Mobile Instant Messaging Report 2006-2011: Deploying successful mobile IM services

E:  Executive Summary

E1:   Mobile Instant Messaging Remains a Niche Application
E2:   MIM Market is Becoming Highly Competitive
E3:   MIM will Enhance Operator Revenues
E4:   Challenges in Introducing Ubiquitous MIM Services 
E4.1:   Interoperability
E4.2   Pricing Strategies
E4.3   Handset Issues and Usability
E5:   Potential for MIM Services
E6:   Future Market Evolution
 

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chart 1: Global SMS Revenues (2003-2011)
Chart 2:  SMS Traffic in Western Europe (2004-2011)
1.1 MIM Popularity in the US
Chart 3:  MIM Traffic in the US (2003-2011)
1.2  Salient Aspects of MIM
1.3  Reasons for Slow uptake of MIM
1.3.1  Conflict of Interest
1.3.1.1  Proliferation of 3rd Party MIM Solutions
1.3.1.2  Revenue Sharing with Public IM Service Providers 
1.4  Factors that will spur the Growth of MIM
1.4.1  Increasing Smartphone Penetration
Chart 4:  Smartphone Shipment as a Percentage of Total Handset Shipment
1.4.2  Embedded MIM Client in Mass Market Handsets
1.4.3  Maturity Lifecycle Stage of SMS
1.4.4  Growth of 3G Services
Figure: 1 File Size and Download Rates for Different Technologies
Chart 5:  W-CDMA Subscriber Growth Estimates (2002-2011)
1.4.5  Growth of Mobile Portals
Chart 6: Growth of Portal Market (2005-2011)
1.4.6  Need for Always on Connectivity
1.4.7  Popularity of Fixed IM Services
Chart 7:  Fixed IM Users by Service Provider (2006) 
1.5  Aim of this Report
1.5.1  What is the Importance of MIM?
Table 1:  List of Operators Planning to Launch Interoperable MIM Services
1.6  Report Structure
1.7  Scope of this Report
 

