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How do you view the global market
for LBS industry today?
Location-based services industry is
expected to grow at a faster pace every-where
in the world. However, there are
still big gaps between the U.S. and other
international wireless markets. Still
certain countries or regions have some
advantage over the U.S. due to their devel-oping
technological infrastructure, which
has resulted in a more cohesive underlying
network. But at the same time, some are
at a distinct disadvantage. Europe, for
example, is behind the U.S. in infrastruc-ture
development because its carriers do
not have to comply with government-mandated
technologies such as Enhanced
911 (E-911) that allows emergency serv-ices
to identify the physical location and
the phone number of a caller. In addition
to location-enabled text messaging and
Mobile Resource Messaging (MRM)
applications, new international location
services include a shift from GPS-based
navigation built into automobiles to per-sonal
navigation built into handsets. All
of these services have been dependent on
wireless carriers providing GPS-enhanced
headsets and networks, which is finally
happening.
From the global point of view, the LBS
industry is still in its initial stage of devel-opment.
Its market can be perceived in an
early market stage. LBS industry has an
emerging market similar to what GIS
industry faced 20 years ago.
What are the key areas where LBS
industry should focus?
Given the declining profitability in their
core voice business, wireless network
operators (WNOs) have searched for a
"killer application" to drive enhanced
services revenues. In the past, many ven-dors
and industry analysts have promoted
location-based services (LBS) as the con-tender,
but this positioning has detracted
from the true power of location. Today, a
consensus is forming around a different
view: LBS is not a killer application; it is
the "killer enabler" of existing and new
wireless services. This consensus repre-sents
a sea change in the industry that will
plot LBS on a more successful course.
Now, with network infrastructure and
next-generation handsets featuring larger
colour displays, built-in cameras, increa-sed
memory, removable storage, and
robust operating systems in place, and
business and consumer demand for
enhanced services on the rise, LBS is
finally emerging from being over-hyped
to presenting compelling reasons for
adoption. In this light, a strong value
proposition can be constructed around
LBS that addresses the WNOs' twin
business challenges of increasing average
revenue per user (ARPU) and reducing
customer churn. WNOs can achieve these
objectives by enhancing existing services
with location, and introducing new
location-based services.
Which is the largest market for the
LBS industry in the world?
No one has a crystal ball for the LBS
industry. We think that locations-based
services specifically targeted at small- to
medium-sized businesses will be a huge
market opportunity in the near future.
These businesses see the value of know-ing
where their people are, communicat-ing
instantly with them, and responding
more effectively to their customers - but
they don't want to spend the capital
required for in massive back-end integra-tion
projects. With location-enabled
MRM or field force automation, busi-nesses
can locate, communicate, and man-age
their mobile workforces in real time,
reducing service response times and
improving customer satisfaction. Many
WNOs have begun to recognize MRM
as a key differentiating service they can
offer to small- and medium-sized compa-nies
in a wide range of industries. MRM
gives these business customers the same
advantages as larger enterprises, but with-out
requiring a capital investment in new
IT infrastructure. MRM integrates seam-lessly
with existing networks and equip-ment,
enabling these businesses to com-municate
with mobile workers through
SMS on their handsets, and to produce
reports on worker status for distribution
to other business units.
What is your view on the issue of
maintenance of security of information?
Autodesk has a strong commitment to
privacy. Our location-based services allow
the user to opt in or out of tracking-related
capabilities. No personal informa-tion
can be exchanged through location-enabled
applications without the user's
permission. The user is always in control
of whether or not his or her location can
be disclosed to another user.
What is the role of GPS in the
perspective of its integration with the
location based system?
GPS integration in CDMA network and
handset technologies will be major driver
in the adoption of certain location-based
services due to the increased level of accu-racy
it provides. It enables accuracy of
10 meters or less versus 100+ meters
with cell tower triangulation. This is criti-cal
for personal navigation services such
as family minder and mobile resource
management applications. CDMA tech-nology
has a significant presence in Asia.
What is your view about China as a
market in the perspective of the LBS
industry? How do you feel the Indian
market will respond to the LBS industry?
Yes, there are more than 300 million
wireless subscribers in China. Currently
the wireless network operators are mainly
focused on voice services, but I think we
can expect this to change rapidly over
the next two years. The challenges to
deploying LBS in India are the wireless
infrastructure and lack of data. Both the
digital base maps and navigation database
need to be built. I think we will see
significant strides in the industry over the
next 18-24 months. Autodesk has
significant investments in both of these
markets. Our divisions in both the
countries are interested in the opportuni-ties
available.
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