Open source brings together communities of like-minded people and should give them a forum to communicate in a way that is natural to them—therefore, lending itself to driving innovation. However, open source has often struggled to shape its “in-the-moment” innovation into cohesive robust projects. To be successful, open-source platforms will need to find the right balance between in-the-moment features and the slow-but-structured development approach of traditional mobile platforms. Key to this is governance rules that shape the community around the platform.

So which open source smartphone platform will ultimately strike that right balance? At this point, you can’t ignore the Symbian Foundation. Nokia’s volumes and desire to drive usability and new features into the category previously serviced by S40 should not be underestimated. With Android, we’re seeing a broad variety of devices at various price points, and it is interesting to see Android scale from the very high end to cost-sensitive feature phones. The LiMo platform has had a big boost during recent months with the announcement of Vodafone 360 and the use of that platform to power the lead products from Samsung. Lastly, other efforts like Maemo and Intel’s Moblin may have an impact in the longer term.

There will be no shortage of compelling smartphone products, based on varied platforms with differing governance models, usability and features, available in 2010. Coupled with this explosion of platform choice will be an implosion in smartphone average selling prices, with the possible exception of the iPhone. Competitive pressure will drive down smartphone prices as well as consumers demanding more for less. Above all, device manufacturers must consider the technical and commercial impact of their platform choices as never before in order to acquire a new customer base and keep the customers they have. ¡Viva la revolucion!

Apple Is Making Software Updates Expected

2009-09-25T14:23:00.002-04:00

By Lori Sylvia
EVP, Marketing
Red Bend Software

On my recent return trip from Red Bend's Beijing office, I picked up the International Edition of The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper had a cover story titled “Jobs Retakes Center Stage at Apple Event.” I noticed something very interesting. On the second page of the article, there was a sidebar called “Nice Little Things Stand Out Among Nifty New Features.” It discusses the free iPhone version 3.1 software upgrade and the feature improvements it includes.

What is interesting to me as a marketer is that the WSJ -- one of the world’s most prominent business newspapers -- gave the topic of software upgrades this kind of “ink.” For years software updating was associated with repairing defects -- not very sexy, and certainly not something the WSJ would write about. But increasingly the mobile industry is using software updating to deliver new features and improvements that increase consumer satisfaction with their mobile phones.

With Apple using software updates to enhance the value of their phones throughout the phone’s lifetime, Apple is driving up consumer expectations that they will always get software upgrades when they buy an iPhone and that they will always get new features while they own the device.

Just like Apple put app stores on the map, Apple may influence other OEMs to use software updating strategically, not simply to save customer care costs by repairing defects but also to deliver a more compelling user experience that keeps consumers satisfied and that builds brand loyalty. Those OEMs delivering firmware updates over the air (FOTA) have a true advantage over Apple, which is still using a cable-based (tethered) updating method. Because once consumers expect that they can upgrade their phone, they’ll demand that they can do it dynamically in real time. A true mobile experience means downloading music, games, applications and, yes, even the latest software update when you want it no matter where you are. Pretty soon, who will want to buy a phone that can’t be updated wirelessly?

MSM Will Enable the Next Wave of Innovation in Japan and Worldwide

2009-08-19T16:31:00.003-04:00

By Kazuhiro Abe
President
Red Bend Software Japan

Mobile phones in the Japanese market possess some of the most advanced features and capabilities of any in the world. Japan is known for its innovation, such as handset-based Internet services with "i-mode" and updating software over the air using FOTA. Examining the market in Japan is like seeing the future of the global mobile industry.

That’s why we think our recent announcement with NTT DOCOMO is significant. DOCOMO has signed a multi-year agreement to license Red Bend’s full portfolio of mobile software management (MSM) solutions, including our software products for updating firmware over-the-air (FOTA), managing software components over-the-air (SCOTA) and our Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) device management (DM) client. Red Bend’s MSM solutions will enable DOCOMO’s customers to subscribe to new data services and download the latest applications regardless of the phone’s pre-existing capabilities. The result is that more revenue can be generated per subscriber throughout the phone’s lifetime.

Changes in the Japan mobile market are prompting DOCOMO and other industry players to create strategies that generate new revenue streams.

Until recently, Japan operators subsidized handsets for mobile consumers, many of which who would replace their phones as often as twice a year, just to have the newest model. However, last summer, as part of a consumer protection initiative, regulators prohibited mobile operators from continuing this practice, as it was viewed as disproportionately favoring certain consumers.

As a result of this move and combined with the faltering global economy, handset sales in Japan were down nearly 30% in 2008 and replacement cycles have lengthened from 2.5 years on average in 2007 to 3 plus years in 2008. The longer replacement cycles have brought about other important changes in the Japanese mobile market. Operators and device manufacturers, once churning out as many as 100 new models a year, are now focusing on new services to generate revenue rather than simply launching new phones.

These services include mobile banking and smart card capabilities, social services such as train and traffic reports, and concierge services like a virtual mobile personal trainer to track exercise and calorie intake. These kinds of value-added services hold the key for Japanese mobile operators to maintain steady growth and customer loyalty.

Red Bend’s MSM solutions are a key enabler for realizing these strategies. As services drive the mobile user experience and future revenues, the need for the most advanced and efficient software management technology has become increasingly critical for both operators and OEMs. Software is responsible for the core functions of the phone like browsing and messaging, and for the key enablers that power mobile services like navigation and music. MSM enables operators and OEMs to manage software both discretely and dynamically over the air, throughout the phone’s lifetime, in order to keep up with consumer demand for new Internet services and the latest applications.

As value-added services and software customization drive the next phase of Japan’s mobile industry, Red Bend will continue to be a key player in enabling its customers to bring new innovations to mobile consumers.

Making Distributed Software Development Deliver a Personalized User Experience

2009-08-19T16:24:00.004-04:00

By Morten Grauballe
EVP of Products
Red Bend Software

The open source movement represents many things mixed together. As a philosophy it’s about like minds joining forces and collaborating to make better software. As a development process, it means that instead of creating binaries, you make the code available in open source, leveraging the globalization of software development talent. As a business strategy, it implies reduced capital expenditure and improved bill of materials (BOM).

For the mobile industry, open source platforms have been embraced by many leading players. In fact three different organizations, the Open Handset Alliance, the LiMo Foundation and the Symbian Foundation, are all chartered to promote innovation by tapping into the global resource of developers around the world to create and maintain open mobile platforms. The organizations, together with their corporate champions, including Google, NTT DOCOMO and Nokia, have embraced the distributed development concept, pooling their talent to develop good software.

