Our less than a month old baby, the One97 Mobility Fund has been able to garner media attention with ease. India’s renowned weekly business magazine, Businessworld recently commented on the efforts by One97 and other established mobile VAS companies that are giving a leg-up to young entrepreneurs wanting to fulfill their ambitions in our mobile ki duniya. (more…)
As a smartphone user you must have had what-if-i-loose-this-phone moment. You are worried about all pictures, video and documents you keep on your device. Next you think: how will you get those calendar / sms/ address book/ and that imp number still in call register.
I absolutely love the possibility of controlling your device remotely. Lock it, Track it, Wipe it and yes get backup/restore done so easily. Check the video in Darius of TenCube’s voice.
This app is available to download from Ovi / Andriod / WinMo app stores. Here are few interesting links and videos of wavesecure. (more…)
With more and more mobile subscribers performing mobile payments, it has become increasingly important for mobile payment platform providers to ensure that they offer a secure payment environment to their customers. While we always knew that our PayTM platform was an extremely secure solution for enabling mobile payments, we felt that it is always good to get a second opinion from an independent third party.
So we invited SISA to conduct an external information security audit of our PayTM Network. After an extensive audit process, SISA has issued us the PCI DSS 1.2 (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) Security Certificate. We feel that a third party endorsement of our compliance with global security standards will further bolster the customers’ trust in our PayTM Mobile Commerce platform.
The PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, data security policies, risk procedures, network architecture and application design. The standard has been developed by VISA, MasterCard and American Express which are among the founding members of the global PCI Security Council. PCI applies to all organizations that store, process or transmit cardholder data. Compliance with this stringent PCI Data Security Standard will enable One97 to proactively protect customers’ account data (credit card details, debit card details and bank account numbers).
With the award of PCI DSS Security Certificate, One97 has become the only secure mobile commerce platform provider in India with end-to-end implementation capability across Voice, Messaging, WAP and Web.
Starting from setting up the revenue share business model (first in the industry) to using the telecom device and network to deliver that extra value, I can never say that we have done what we wanted.
In a country of billions, where mobile user base will be 500 million, we are learning the needs of the consumer and best suited methods to fulfill them, first and fast.
We never needed to “get inspired” from any company’s business/idea. We set out towards our goal and saw many following the same route.
Instead of any one’s success we have tried learning from their failures and our mistakes.
I have been browsing through literature on the method and tools that people elsewhere use to come up with systems that wow us – the lay users. Great products irrespective of their engineering complexity are almost always very easy to use and understand – as one Philips ad said something to the effect that great technology is something that even my grandpa can use. How do they do it? I am still learning but one persistent theme that came up was the use of metaphors.
What is a metaphor then, one may ask? An English literature student will probably provide a technically more correct definition, but in simple terms a metaphor is a tool that explains the meaning of something unknown in terms of things known. Actually, when I say that metaphor is a tool, that itself is a metaphor! What is life? Life is an ocean! What is this world? This world is a stage. All these are metaphors that help us, or at least attempt to help us understand otherwise complex notions and concepts. Metaphors should not be confused with a somewhat similar concept of similes (see-me-lee). Unlike metaphors, similes use comparisons. So, when we say that life is like an ocean, it becomes a simile.
The desktop computer is a household phenomenon now, and we identify with the word desktop as a duck in water – a simile!
Desktop is a metaphor! Computers were expected to be used by people who did not know nor cared to know how a computing system internally worked – try explaining a 32-bit register to an accountant and he will not know. Ask him to manage his book-keeping without the tally tool on his desktop! In the desktop metaphor, the computer screen is as if it was indeed the desktop, on which we place our folders. Once the desktop metaphor is created, we extend it and keep extending it. So, we can have folders on our desktop, and within folders, we can have more folders and documents. Now we know why it is called the Recycle bin – we put our trash there.
Ever worked on DOS? You would probably know what a command line interface is. Much before that, there were punch cards. In computing systems, WIMP (Windows, Icons, Mouse, and Pointers) was first introduced by Xerox as early as 1973. It was however Apple’s Macintosh that popularized the desktop metaphor in 1984, and which became a standard for most if not all of modern day operating systems.
Metaphors are also used in the design of icons. When you see a bell, you know it has something to do with alerts. An envelope is a message. A button is something you push. Some metaphors such as the envelope have become so ingrained that using anything else might confuse or sometimes even irritate the user. So while they come in handy when you are trying to explain some difficult concept to your end user, you may end up doing exactly the opposite by not being careful in the selection of your metaphor.
There is more to your mobile phone than just listening to songs, playing games, checking mails and of course making calls. You could also use it to perform day-to-day utility transactions as well!!
m-commerce, mobile coupons or wallets etc have been in talk since long, but now One97 has added a new dimension to the chronology of events by launching an application for Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway which would enable the commuters to access information, transact, call help centre etc and more by simply sending an SMS to 53030.
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Starting from setting up the revenue share business model (first in the industry) to using the telecom device and network to deliver that extra value, I can never say that we have done what we wanted.