Chapter 2 Strategic and Technical Overview

2.1 Defining MIM
2.1.1  Client-Server Architecture
2.2 MIM Service Options for Network Operators
2.2.1  MIM on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
2.2.2  SMS based MIM Solutions
2.2.3  Service Provider Driven MIM Model
Table 2:  Generic IM
2.2.3.1  Benefits of Service Provider Driven MIM Model
Table 3:  Benefits from Simple PC based MIM Model
2.2.4  Operator Driven MIM Services
Table 4:  Operator Branded MIM
Figure 2: MIM Access Point and IP Service Interface
2.2.4.1  Benefits of Operator Driven MIM Service Model
Figure 3:  MIM service Options for Network Operators 
2.2.5  Basic MIM Services
2.2.6  Advanced MIM Services
2.2.7  MIM Service Quality
2.3  MIM Infrastructure and Software needed by Operators
Figure 4: MIM Service Solution
2.3.1  Internet Messaging Gateways
2.3.1.1  Connectivity to Public IM Service Providers
Figure 5:  Connectivity to Public IM Services
2.3.1.2  Interoperability between Operators
2.3.2  Messaging Clients
2.3.2.1  Embedded MIM Clients
2.3.2.2 Preloaded MIM Client Solution from Operators 
2.3.2.3  Downloadable MIM Clients
2.3.3  MIM Servers
2.4 Access Method for Operator Enabled MIM
2.4.1  Handset Compatibility 
Chart 8:  Availability of MIM Handsets in Western Europe
2.5  Features that make MIM different from other Messaging Services
2.5.1  Contact list management
2.5.2  One-to-one and multi-participant chat
2.5.3  User database search
2.5.4  Presence Management
2.5.4.1  Availability
2.5.4.2  Location
2.5.4.3  Device Details
2.5.4.4  Communication Preferences
2.5.4.5  User's Mood
2.6  Fixed IM
Table 5:  Active Users Of Fixed IM Services for Different Service Providers (August 2005)
Chart 9:  Percentage of Fixed IM users from the US and Rest  of the World
2.6.1  Shortcomings of Fixed IM
2.6.1.1 Fragmentation
Table 6:  Protocols used in Fixed IM Services
2.6.1.2  Interoperability
2.6.1.3  Security
2.6.2  Players in the Fixed IM Domain
Table 7:  List of Key Fixed IM Service Providers 
2.6.2.1  AOL's AIM Service
Figure 6:  AOL Messenger
2.6.2.2  Microsoft's MSN Messenger
2.6.2.3  Yahoo Messenger
Figure 7:  Yahoo Emoticons
2.6.2.3.1 Yahoo and Microsoft's Partnership
2.6.3  Revenue Model in Fixed IM
2.6.4 New Opportunities to Fixed IM Service Providers 
Table 8:  Key Partnerships between Fixed IM Service Providers and Operators
2.7  Revenue Model for MIM
2.7.1  Traditional Revenue Model
Table 9:  Traditional Revenue Models
2.7.2  Innovative Revenue Model
Table 10:  Innovative Revenue Models
2.8  Other Messaging Services that Network Operators are offering 
Chart 10:  Percentage Data Revenues Generated by Different Data Applications (2011)
2.8.1   MMS
Chart 11:  Global MMS Revenues
2.8.2   EMS
2.8.3   SMS
2.8.3.1  Difference between SMS and MIM
Figure 8:  Difference between SMS and MIM Services
Chart 12:  Western European SMS Revenues (2004-2011)
2.8.4   Email
2.8.4.1  Difference between MIM and Email
2.9   MIM Market Analysis
2.9.1   MIM Market in the US
Chart 13:  MIM Handset Shipment as a Percentage of Total Handset Shipment in the US
Chart 14:  Growth of Fixed IM, Email and Cellular Services in the US
Chart 15:  MIM Subscriber Growth in the US (2003-2011)
2.9.2   MIM Market in Europe
Chart 16:  Messaging Revenues in Western Europe (20011)
Chart 17:  MIM Revenue Growth in Western Europe
2.9.3  MIM Market in China
2.9.4   MIM Market in South Asia
Chart 18:  Spending in Asia Pacific by Youth on Data Services (2004-2011)
Chart 19:  Subscriber Growth in India (2003-2011)
2.10   MIM Customer Segmentation
2.10.1  Early Adopters
2.10.2   Youth
2.10.2.1  Teenagers
2.10.2.2  Young Professionals
2.10.3   Enterprises
2.10.3.1  MIM Provides an alternative to making a phone call
2.10.3.2  Quick Response
2.10.3.3  Experts on Demand
2.10.3.4  Challenges in Implementing Enterprise MIM
2.10.3.5  Industries where MIM will Prove Useful
Table 11:  MIM will drive growth of other applications
2.10.4   New Value Added Applications that can fuel the Growth of MIM
2.11   Questions Surrounding MIM Deployment
2.11.1   Will MIM Cannibalise SMS Revenues?
2.11.2   Are subscribers willing to pay for MIM?
2.11.3   Do operators lose control over subscribers if they allow access to 3rd party portals?
2.11.4   How Operators can position MIM in the mobile ecosystem?
2.11.5   What will be the best business model for MIM?
2.11.6   What is the interest of ISPs and Internet Portals in MIM?
2.11.7   Does MIM pose a threat to Voice calls? 
2.11.8   Is an IMS-based MIM Solution available and how does it work?
2.11.8.1 IMS