This distributed development trend on the supply side of the software development value chain is happing concurrently with the rise in popularity of app stores on the demand side. While the open source organizations define software packages rigidly to enable more efficient collaboration, it has the highly desirable side effect of making software easier to distribute to consumers as well. Until recently, mobile platforms were considered monoliths and required a complete update to stay current. Now, thanks to the rise of open source in the mobile space, developers are empowered and encouraged to create modules/packages within a given platform, enabling a software architecture which are much more conducive to software distribution and upgradability. As the ISV and developer community gain interest and greater control of their software offerings, the potential for efficient and timely distribution to consumers is increased as well.

The app store phenomenon has given consumers greater flexibility to customize their phones, selecting and downloading software as desired. In the near future, even core parts of mobile handsets will be offered on a menu basis, making it possible to customize apps and system software to create a personalized mobile user experience.

To realize the potential for efficient and timely distribution of software (created by open source development), Mobile Software Management (MSM) solutions, such as Red Bend’s vRapid Mobile®, provide the missing link by connecting the software developers on the supply side with the consumers on the demand side. The ability to update software components discretely and dynamically will speed up time to market for new and exciting mobile applications, create new business opportunities for mobile operators, device manufacturers and software developers alike and provide the foundation for greater consumer satisfaction with their mobile experience.

The next wave of mobile platforms represents more opportunity for more stakeholders along the distribution chain, by enabling them to participate at the system level. This phenomenon may prove so powerful that even proprietary mobile platforms will find ways to open up. Red Bend, as the leader in MSM, is excited to be at the intersection of these two important trends in the mobile space. The future holds great opportunity for mobile operators that can leverage MSM to provide new compelling services, device manufacturers that can introduce innovative features, software developers that can manage their own updates and consumers who want a personalized phone experience.

Enabling WiMAX Success with Standards-Based Device Management

2009-08-19T16:15:00.003-04:00

By Lori Sylvia
EVP of Marketing
Red Bend Software

The increasing demand for mobile-enabled laptops, PC cards, modems and other wireless end user devices is helping to fuel WiMAX growth globally. Yet the potential for growth hinges on the ability of WiMAX operators and device makers to provide and maintain the quality of service and user experience Internet consumers expect.

Provisioning millions of new subscribers and managing millions of devices that will operate on the network, often temporarily, poses unique challenges to WiMAX operators. Managing a network that combines mobile and fixed equipment requires a new set of management capabilities.

To meet these challenges, the WiMAX market embraced the Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA-DM) standard, which has already been proven in the cellular industry by managing hundreds of millions of mobile devices worldwide. The standard has been adapted to meet the unique requirements of WiMAX operators, chipset makers and equipment manufacturers of fixed, nomadic and mobile devices.

In the cellular market, the OMA-DM enabler is used by operators and manufacturers to remotely manage mobile phones and other devices over the air, including performing firmware updates, provisioning, configuration management and diagnostics. The standard makes it easier and less expensive for service providers to deploy and maintain customers on their networks. Because key WiMAX operators are choosing to manage devices using OMA-DM and have included it as a mandate in building their networks, WiMAX chipset makers and equipment manufacturers are actively embedding standards-based OMA-DM client software into their products.

As the leading independent DM client, Red Bend’s vDirect Mobile™ is “WiMAX-ready” and the first to offer a DM client with built-in support for the WiMAX Forum’s WiMAX management object (MO) specification. With a WiMAX-ready DM client, vDirect Mobile offers faster time to market for mobile WiMAX devices that need to meet the requirements of WiMAX operators such as Clearwire in the United States and UQ in Japan. Red Bend had secured deals with three of the top mobile WiMAX chip providers worldwide: Intel, Beceem and most recently announced, Fujitsu Microelectronics.

Fujitsu Microelectronics has licensed Red Bend’s DM software for Fujitsu’s WiMAX SoC and WiMAX chipsets. Beceem Communications has taken advantage of Red Bend’s proven OMA-DM client to further accelerate its device development and ensure out-of-the-box network interoperability in all the major mobile WiMAX networks. And Intel has adopted vDirect Mobile for Intel-based notebook PCs shipping in the United States and Japan. Red Bend is also providing ZTE device management for WiMAX modems. With these customers, Red Bend’s DM software is reaching more than 50% of the mobile WiMAX market.

Although the U.S. WiMAX market remains in its early stages, compared with UQ’s upcoming rollout to 6,500 access points in Japan, it is poised for significant expansion this year with rollouts in Portland, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and San Francisco. In order to compete or surpass current networks such as cellular, DSL and cable, WiMAX operators need to capture market share with compelling pricing, prove the technology’s capability and deliver high bandwidth and other functionality not available in current networks and do so quickly, within the next 1-2 years (before LTE becomes a serious threat). By adopting vDirect Mobile and leveraging the cost-effectiveness of standards-based device management, WiMAX operators and device makers will be well positioned to support expansion with the scalability and efficiency within their networks by adhering to the OMA-DM standard.

As important as OMA-DM is to the current phase of WiMAX deployment, it will be even more important as these networks evolve, by providing the platform to deliver more advanced applications and services to WiMAX consumers in the future. The prospects for WiMAX are merely up to the imagination of the operators and their ability to offer attractive services, regardless of the device. The bandwidth capabilities anticipated in WiMAX will likely bring unprecedented access to video, movies and more, driving additional revenue streams to operators, manufacturers and ISVs as new services and applications become available.

MSM Is Key to the Success of the ‘Mobile Experience Service Provider’

2009-08-17T12:15:00.005-04:00

By Roger Ordman
Director of Product Management
Red Bend Software

On a recent business trip to Korea, I had a free afternoon and decided to experience some of the sights. I found myself walking down the side of a mountain from the Seokguram Grotto to the Bulguksa Temple. It was a sunny and peaceful afternoon, and I thought: “Wow, this is what life is all about!”

In medieval times real was defined by what you can hold with two hands, what you can possess. Now we have learned that experiences are real, too. BMW, undoubtedly a manufacturer of desirable automobiles, does not try to convince us to buy their cars by extolling the virtues of the object itself but rather by convincing us that we will be enjoying “The Ultimate Driving Experience.”

We are not defined by what we own but by what we see, smell, hear, taste, feel … by what we experience.

