SmartManage, from mobile solutions company SmartTrust, combines network triggers and a carrier-grade OTA (over the air) platform. SmartTrust claims the automatic device configuration feature is able to detect a new device on the network, understand its capabilities and automatically configure the device accordingly.
The process is seamless to the user and allows an operator to be sure that all handsets coming onto the network are correctly set up and able to access all services applicable to that device type.
According to Joe Thum, SmartTrust's regional manager for Asia-Pacific, this feature is important because the complexity of device and service configuration, as well as user apathy, has resulted in a large percentage of handsets never being configured.
"This is the number one barrier to the growth of data services and ARPU (average revenue per user). An operator can develop and market his services but if the users can't access them, they will never achieve their full potential," Thum told CNETAsia.
He added that the operators cannot rely on customers to proactively configure their handsets to access the services.
The primary method for device configuration today, which is to pre-provision the required parameters such as WAP gateways and IP addresses, or instruct the subscribers on how to do this manually, has resulted in a low penetration rate for new services, he explained.
He also warned that the wrong configuration could lead to customer dissatisfaction and increased customer care costs. If services failed or the setup was too complex, a large percentage of users would simply give up, Thum added. He cited the failure of early WAP services and handsets as an example.
Instead, SmartManage is able to remotely manage the user and his access to the service from the minute he switches on a new handset and throughout the entire lifecycle of the subscription, Thum explained.
The company's major customers in Malaysia include DiGi, Multimedia Interactive Technologies and Celcom.
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