EXCLUSIVE: Improving levels of customer engagement is the focus of Vodafone Group’s mobile apps and content business, rather than the direct revenue from products, Hemant Madan, Head of Developer Marketing at Vodafone Internet Services, told Mobile Apps Briefing. “Apps or content by itself is a healthy revenue stream. Let’s say it’s not going to break the bank, but it is a healthy revenue stream. But the bigger objective here is not just direct revenue, the bigger objective is to give customers an excellent experience,” he said.  In an exclusive interview to be published as two ‘Focus’ articles, Madan also said that Vodafone’s knowledge of customer behaviour enables it to deliver the most appropriate content to subscribers, which brings real benefits to developers: “Instead of them being buried deep down in thousands and thousands of content items, they get potential exposure to the right consumers.”

Madan is also positive about the potential of the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), in which Vodafone is a founder member, and which builds on the efforts of Vodafone’s earlier Joint Innovation Labs involvement. “There is a bit of a wait for the developers just to see how the WAC thing takes off, but the way that WAC is taking the JIL assets itself and using them as a base is a very positive sign. That means the momentum that has already been built in the market will accelerate, rather than having a chasm in the middle which we would have to cross again.” The growth of widget-based technologies such as WAC will enable new players to enter the mobile apps market, including existing web developers, although the increased number of products available will bring new challenges for developers in terms of discovery: “That’s where we feel the differentiating features we have today, recommendations and serving the right content, will be valuable,” he said.