29 June 2010
Open platforms – the foundation for a successful telematics business case?
Open platforms have been discussed for years, in the telematics and M2M space. They have always promised shorter development cycles, software re-use, a broad developer base and a way out from being dependant on one single supplier. But recently, I have feeling that there has been a new spice added to the mix, the long awaited possibility to make money by selling services.
Apple set the norm by the fantastic success of the Apple Appstore for the iPhone, iPod and now iPad. This has not given Apple’s competitors any rest, and we see “appstores” coming from every major device manufacturer today. You could of course argue that what Apple has created, is a long way from an open platform, as Apple owns all the IPRs themselves, and they are the only provider of the hardware. But where we cannot argue, is the fact they have managed to create an Ecosystem that allows third party developers the possibility to create, and perhaps most importantly, earn money on developing and selling applications.
