Getting Personal

In London yesterday for a press briefing hosted jointly by mobile  network  Orange and French software company Abaxia. The event was almost a public thank you from Orange to Abaxia for the work it has done over the past few years customising Orange handsets.
Abaxia is a key force behind the Orange Signature concept, where devices are customised and personalised for the Orange network. A major part of this is the “first screen” or Homepage that the user is presented with when the phone is switched on, and which they see when the phone is idle. Abaxia’s technology has enabled Orange to customise the Homepage so that they can put their favourite applications within reach of a single click and personalise the handset to their own preferences.
The latest version of the Homepage, V2.5, launched recently on the Nokia N95, and will be rolled out across other devices in due course. In 2006, 50% of Orange handsets shipped were Signature devices. By the end of 2008, according to Orange Head of Device Strategy and Product Marketing, Matthias Hilpert, (pictured here, on the left, with Abaxia CEO Cedric Mangaud), that figure will rise to 80%. According to Hilpert, there are three principal reasons why the company is so keen on the Signature concept. When customers upgrade to a Signature phone, says Hilpert, Orange sees increases in usage of data services, in revenue from that user, and in loyalty.
V2.5 includes a few new features. The first is Call Plan, which gives the customer one-touch access to account details, telling them how many minutes, texts etc., they have left within their monthly allowance. Secondly, desktop search, which, when a number is dialled, can retrieve a variety of information about the number, including contact information, call history and more. Thirdly, Push Content, which enables Orange to target its customers with special offers and promotions. Hilpert made it clear that users could choose to switch any of these features off.
Some of the customisation that Homepage 2.5 offers is available on non-Signature handsets on other networks. I’m only three clicks away, on my Nokia E61, from billing information via Planet 3, for example, though it isn’t always up-to-date, and as one of the representatives at yesterday’s event told me candidly, every network would like to do what Orange is doing with Signature, but not all have the clout with handset makers that Orange has, so they are forced to do their own thing.
The fact that this type of personalisation generates the increase in usage and revenues that Hilpert talked about is good news for everyone, it seems. The networks make more money and the customers are clearly sufficiently encouraged by the ease with which they can access their favourite services to access them more often. Which can only encourage the networks to push the concept still further, as indeed Orange, with Abaxia’s support, plans to do. Personally, I’m all for it.

David Murphy
Editor