Chapter 3 MIM Value Chain Analysis

Figure 9:  MIM Value Chain
3.1   MIM Middleware Vendors
Table 12:  Key Vendors offering End-to-End MIM Solutions
Table 13:  Key Vendors offering MIM Client Solutions
Table 14:  Key Vendors offering MIM Server Solutions
Table 15:  Key Vendors offering MIM Gateway Solutions
3.1.1   Agile Mobile
3.1.1.1  Agile Messenger
Figure 10:  Agile Messenger
3.1.2   Colibria
3.1.2.1  Colibria's IMPS Enabled Servers
3.1.2.2  Colibria's Internet Messaging Gateways
3.1.3   Commontime
3.1.4   Comverse
3.1.4.1  Comverse’s Mobile IM Client
3.1.4.2  Mobile IM Platform
3.1.5   Ecrio
3.1.5.1  Ecrio Client
3.1.6   Fastmobile
3.1.7   Followap Telecommunications
3.1.7.1  iFollow Interconnect Platform (ICP)
Figure 11  Followap Interconnect Platform
3.1.7.2  Interconnectivity in the French Market
3.1.8  Intellisync
3.1.9   Jabber
3.1.9.1  Jabber IM Client
3.1.10   Jataayu Wireless
3.1.11   magic4
3.1.12   IXI
3.1.13  MessageVine
3.1.13.1  Key Customers
3.1.1.3.2  MessageVine and GoogleTalk
3.1.14   Openwave
Figure 12:  IM Client Architecture (Openwave)
3.1.14.1  Openwave and Thumbspeed Agreement
3.1.15   OZ Communications
Table 16:  Key Clients of OZ Communications
3.1.1.5.1  OZ's MIM Strategy 
3.1.16   Thumbspeed
3.2   Service Providers
3.2.1   Yahoo
3.2.2   AOL
Table 17:  AOL's Operator Partners
3.2.3   Microsoft
3.2.3.1  MSN Portal in South Asia
3.2.4   Google
3.2.4.1  Nokia and Google
3.2.5  Service Providers' Strategies in Western Europe
3.3   Handset Manufacturers
3.3.1   Changing Demands
3.3.1.1  Multi Functional or Specialised Devices
3.3.1.2  Innovative Devices on the Market
3.3.1.2.1  Ogo Devices
Figure 13:  Ogo Devices
3.3.1.2.2  Java handsets

3.3.1.3  Nokia
Table 18:  Nokia Handsets that Support IM
3.3.1.4  Motorola
Table 19:  Motorola Handsets that Support MIM
3.3.1.5  Samsung
3.3.1.6  Sony Ericsson
3.4   Network Operator
3.4.1   Vodafone
3.4.1.1  Vodafone's MIM Pricing Strategies
3.4.1.2  Vodafone and MSN IM Deal
3.4.1.3  Vodafone and Followap
3.4.2   Beijing Mobile
3.4.3   Cingular Wireless
Figure 14:  Cingular Wireless IM Offering
Table 20:  Cingular's Pricing for Text/Messaging Package
3.4.4   Orange
3.4.4.1  Orange (France)
3.4.5   Dobson
3.4.6   True Corporation
3.4.7   Bouygues Telecom
3.4.8   O2
3.4.9   Turkcell
3.4.10   Telefonica Moviles
3.4.11  KPN
3.4.12   Alltel
3.5   Details on some Competing and Complementary Solutions in the Market
3.5.1   Free Solutions
3.5.1.1  QuickIM MSN Messenger for Smartphones  
3.5.1.2  Yamigo
3.5.1.3  Crickee
 

Chapter 4 MIM Standards
 
4.1   OMA's IMPS
4.1.1   OMA IMPS Client
4.1.2   IMPS Feature Description
4.1.3   OMA IMPS Version 1.3
4.2   GSMA Initiative for Personal IM
4.3   SIMPLE (SIP for Instant messaging and Presence leveraging extension)
4.3.1   Comparison between IMPS and SIMPLE
4.4    Jabber's IMPS Solution

 
Chapter 5 Strategic options and implications

5.1   Network Operators
5.1.1   Operator Benefits
5.1.1.1  Virtuous cycle of messaging
5.1.1.2  Increased customer Loyalty
5.1.1.3  Often MIM conversation ends up in voice calls 
5.1.2   Operator Strategies
5.1.2.1  Capitalise on Brand Value
5.1.2.2  Form Partnerships with other Players 
5.1.2.3  Offer Connectivity to Existing IM Communities
5.1.2.4  Promote person-to-person Communication
5.1.2.5  Promote Chat Groups with MIM
5.1.2.6  Provide Intuitive User Interface
5.1.2.6.1  Rich User Experience
5.1.2.6.2  Improved Operator Control
5.1.2.7  Fierce Marketing
5.1.2.8  Pricing Strategies
Table 20:  Pricing Options for Network Operators
Table 21:  MIM Pricing Strategy Comparison.
5.1.2.9  Selecting the Right Vendor for an MIM Solution
5.1.2.10  Follow the Integrated Messaging Approach
5.1.2.11  Analyse Customer Requirements
5.1.2.12  Interoperability Strategies
5.1.3.12.1  No interoperability
5.1.3.12.2  Interoperability with other Fixed IM
5.1.3.12.3  Interoperability with other Operators
5.1.3.12.4  Full Interoperability
Table 22:  MIM Interoperability Scenarios
Table 23:  Comparison of Popular Messaging Solutions
5.1.2.13  Service Positioning
Table 24:  Service Options for Operators
5.1.2.13.1  PTT and MIM
5.2   Handset Vendor Strategies

