Report: Blended messaging: straddling the silos TOC

Key messages
Various blended messaging solutions, but limited uptake so far
Blended messaging: what and why?
- Away from ‘the next big thing' and towards ‘making this big thing bigger'
- Mobile messaging development: standards and silos
- Couldn' t this all just be ‘messaging' ?
- The potential benefits of blended messaging
- Obstacles to blended messaging
- End users and blended messaging
Cross-industry initiatives in blended messaging
Common concepts, but multiple competing platforms
Case studies: blended messaging in platform vendors' product ranges
- 724 Solutions: Seamless Messaging
- Acision: Intuitive Texting and Converged Messaging
- Airwide: Mobile Messaging 2.0
- Comverse: Converged Messaging and Instant SMS
- Ericsson: Enriched Messaging
- Openwave: Converged Communications Solution
Mobile operators' messaging concerns
Various operator needs to meet
Mobile operators and blended messaging
- Blended messaging has achieved limited traction so far
- SMS maturity has not provided much impetus for blended messaging
- O2: looking for ways to sustain a leading position in messaging
- Blended messaging and fixed-mobile convergence

Figure 1: Mobile messaging takes place in silos
Figure 2: Mobile messaging silos: some unique strengths and some overlap
Figure 3: Blended messaging hides the distinction between messaging types
Figure 4: Growth rates in SMS have been sustained over seven years in the UK

Blended messaging: straddling the silos