Lynda Smith is CMO of Twilio

Do operators do enough to support app developers – and where could their efforts be improved?
I think the question is whether operators should be in this business? And if yes, how? It comes down to whether they are willing to make the commitment to make it work vs. it being a science experiment.

Operators have so many lines of business that it is easy – and the evidence is there – for the whole app developer focus to get lost or be a focus de jour… and often for only the person that is passionate about it.

And app developer support isn’t the only place we’ve seen this. Speech recognition is another great example of where operators all felt they had to be in that space, couldn’t give it the attention they needed, and in the end deferred to the companies that made it their business.

If an operator decides to be in the business of supporting app developers, then they need to take an outside in approach. They need to fully understand what is important to the developer, like collaboration on cross-carrier, standardised APIs. They need to hire people who get it. And they need to demonstrate long term commitment.

What do you think developers’ attitudes towards telcos as partners are – do they see potential value?
I’m not convinced app developers see telcos as a partner. They see them as connectivity or a “dumb pipe”. The value-add and partnership comes higher up the stack e.g. the platform like iOS or Android.

And couple this with the lack of trust developers have for operators relative to commitment to their cause, it’s a tough call to think of them as partners. As for the potential value, I do think they get the power and influence telcos have including their reach and brand.

It is incumbent on the telcos though to “market” themselves to this community and demonstrate how they can bring value.

Is adding voice and/or video communications something developers see the value in, beyond “traditional” comms apps?
Absolutely – once they get a feel for “the possible”. And there is a whole world out there for them to play to – fundamentally users have a whole new set of expectations around how they communicate and are ready to bite.

At Twilio we see great examples of this every day. Take Uber – Uber enables users to schedule ride services – they match free sedan drivers with paying customers. Integral to the experience is communications between the driver and passenger e.g. a text message alerting you to a pick up or the ability to call the driver from right within the mobile app.

Coming back to the understanding of what is possible, traditionally, it has been discouragingly difficult to implement voice and video communications functionality in applications. As SDKs and tools like Twilio Client mature, we will see the barriers to entry drop considerably.

When there is “democratic” access to technology, distribution, and infrastructure, it’s reasonable to expect a surge of innovation using these new tools. And it will take education and inspiration to “the possible”.

Do you think RCS is interesting as an enabler for developers?
Once developers get out of the “wait and see” mode, I believe they will find RCS an interesting enabler. And it is a means for the telcos to become more than a “dumb pipe”.

Creating a standard specification for rich communications functionality that leverages a global network is the right first step. What will also be critical is creating a great developer experience around the usage of this technology in applications.

If there are SDKs with thoughtfully designed APIs (available on iOS, Android, BB10, Windows Phone 8, etc.) that make it easy for developers to use RCS tech, then I’m certain RCS will see lots of use.

Have you found significant developer interest in Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 – and could these platforms provide an alternative to Android and iOS?
The general perspective from our team of evangelists, who interact with developers daily, is that there is interest in the US from a technology perspective, but very few developers plan on heavy investment in either platform.

In Europe, there is more interest around these platforms, with a significant minority starting to invest. This is a bit of a “chicken and egg” problem. Getting users on a platform requires (in part) a healthy app ecosystem. Getting developers interested in building apps will require a significant user base.

HTML5 had a mixed 2012: will 2013 be better, and will it have a significant impact on the mobile apps ecosystem?
At least for now the world enables three paths to mobile app development. You have developers leveraging a “web platform” – where HTML comes into play; you have those that take a hybrid path – HTML UI, but packaged in a native “wrapper” application; and you have native app developers. Lots of different views on which path is preferred and/or better.

Choice is good for developers, and we will support what they need. Ultimately the quality of the user experience will decide which path and who wins out.