Chapter 6  IM Market Dynamics
 
6.1   Critical Success Factors
6.1.1   MIM With Intuitive User Interface (UI)
6.1.2   Handsets and Usability
6.1.2.1  Screen Size
6.1.2.2  Text Input
6.1.2.3  Usage Scenario and User Experience
6.1.2.3.1  Delay in Delivery of Instant Messages
6.1.2.4  Some Innovative Solutions in the UI  Market
6.1.2.4.1  MSX
6.1.2.4.2 Digit Wireless
6.1.3   Interoperability Issues
Table 25:  MIM Interoperability Option For Operators
Figure 15:  Interconnectivity between Operators
Table 26:  IM Statistics (US Market)
6.1.4   Pricing Strategies
6.1.4.1  Service Bundling
6.1.4.2  Revenue Model
6.1.5   Product Differentiation
6.1.6   Network Reliance
6.1.7   Network Security
6.1.8   Improved Mobile Devices with MIM Capabilities
6.1.9   Improved MIM Clients
6.1.10   Aligning the MIM Value Chain
6.2   Complementary Technologies
6.2.1   Intel's Efforts
6.3   Current MIM Market Trends
6.3.1   Drivers of MIM technology
6.3.1.1  Push to Talk (PTT) Will Drive MIM Uptake
6.3.2   Inhibitors
Table 27:  Barriers to MIM 6.4   Future of MIM
6.4.1   Global Subscriber Growth
Chart 20: Global Mobile Subscriber Growth
6.4.2   Global Handset Shipment Forecasts
Chart 21:  Global Handset Shipments (2003-2011)
6.4.3   Data Revenues 
Chart 22:  Revenues from Voice/Data Services (2011)
6.4.4   MIM Traffic Growth
Chart 23:  Global MIM Traffic in 2005
6.4.5   Messaging Revenue Share for MIM
Chart 24:  Global MIM Services Revenues (2004-2011)
Chart 25:  Global Messaging Revenues (2004-2011)
Chart 26:  Percentage of Revenue Contribution from Different Messaging Services (2011)
6.4.6   Market Penetration For MIM
6.4.6.1  In which Markets MIM will be Successful?
Chart 27:  MIM Revenues by Market (Percentage of total Global MIM revenues) 2011
Chart 28:  Number of MIM Messages Send Per Subscriber Per Month in Europe(2007-2011)
6.4.7   MIM Client Market Share
Chart 29:  MIM Client Market Share (2005)
Chart 30:  MIM Client Market Share (2011)
6.4.8   MIM Server Market Share
6.4.9   MIM Customer Growth
Chart 31:  Global MIM Services Uptake (2006-2011)
Chart 32:  Personal IM Services Subscriber Growth (Global 2006-2011)
6.4.10   ARPU Growth with MIM
Table 28:  Western European Revenues Potential Per Subscribers per month from MIM
6.4.11  Operator’s Revenue Share with IM Service Providers
6.4.12   Market Share of Top Public MIM Service Providers
Chart 33:  Market Share of Public IM Service Providers (2011)
6.4.13   Regional Forecasts for MIM
6.4.13.1  US
Chart 34:  MIM Subscribers in the US( 2005-2011)
Chart 35:  MIM Revenues in the US( 2005-2011)
6.4.13.2  Western Europe
Chart 36:  MIM Revenue Growth in Western Europe
Chart 37:  MIM Messages per Subscriber per Month in Western Europe
6.4.14   Corporate MIM Revenues
Chart 38:  Global Corporate MIM Users (2006-2011)
6.4.15   Embedded MIM Client Handset Shipment

Chapter 7 Conclusions
 
7.1   Presence Feature will drive MIM Adoption
7.2   Personal IM will be Successful
7.3   USA and Asia will be the Key Market for MIM Growth
7.4   Need for Killer MIM Applications
7.5   Key Report Findings