The mobile device has come out of the medieval age and into the new millennium to not only enable us to communicate and reach out to our colleagues and friends but also to supply our needs to have fun, listen to music and watch movies. Our desires have evolved to capturing our experiences in photos and videos and then immediately sharing them via mobile social networks like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. These are the latest apps in the social networking trend, but would anyone care to predict what will be the next big thing in as little as six months’ time? This acknowledgment of our core desires is what’s driving phenomena such as the iPhone and Android to unprecedented success. Success that is based on a flexible software architecture that enables these devices to continue to evolve and adapt to the latest software enabled trend.

While hardware is needed for some of these experiences, such as a camera and a large screen, the underlying need for all these experiences is the software on the device and the enabling services on the network. As such, the software on the device is fast becoming the main asset of the service provider. In order for these devices to be flexible, future proof and, therefore, profitable, they must have a modular architecture to enable the independent management of each of these valuable software assets. The market term for this is called Mobile Software Management (MSM). MSM covers the technologies, products and solutions that allow the service provider to define and manage these software assets on any device at any time during the device lifecycle.

Each player in the mobile value chain understands that the one controlling the software also controls the “mobile experience.” The OEM does not want to solely be the platform (HW and SW) provider and the MNO does not want to solely be a bitpipe. Both are competing to become our “mobile experience service provider.”

Analyst firm Ovum has coined the term MDP or Managed Device Platform for OEMs like Apple and RIM that supply an end-to-end ecosystem, which includes devices, servers and services. Ovum specifically states: “A fully-realized MDP will offer all the elements involved in the creation, discovery, acquisition, delivery and consumption of digital content and applications, as well as the means to update applications and device software” (“Of iPhones and Androids: Redefining the Smartphone and Other Devices,” Tony Cripps, 16 March 2009). It is clear that MDP is not only defined by the ability to deliver software to the device but also must possess the MSM capabilities to manage the software on the device.

As attractive as these MDPs are, they are still in the niche market. For service providers to reach out to mobile consumers in the mass market and to offer services such as TV streaming, navigation and even application stores, the same software management features will have to be available on the other 95% or so of mobile phones.

While MDPs have a closed end-to-end system for deploying and managing the software that powers their mobile experience, services only succeed in the mass market when driven through standardization. The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) has ratified the Software Component Management Object (SCOMO) that deals with the management aspects of adding and removing applications as well as the inventory management guaranteeing interoperability between the service provider’s server and the clients on the devices.

As fast as the latest trends have caught on, there are sure to be more on the way. Over time, our tastes evolve and so do our desired experiences. The key to prolonged success for the mobile experience service provider is to have a clear Mobile Software Management strategy in place to enable them to be flexible to meet the ever changing needs of the mobile consumer experience.

Independence Is Coming to the Mobile Industry

2009-08-15T21:42:00.001-04:00

By Lori Sylvia
EVP, Marketing
Red Bend Software

Summer is almost over, but I have been thinking lately about Will Smith’s blockbuster movie from the summer of 1996 - remember Independence Day? In the mobile industry, our own version of this movie is playing out before our eyes. I’m referring to the independence of software from hardware.

Consumer demand for new applications and services is “opening up” the mobile phone and creating a separation between the software that drives the user experience and the hardware it runs on. Software has become more important than it used to be, driven by consumer interest in downloading applications. But we know that software is much more than just apps. It’s also responsible for the core functions of the phone like browsing and messaging, and for the key enablers that power mobile services like navigation and music.

Consumers are forcing us in the mobile industry to think differently and act differently if we are to meet their needs for a personalized user experience. And software is at the core. For the mobile phone to truly be personalized, the software must become independent of the hardware, so that it can continuously evolve to meet consumers’ changing needs.

In the current model, there are multiple software creators that make up a phone, and the OEM serves as the systems integrator. All too often though, the OEM as systems integrator has the unintended consequence of serving as a bottleneck for new innovation and enhancements that come from the software creators and service providers.

Once the phone has shipped, the OEM uses firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating to deliver a new version of software. To do this, the OEM must aggregate software updates from all of the software creators that contributed to the phone. Most OEMs will use FOTA to update the phone’s software from 1-3 times during the phone’s lifetime. This usually happens within the first year of launching the phone. After that, the OEM reassigns the engineering team to develop a new device.

Don’t get me wrong--I’m the first to tout the benefits of FOTA. Red Bend is the leader in FOTA with more than half a billion FOTA-enabled devices shipped. FOTA is extremely good at what it was designed to do, and that is to provide a more efficient and cost-effective way of performing software maintenance.

It’s not that FOTA has become less valuable to the mobile industry. It’s that software has become more valuable than it used to be. Therefore, the need to manage the software assets both discretely and dynamically throughout the phone’s lifetime has become critical to meeting consumer demand. The paradigm must change.

Mobile Software Management (MSM) changes the paradigm. With MSM, each player in the mobile industry--OEM, operator and ISV--can independently control its own software assets on the mobile device, and can break the bottleneck of the current model.

The way to achieve this is for the mobile phone to have multiple software owners, not one. The OEM can own the phone’s core functionality, the operator can own the key service enablers and the ISVs can own the applications. So, while the OEM serves as the systems integrator, it can then leverage the other players to be responsible for their software assets after the phone ships. This will result in a phone that is constantly evolving and whose software features, services and applications can be personalized to the consumer’s preferences.

The OEM can even delegate some or all of its responsibility for the phone’s core functionality to the individual software creators. For example, the OEM can enable the web browser provider to update and manage its browser without affecting the other software on the phone.

The technology to enable this level of software independence exists today with Red Bend’s vRapid Mobile™ solution for managing software components over the air (SCOTA). Several mobile industry leaders including DOCOMO are already moving to adopt the technology. With a SCOTA-enabled phone, consumers can subscribe to new data services or download the latest applications regardless of the phone’s pre-existing capabilities. The result is that more revenue is generated per subscriber throughout the phone’s lifetime. And at the end of the phone’s lifetime, the consumer has been delighted and grown loyal to the experience she received.

There is a legitimate question to be asked: Why would the OEM share or delegate its responsibility for managing the phone? The answer: to stay competitive. OEMs can leverage their supply chain (ISVs) and retail channel (MNOs) to share in the responsibility to keep the consumer satisfied, and ultimately keep their phone actively used and generating new revenues. The current status quo is a losing proposition, where OEMs generate nearly all their revenue once every two years when a new phone is purchased. If the OEM wants to stay relevant as the systems integrator, it should take a dynamic approach to this role, where software creators can update their software during the phone’s lifecycle. If not, OEMs will struggle to keep up with consumer-demanded Internet services and new applications, and will face eroding brand loyalty when the consumer grows dissatisfied and buys a new phone from a competitor.

