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Self-Serve Activation: Key to a Connected World?
7/23/2010
Consumers seem to be waiting with open arms to enhance their lives with all sorts of gadgets and technology solutions these days. But as this connected world forms, there is room to improve the customer experience. The rapidly growing market for connected devices will face some obstacles to market penetration if the activation, synchronization, and service side of the equation doesn’t keep up.
According to Synchronoss Technologies, www.synchronoss.com, an overwhelming majority of mobile subscribers say the current activation experience for mobile devices is “poor.” The N.J.-based platform provider also says many customers postpone purchasing a connected device because they dread the difficulty of transferring their data. Synchronoss says this presents a golden opportunity for those that can offer a seamless end-user experience.
As smartphones and other tools such as the iPad continue to move toward mainstream, consumers are more attached than ever to the content harbored on their devices. For instance, a cell phone typically contains much more information than just a person’s contacts—it holds their photos, videos, music, and ringtones; their call and text logs; their games and apps; plus files and network settings.
If retailers and service providers want to reach the mobile subscribers that avoid the process or re-engage the ones that dread it, they must make it easier for consumers, from purchase to activation, data transfer, and beyond.
Following this week’s acquisition of FusionOne, a content-transfer technology provider, Synchronoss hopes to provide that missing piece of the consumer/connected device puzzle. The company’s ConvergenceNow Plus+ platform enables communications service providers to, in essence, help customers help themselves.
The platform provides transaction management—including activation services, credit checks, and content migration—through self-service kiosks and a Web portal for a consistent purchase experience. Whether a customer is switching between networks or device manufacturers, ConvergenceNow Plus+ is pre-integrated to work across all major platforms.
“Service providers need to own and optimize the mobile user’s experience from the point of purchase and activation through the transfer and synchronization of that user’s mobile content to their new device,” says Stephen Waldis, president and CEO of Synchronoss. “With … (the) ConvergenceNow Plus+ platform, service providers, OEMs and etailers/retailers have the ability to transform what typically was a poor mobile-user experience into a simplified and powerful customer experience.”
Wireless networks facilitate data transfer to the Synchronoss Services Platform in the cloud; the company also offers optional content backup. The streamlined process maximizes employees’ time to sell devices by minimizing time spent activating and transferring. Consumers benefit from eliminated transfer wait times, a faster sales process, and peace of mind knowing their content is safe in their own hands.
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