Even the world’s largest telecom operators may not have enough resources to do everything all on its own, or at least, that’s the conclusion Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) has come to as it embraces becoming more open, BusinessWeek reports.
The philosophical shift comes at a time when new entrants, such as Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and even Nokia (NYSE: NOK), have started offering competitive services. It also coincides with the appointment of Vittorio Colao, who replaced Arun Sarin as Vodafone’s CEO. During Sarin’s tenure, Vodafone grew through acquisition, by moving into emerging markets as Turkey and India, while also divesting units in such tapped-out markets as Japan and Sweden. In contrast, Colao would rather grow by leveraging the company’s existing assets, rather than make pricey purchases. Colao: “We were a bit naive thinking everything could be done in-house. The only way to create a fertile environment for innovation is to have open platforms and leverage them.”
Examples of how Vodafone and AT&T (NYSE: T) have become more open after the jump…
One example is Vodafone’s Web portal called betavine. The site allows anyone to upload an application, which can then be downloaded by anyone for testing. It works on any wireless network, not just Vodafone’s. Developers retain rights to whatever they upload, but Vodafone benefits by seeing what the latest trends are and which applications are compatible with its network. In a recent case, Vodafone used betavine to see whether the software that enables mobile broadband customers to access the Internet worked on a Linux computer. Historically, Vodafone would have done that testing in-house.
Last week at CTIA, AT&T announced a similar program called Apps Beta, which allows developers to upload their applications to be tested by real AT&T customers. On AT&T’s web site, it sells the program as a way to improve your application; determine market strategy and build buzz about your product before it launches.
Comments have been disabled for this post