Let’s be truthful: The replacement cycle has not shortened, and in some markets it has even lengthened due to the economy or regulatory changes that have caused consumers to spread their investments over longer periods. Let’s be truthful on another point: Phone hardware doesn’t last that long. And the OEMs will always encourage new purchases with their latest designs. Today it’s the touch screen. Next year it will be something else.

Independence Day is coming to the mobile industry. Consumers are driving this change with their increasing demand for software. The technologies are ready to enable a truly personalized mobile phone whose software is continuously enhanced and dynamically personalized. Those players in the mobile industry who embrace this new model will win with loyal consumers and new revenue streams.

Moving Forward in Advanced FOTA Features With Revertible Updates

2009-06-25T12:11:00.004-04:00

By Ilana Bogomolny
Senior Product Manager
Red Bend Software

Red Bend continues to pioneer new advances in managing mobile software over-the-air (OTA). In my last blog, I discussed background updates. This feature lets manufacturers and operators perform firmware updates while the consumer’s phone is online and fully operational, so that consumers have a working phone--from browsing the Web to making phone calls--a feature that is especially valuable during an emergency.

In this blog, I want to discuss another Red Bend feature called revertible updates. This is a feature that enables the use of the same update file for both updating the device to the new version and for reverting to the previous version--without the need to download a “downgrade” file from the server, saving bandwidth and time.

Revertible updates enable devices to roll back updates to the previous version of firmware in case the consumer cancels the update while it is in progress or in the event that a defect is detected in the new firmware version. Revertible updates support both uncompressed and compressed images.

Part of Red Bend’s vRapid Mobile™ FOTA software solution, the revertible update feature is a must-have capability in several use cases:

User-initiated version rollback: The consumer will be able to roll back to the previous version even after completing the update without having to retrieve a reverse delta from the device management (DM) server. This is often done because of user preference. Sometimes the consumer prefers the same features and functions that were on the original handset and does not want to learn the enhancements. Or there may be some incompatibility with the downloaded applications that the customer is not willing to put up with.
Update cancel: The consumer may choose to cancel the update during a FOTA maintenance update and revert back to the source version. In this instance, perhaps the consumer remembers he needs to make an important phone call, and wants to postpone the FOTA update operation to a later, more convenient time. (By the way, this is another reason to adopt background updates!)
Operator-triggered rollback: The operator will be able to revert all device updates back to the source version without sending a reverse delta. There are many reasons why operators may need to implement a revertible update. Sometimes this is done due to a defect in the target firmware. Sometimes it is because the new version of the firmware may not be compatible with the current data on the handset. For instance, operators will send a FOTA update but may discover that certain field entries of an email application are incompatible with the new version. Sometimes there are security breaches in the handsets’ operating systems and a rollback is necessary. Because operators are managing multiple handset architectures, they are increasingly seeking more control of the specifications for FOTA updates to ensure a more enriching and satisfying mobile user experience.

Besides handset manufacturers, revertible updates are also valuable for machine-to-machine (M2M) manufacturers and service providers. FOTA is being used to keep the M2M module software up-to-date with changing standards and customer requirements, and to remotely perform software updates in a fast and reliable manner. With M2M modules growing in complexity, FOTA enables manufacturers to perform software improvements over the air, without needing to send a field technician on site. It is also important to mitigate risk if a defect is detected in the new firmware version. With revertible updating, the M2M manufacturer can perform a server-initiated rollback to the previous firmware version on all or select modules. In the case of the defect affecting the cellular stack, the module can initiate a self-update triggered by a watchdog to revert back to the previous version. This revertible update can occur without any contact with the server.

Revertible updates and background updates are two features available from Red Bend since version 5 of vCurrent® Mobile, which is now called vRapid Mobile FOTA. Red Bend is committed to continuing to deliver new advancements in mobile software management (MSM) to deliver an enriching user experience that also enables our customers to reduce support costs and increase service revenues.

What's Next in Mobile Software Management

2009-04-20T17:07:00.003-04:00

By Lori Sylvia, EVP, Marketing

This week we took a bold step. We combined our vCurrent® Mobile and vRapid Mobile™ products together into a single solution for mobile software management (MSM).

At Red Bend, we are committed to providing you with innovative solutions for managing mobile software over the air, and we continuously invest in developing our products to ensure we meet your current and future needs.

From our industry-wide experience, we see a growing need to add and enhance revenue-generating applications and services to the installed customer base. Responding to this need requires a cross-platform, standards-based and flexible solution to manage firmware, applications and software components over the air.

Earlier in the week we announced Version 6 of vRapid Mobile -- the industry's first MSM client capable of managing any type of software on any mobile platform or device. It supports the full set of FOTA functionality previously available with vCurrent Mobile, along with the advanced capabilities of managing software components over the air (SCOTA).

Combining FOTA and SCOTA together into one MSM client makes it easier for customers to move from updating firmware as one complete image to supporting advanced use cases where embedded software is managed by individual components. In addition, we've added new features to optimize the management of built-in and downloadable applications.

With FOTA, manufacturers can reduce support costs and increase consumer satisfaction by remotely updating firmware with software improvements and new functionality. With SCOTA, operators can increase data revenues by deploying branded applications and service enablers in embedded software without requiring a complete maintenance release. Using application management, software developers can speed time to market of new applications and versions, faster than handset replacement cycles.

With vRapid Mobile, Red Bend is enabling the industry to unlock the value of mobile software and seize the next wave of opportunities. We are committed to enabling you to manage software in any way that you require -- today and in the future.

3G Drives China Operators to Adopt DM and FOTA

2009-04-20T17:04:00.001-04:00

By Danny Wang, Country Manager, Greater China

For the last several years China has been a vibrant center of innovation and activity in the mobile industry. China remains the largest mobile phone market in the world with 657 million subscribers. Greater China is also the manufacturing center for many of the mobile devices shipped worldwide.

Earlier this year, China assigned 3G mobile phone licenses to its three largest operators: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. In preparation for the rollout of 3G services, the operators have begun mandating support for device management (DM) and firmware over the air (FOTA) on all mobile handsets and devices manufactured for their networks. By standardizing on DM and FOTA, the operators in China will be able to more effectively manage and support the data services and Internet applications enabled by 3G.

The feature-packed phones that flourish in 3G-enabled networks contain greater amounts of software and sophisticated functionality. With DM and FOTA-capable devices, the operators will be ready to commercialize their update services and provide mobile consumers with the latest software improvements and features to stay competitive.

With DM and FOTA rolling out in China, Red Bend has increased its local support in China. Leading mobile companies throughout the region have recognized Red Bend's mobile software management (MSM) solutions for being easy to integrate on any mobile platform and for providing built-in compliance for Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standards. These features enable our customers to accelerate time to market for new mobile devices. In addition, DM and FOTA solutions from Red Bend empowers operators and OEMs alike to deliver a more enriching experience to mobile users, while minimizing support costs.

The push for DM and FOTA in China has enabled Red Bend to sign deals with a number of high-profile companies. Most recently, Borqs International Holding Corp. chose Red Bend’s FOTA updating software and device management software for its Android software platform, called Open Mobile System (OMS). Haier (Qing Dao) Telecom Co., Ltd. also licensed both FOTA and DM for its HG-V70 mobile phone. By adopting Red Bend’s software, these new customers join other leading OEMs in China, including Lenovo Mobile, ZTE and Benny Wave, maker of the K-Touch brand of mobile phones.

Red Bend’s expansion in China has also reached the machine-to-machine (M2M) industry. FOTA enables manufacturers to protect their investments by deploying maintenance releases and new software features over the air rather than sending a technician on-site. Recently, SIMCom Wireless Solutions (Shanghai) licensed Red Bend’s FOTA for its M2M product portfolio to increase its competitive advantage by enabling over-the-air software updating.

In the last year, the number of Red Bend-Enabled devices in China has grown to more than 20, and is expected to continue to rise, especially as Android-based phones with Red Bend inside hit the market this year. Stay tuned to Red Bend to follow how the mobile software management market develops in China.

Nifty Way to Get an Upgrade

2009-03-23T18:41:00.006-04:00

By Yair Noam, System Architect
Red Bend Software

("Nifty Way to Get an Upgrade" is inspired by the original lyrics and music from Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover")

"The software inside your phone is broke," she said to me
The answer is FOTA, you’ll be happy, I Guarantee
Please, let me help you in your struggle to fix it
That must be, the nifty way to get an upgrade

She said "the upgrade takes a very short interlude"
Software is sent over the air, believe me it’s all true
Don’t worry, it won’t brick your phone, I promise you
Cause FOTA is, the nifty way to get an upgrade
Nifty way to get an upgrade

Don’t take the phone back, Jack
Don’t get a new plan, Stan
Don't need a decoy, Roy
Just set yourself free
Don’t throw it under the bus, Gus
You don't need to wait too much
Don’t use your PC, Lee
FOTA will set you free

Ooo don’t take the phone back, Jack
Don’t get a new plan, Stan
Don't need a decoy, Roy
Just listen to me
Don’t throw it under the bus, Gus
You don't need to wait too much
Don’t use your PC, Lee
FOTA will set you free

She said it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I’ve got something new for you that’ll make you dial again
I said I appreciate that and would you please explain
About that nifty way

She said FOTA will resolve your software plight
No need to cable the phone and pray to the light
And after a few minutes, I realized she was right
That must be, the nifty way to get an upgrade
Nifty way to get an upgrade

Don’t take the phone back, Jack
Don’t get a new plan, Stan
Don't need a decoy, Roy
Just set yourself free
Don’t throw it under the bus, Gus
You don't need to wait too much
Don’t use your PC, Lee
FOTA will set you free

Ooo don’t take the phone back, Jack
Don’t get a new plan, Stan
Don't need a decoy, Roy
Just listen to me
Don’t throw it under the bus, Gus
You don't need to wait too much
Don’t use your PC, Lee
FOTA will set you free

Reflecting on Mobile World Congress 2009

2009-03-13T16:27:00.004-04:00

Below are some highlights from Red Bend Software members who participated in the four-day Mobile World Congress 2009 event in Barcelona.

Lori Sylvia, EVP of Marketing, and Morten Grauballe, EVP of MSM Platforms
App stores created a lot of noise at Mobile World Congress. Every OEM and platform provider is getting into the app store game. But the pundits are debating the wrong points. It’s not whether app stores should be closed systems from the OEMs or run by operators for the mass market. It’s not which runtime environment should win, in order help developers reduce costs and gain scale. We’ve learned by now that the mobile industry is not one size fits all, not one business model fits all. I think this highly competitive market over the next three years at least will continue to see all of the above: platform-specific app stores, OEM closed systems, operator branded storefronts and myriad development environments.

The real issue is how to let ISVs build and deploy applications that can generate new revenue streams for OEMs as well as operators from the nearly 3 billion mobile phones in use. To truly unlock this potential, ISVs need to break the dependency that applications have to be developed for specific devices. By enabling mobile phone software to be customized on demand over the air throughout the handset lifecycle, developers can innovate and consumers can choose handsets, services and applications.

Gang Shen, Director of Sales, China
Some operators announced plans to take on mobile widgets to help improve app stores. China Mobile, for example, showed a demo of a widget at Mobile World Congress. I expect this kind of service engine will become more popular and welcomed by both operators and customers.

Another interesting highlight at Mobile World Congress is that more small brands than I expected showed some amazing phones, which use the Chinese ODM/DH solution.

John Pratt, Director of Sales, Europe
Control seems to be the big issue on everyone’s mind at Mobile World Congress. As handset manufactures and operators begin to launch app stores to generate incremental revenue from software sales, everyone wants control over this service and to either directly receive revenue or be compensated for their role in the value chain. The race for even cooler handsets packed with more features and capabilities continued, but the real story is who will win the race to control app stores. It appears that handset manufactures and software vendors have an early lead, with the likes of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Microsoft and Google all promoting their stores, but the sleepy giant who owns the end customer (i.e., operators) might have the last say.

Companies are also in a constant battle for control over what platform developers choose to develop their apps on as all the major app store companies have SDKs and are aggressively trying to attract application developers. Developers are no longer seen as someone in the backroom, but rather someone who can create that one app that generates significant interest and eyeballs that will ultimately help generate revenue and promote brand awareness.

Mobile World Congress demonstrated that the industry is once again going through quite a transition, and it will be interesting to see who will win the race for control over attracting developers and delivering app stores to maintain and grow brand loyalty.

Reflections on 2008; Anticipation of “the Day After”

2009-01-05T11:14:00.005-05:00

Yoram Salinger
CEO
Red Bend Software

Reflecting on 2008, unquestionably the state of the world economy had a significant impact on the mobile ecosystem. As such, mobile technology companies, especially handset manufacturers, are changing the way they conduct business. They will be cautious in the first half of 2009, reducing spending, controlling operations, and preparing to react as the economic crisis continues. They will cut the expectations of phone shipments to the market, as they did in 2008.

Consumers are also changing their behavior. As a result, the replacement cycle of the phones will change; consumers will not be purchasing new mobile phone models or upgrading as often as they have. In 2008, we saw this occur in Japan when the operators abandoned their subsidies. As a result, there was about a 40 percent decline in new mobile phone purchases. Japanese operators are now faced with severe competition to retain customers and acquire new ones. In 2009, they will need to offer new services to boost their revenues and look overseas to grow their customer base.

Despite the slowing pace of replacements, mobile phones are perceived to be essential parts of our lives, no longer a matter of convenience. For some consumers, their mobile phone is their only communication device. For others, it is has become a platform for commerce and socialization.

While some OEMs were especially hit hard by the economy, others flourished. Take Apple and its iPhone. Apple has stayed on top despite the financial crisis. They have done this because they cultivated a great experience. And core to this great user experience is the additional applications that Apple offered. During the summer of 2008, Apple announced it had generated $30 million in one month by selling 100 million downloads from its Apple App Store for its iPhone and iPod Touch devices. The proliferation of other mobile application storefronts like Google’s Android Market, Microsoft’s Skymarket, Nokia’s Mosh and the Ovi initiative is allowing consumers to freely customize their phones with new applications and services. The expected result for these companies is noteworthy. For example, the App Store alone is expected to be a $1.2 billion business by the end of 2009, states investment firm Piper Jaffray. Even though Apple evolved as a significant player with an end-to-end proprietary system, it has several obstacles to confront. How will the iPhone reach Nokia’s level of mass market shipments? How will Apple evolve long term in the industry?

Apple was not the only disruptive force in the mobile industry in 2008. Open source software changed the economics of the mobile platform in 2008. There was the Google Android launch and the birth of the Symbian Foundation. Because OEMs will build more phones on Android and Symbian, these platforms will become more community driven. But the big question is: Will the manufacturers release the code back to the industry, further driving collaboration and innovation while decreasing costs, or will they leverage it to their advantage?

For 2009, both consumers and mobile companies will be careful with their money. But when consumers are ready to make that purchase, they’ll find more compelling options than ever before, specifically increasingly affordable smartphones and new kinds of innovative wireless devices to surf the Internet or read an electronic book. According to ARCchart, by 2013 non-handset devices—everything from data cards to game consoles to ebooks and M2M applications—will account for $93 billion in service revenue generated by operators. This is an exciting area of growth for our industry.

Mobile software management will provide device manufacturers, mobile operators and ISVs greater flexibility and control over managing a device’s software throughout its lifecycle. They will be able to create new revenue opportunities and improve customer satisfaction through personalization. Features can be offered for a one-time fee or through a subscription service.

Further on the bright side, we will see some recovery in 2009 because at the end of the day, the mobile phone is a lifestyle product. By 2010, there will be 4 billion mobile phone subscribers. Their mobile phones have become sophisticated computing devices—equipped with powerful software, enabling rich user interfaces and advanced features and applications, from streaming video to location-based services to music players. And these rich capabilities only serve to further integrate the mobile phone into our daily lives. Have you ever left the house without your phone, and not gone back to retrieve it?

While there is certainly a level of fear, uncertainty and doubt, companies that prepare for “the day after” during this economic downturn will be the visionaries. The first to react will be the thought leaders because they will be able to identify opportunities through partnerships, mergers or acquisitions. These are the companies that will be proactive with feeding the market with new platforms, devices, features and services. And Red Bend Software will be one of those companies.

SCOMO Goes Beyond FOTA and Focuses on Managing Individual Software Components

2008-12-02T11:23:00.006-05:00

By Elad Ganot
Director of Standards and Alliances
Red Bend Software

Last month I enthusiastically purchased an advanced home entertainment system. I paid a lot of money to enjoy its high sound and picture quality, which were enabled by the cutting-edge technology that’s available in today’s market. It took me about seven years to upgrade my system even though I am a gadget fan and have a technical background. My new system is composed of an HDTV, an advanced receiver (which includes an image enhancer), a media streamer and a DVD player. You might wonder why isn’t Blu-ray part of my system—especially if I want to enjoy high definition movies. The DVD won’t help me so much as it cannot store the capacity required for HD quality. Well, as you may know, there is still doubt on whether Blu-ray will indeed become the next mainstream format for movies, so I’ve decided to wait and see. I can always upgrade separately my existing DVD to a Blu-ray (or whatever other format wins the market). Upgrading my DVD will not force me to upgrade the whole system because it is a stand-alone part with well-defined interfaces to the rest of the system. This makes it a “component.” When the time comes, I will receive an email telling me about this cool new device and for the right price I would click the “buy it now” button, and a delivery package will be on its way to my home.

Going from the hardware world to the software world, things look even cooler. Here not only do components are upgradable, but also they even do so almost instantly and quite frequently. I change software components on my computer at least 100 times a year (not just once every few years). I install software, update existing software and uninstall software that I don’t use. Sometimes I just disable software for a while and re-enable it later. Yeah, I like tweaking the software on my computer, and recently I started playing with my mobile phone in the same way. My mobile phone has so many software components available for it that I even abandoned my stand-alone PDA, which had served me loyally for several years.

Most users are not even aware of the fact that their mobile phone could actually be used as a personal computing platform. They probably know they can customize it in terms of a fashionable look (with wallpapers, sounds and colorful covers), but will they know how to discover a useful software component? Then be able to download it? Install it? Disable it if needed and re-enable it? Remove it?

It was back in 2005 when the mobile industry saw an opportunity to improve the user experience with regard to software management and offered a service of managing the “life cycle” of software components on remote devices. To be able to realize this concept, you have to achieve a mass market, and the industry must agree on some common methods of communication—to allow for every device on every network to connect to the service, regardless of the manufacturer of the equipment (be it a managed client device or a managed server). The good news is that we NOW have a consensus with the Candidate Release of SCOMO 1.0 that was ratified by the OMA on Nov. 17.

Now let us componentize the last sentence in a reversed order:

Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is the open organization that develops service enablers for the benefit of the mobile (and recently fixed-line) industry. If you are using Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), then you are already using an enabler developed by the OMA.
Software Component Management Object version 1.0 (SCOMO 1.0) is the name of the service enabler that allows a service provider to remotely manage software components on connected devices.
Candidate Release is a major milestone in the development of OMA enablers. It denotes that the enabler is ready for implementation and is about to go through a phase of interoperability testing. If a concrete interoperability issue is identified during the testing phase, then a standard solution can be found and incorporated into the official specifications. Once no more issues are found and interoperability testing is sufficiently successful, the enabler is promoted to Approved status.

But a Candidate state also means a lot from a business perspective. Interoperability testing period typically happens in parallel to commercial deployments of the enabler. This means that Candidate Release of an enabler is a signal for businesses to start implementing commercial deployments, since the enabler is stable.

In mid-2006, the OMA published the Candidate Release of Firmware Update Management Object (FUMO), which allowed mobile operators to offer a service of updating the firmware of a connected device over the air, without bothering the consumer to physically bring the device to a store. This enabler—which was later Approved in early 2007—has revolutionized the way firmware is managed and had significant results in productivity of consumers as well as mobile operators and handheld manufacturers. It saved costs and, at times, was a means for rolling out new service features and services. To date, hundreds of millions of devices worldwide have been using FOTA, and it serves as evidence for the success of the FUMO enabler.

Much of the lesson and design details of SCOMO are based on FUMO, but with a major difference in mind. This time it’s all about software components over the air (SCOTA) rather than a single monolithic firmware image being managed. It is a more complicated task to manage separate components than it is to manage a single firmware, which is why FUMO is not appropriate for performing SCOTA. But SCOMO is still based on design principles learned from the successful FUMO standard. In that sense, SCOMO can be considered as an evolution of FUMO. But make no mistakes, these two are complementary to each other and they will live side-by-side. They are tools designed for similar but still different purposes. Coming back to my neat home entertainment system analogy: I would use FUMO to update the whole system in one piece, but I would use SCOMO to update just my DVD component (hopefully sooner than later).

For more information about SCOMO, please read the following:

"SCOMO: Enabling the Remote Lifecycle Management of Software Components" at http://www.redbend.com/resources/scomo.asp and
Wireless Week’s “Inventory Changes Everything” at http://www.redbend.com/news/view_article.asp?ID=605&TypeID=2.

Background Updating Comes to the Foreground

2008-09-25T16:23:00.002-04:00

By Ilana Bogomolny
Senior Product Manager
Red Bend Software

Whether we’re using a PC or a Mac, we all receive those popup windows alerting us that a software update is available. We don’t think twice about those popups because they’re common practice today in the world of computers. We know we must execute those updates in order to keep our machines healthy. The updating process is exceptionally simple. We activate the update and continue using our email or other applications, letting the update perform in the background. But we know that the more applications we are running, the slower the software updates will take to install. Periodically, we may check the progress bar and see how much time there is left to the update. Once the update is completed, we may be asked to reboot our system. All very simple!

There is a similar process for updating the firmware on your mobile phone—but with a BIG difference. The update does not happen in the background—in fact, the phone is unusable until the update completes. For those of us specializing in FOTA, we understand that the time to complete the update process is dependent on several factors, including how many changes are taking place to the firmware. In some cases, it may take 15 minutes or more. With mobile phones serving as the lifeline for so many users around the world, any amount of downtime can be unacceptable, especially during emergencies.

Red Bend has changed the FOTA paradigm with a new innovation called Background Updating. With Background Updating, the phone is only down for as long as it takes to reboot. The actual update happens in the background while the phone is fully operational. Since the updating process requires memory and processor resources, and these are not as abundant on the phones as they probably are on your PC, running resource-hungry applications, such as watching video or playing some games, would not be advisable during an update, as they might work somewhat sluggishly. But there is nothing to stop you from making and receiving calls, browsing the Web and generally using the phone as you normally would.

There are several ways how the mobile user can interact with the Background Updating process.

To initiate a FOTA update, the user either searches through the phone’s menu to check for updates or is notified by the service provider that an update is available. The update then starts immediately. Because the flash memory is being updated in the background, the user is able to continue using the phone—texting, Web browsing, making and receiving phone calls, etc.—because the old firmware version is still online. Just like the computer scenario in which the updating process can be slowed down due the amount of active applications, we want to limit our application use during the FOTA update in order to expedite the updating time. Also, some service providers may offer a progress bar or animated image to indicate how long the update will take.
After the update is complete, the user then receives a message on the screen to have the option to manually reboot the device at that moment or later at a more convenient time.
Once rebooted, the user has the latest version of firmware on the mobile phone, and the device is operating at peak performance.

With Background Updating, update time becomes irrelevant because 1) the user is still able to fully use the device and 2) the user decides when to reboot. Rebooting does not have to be executed immediately after the FOTA update. For instance, it could occur when the user shuts off the phone for its daily recharging.

Because of the simplicity and ease of Background Updating—and how it mirrors software updates on computers—it is quickly coming into the foreground of operator requirements for FOTA. And with good reason. Many have service level agreements covering availability of the phone and the network. Others have legal considerations for access to emergency services, such as E911 in the United States. In addition, operators are responding to the customer needs of establishing a familiar software updating process, regardless of the type of device: PC, Mac, feature phone or smartphone.

To see Background Updating in action, watch this video.

Linux, Calligraphy, and a serious case of Déjà Vu

2008-06-11T12:00:00.005-04:00

By Morten Grauballe
EVP, Platforms and Ecosystem
Red Bend Software

When I lived in Japan in the late 1980s, I had a very enjoyable flirtation with calligraphy. Although I never got beyond the early lessons of drawing bamboo, I did learn the basic Zen principle of “form is void and void is form.” It basically brings forward the simple notion that objects are defined by the space between them and that space is defined by the objects around them. This notion is brought to its forefront in the “Enso,” or Zen circle. The Enso itself is a universal symbol of wholeness and completion, and the cyclical nature of existence.

I mention this here, because I recently had a strong sense of déjà vu taking me back to the 1990s. It was one of those moments which seemed to tie a current event to early steps in my career. At the time, I was working at Symbian and a fierce debate was raging within Symbian for and against two box solutions (i.e. phone and PDA) versus one box solution (i.e. an integrated Smartphone). While 10 years later it seems obvious that the Smartphone would win, it was not necessarily so back then. Remember these were the days of the Palm Pilot.

My flashback started in a cab going to a meeting near Tel Aviv last week. Taking advantage of the low dollar exchange rate, my colleague from the US had brought me Nokia’s Linux-based N810. She handed it to me 5 minutes before getting into the cab. Unable to control my curiosity, I had to power up the device while we were en route. It had a truly stunning display, boot time seemed reasonable, and the UI behaved more or less as I would expect. It soon became clear from the mapping application and the car mount accessory that the device had been designed with navigation in mind. I also managed to pair it over Bluetooth to my trusty E65. I was starting to fall in love. Together with a sleek HSPDA feature phone from Sony Ericsson, this might be it….maybe the two-box solution would work after all.

To test the substance, and not just the looks, I launched the mapping application which, true to its origin of purchase, asked me to choose between a map of Canada and a map of the US. With my Canadian colleague in the back, I managed to pinpoint his house down to the street – not bad, not bad at all!

Once we arrived at our meeting I managed to connect it to the local hotspot. To test whether the two-box solution would work in my native Denmark, I started to download the 176MB map of Scandinavia. As we got through the first couple of items on the agenda, the device finished downloading and was sitting on the table waiting for me to test it. It was a struggle to keep my hands off the device.

Then it started to happen….a strong reversal of fortune. We had a break in the meeting and I immediately tapped on the map icon. Instead of giving me a choice of maps, the mapping application kept crashing. The screen would go white as if the mapping application was launching, but then it would disappear and the desktop would reappear. I tried a reboot. It did not help. I pulled out the battery. It did not help. It soon became apparent that the map of Scandinavia somehow made the mapping application fall over. Not good, not good at all.

At this stage, I better admit the real reason why I had asked my colleague to purchase the N810 in the first place. It was not really to satisfy my own fascination with mobile gadgets – although I had lost track of that in the first exciting hours of my encounter with the N810. The real reason was more business in nature. During a meeting in Redwood City, Calif., Ram Fish, TrollTech’s General Manager for Digital Home Products, had challenged me and my colleague, Guy Agin, to compare our implementation of vRapid Mobile, our software management application, with the implementation of the Debian Package Manager on the N810. I decided to order the device right away. This was the real reason I was now franticly tapping away on the mapping application icon.

While a crashing map application was not good from a usability point of view, it was the perfect opportunity for me to test the software management capabilities of the N810. As mentioned, the application management application is based on the Debian Package Manager which in turn is based on APT, all open source:

“The Advanced packaging tool, or APT, is a user interface that works with core libraries to handle the sometimes difficult process of installing software on Linux. APT simplifies the process of managing software on Unix-like computer systems by automating the retrieval, configuration and installation of software packages.” (www.wikipedia.com)

I powered up the application manager. As I clicked on “Check for updates”, I was relieved to see an update to the mapping application. Eureka…someone had realized the problem and issued a fix. I clicked on the icon and the device displayed the message “retrieving update” and then it happened again. The device let me down. Instead of “installing update,” I got the following message:

“Unable to Install Map Update - incorrect source. Please contact the publisher of this application”

The Debian Package Manager was clearly present, but someone somewhere was not providing the right updates for my device.

Luckily, I was already aware of the possibility to update the firmware with the provided USB cable. If I could not use the application manager to fix my problem, I would perform a complete reflash. That should do the trick!

Off I went to my usual Nokia software update site, http://europe.nokia.com/softwareupdate. I typed in the software version and the code identifying my device. I tried three times and every time I got the same answer: “Code not recognized.” Hmm, very strange.

When in doubt, launch Goggle! So I did and typed in “N810 software update.” I did get a Nokia site, but https://www.nokiausa.com/A4686323. In hindsight, it is obvious I should have gone to the US site instead of the European site, but when you are dealing with software management usability is everything. Consumers just want it to work. One button press on the device to get the right software - that would be the perfect experience.

I managed to find the link to the latest update and was also happy to see that the software updater on my PC for the E65 was working with the N810 as well. The update went well, although I am still amazed that Nokia prefers to issue the user a warning dialog around the removal of the battery instead of having a fail-safe mechanism that can track and recover the reflashing process. Being one minor mistake away from bricking your device is not a comfortable position to be in.

Getting excited to finally test the mapping application, I powered on the device once more and tapped on the mapping icon. The screen went white and up popped a dialog: “Cannot install – no memory card available.” I ripped the packaging apart to find a memory card, but there was none there. This is when it dawned on me that the new firmware had actually been designed for the N810 WiMAX edition which presumably comes with a memory card. The Maemo team had decided to make the software version, called OS2008, available for the N810 as well. No one had however been testing backwards compatibility of the mapping application.

This was the exact point where I was brought back to my early Symbian days. It was abundantly clear that I was caught in the cyclical nature of existence. Back then, we were trying to ship EPOC (original name for Symbian OS) release 5 for the Psion 5. This is over 10 years ago, but I still remember how excited I was about the touch screen, the responsiveness, and the applications on the device. I also remember the grueling process of having an entire contact database deleted due to a defect. I remember the reflashing process, when a new version came out. I remember applications not working due to compatibility issues…..another reflash!

The N810 was bringing out the exact same feeling of excitement combined with the incredible disappointment of things not working. 10 years had passed in the mobile industry and very little had changed in terms of the software experience.
Reflecting further on this, it is interesting to observe that we actually have completely new technologies to help us, like the Debian Package Manager, but the cause of the problem is clearly not technology. It is in fact in the business processes that surround the technology.

I am sure that the Scandinavian maps were working when Wayfinder was testing them in their labs in Sweden. I know that I was a happy user of Wayfinder back in the days when I had a SonyEricsson P800. Somewhere between Nokia and Wayfinder, the configuration of the software (or maybe hardware) was changed and we ended up with a defect no one had managed to identify. It took me less than half a day to find it.
I am also sure the right update for the map applications exists somewhere. This is not a technical problem. For some reason, the wrong update was uploaded to the server. I am not sure whether the Maemo team got the wrong update or whether someone uploaded it incorrectly to the server. The end-result was an unhappy user.

Finally, I am sure the Maemo team had good intentions when they decided to make OS2008 available for my device. I am also sure they tested the software on the N810. For some reason, the mapping application was not tested properly. Probably because it was not part of the firmware, but rather an add-on application residing on a separate drive.

Just like “form is void and void is form” in Zen philosophy, end-user experience of technology is defined by the business processes that surround it and the business processes are in turn defined by the technology. As my experience shows, the artists of the mobile industry are so focused on the object that they forget the spaces between the objects. We therefore end up with mobile devices that can best be described as almost completely black canvasses where you have to look very hard to identify the bamboo in the picture.

From an end-user experience perspective, it does not make sense to distinguish between software in the firmware and software in the R/W file system. For the consumer, a software application is a software application. They do not care about the drive it is residing on, or whether it was supplied by Nokia or WayFinder, or which installation and management technology is being used to get it to the device. In the eyes of the consumer, each application (or software component) should be managed in the same way, tested the same way, and updated the same way, irrespective of the underlying technology being used.

We have all the technology elements to make mobile software management a treat for the customer – now, let’s leave plenty of space for the business processes and make sure we have an experience that delights the customer.