DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS BY COMMUNITY OF DEVELOPERS IN THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY

AbstractIn order to grow the use of GPRS and in the future 3G networks, mmO2 are looking for third party application developers to develop applications that run across these networks. Only by having a partnership relationship with developers and building a community of developers will mmO2 attract the developers in sufficient numbers and of sufficient quality to meet their objectives.This is very different to the traditional customer-supplier relationship and new product development approach that is appropriate within the infrastructure sides of the business. In order to accommodate both styles of operation within the same business, mmO2 has created a standalone facility (called MADIC) within its own organisation aimed specifically at the application rather than the network space.Ideas from Network Economics and Complexity Theory can shed some light on what MADIC needs to do to be a success, although some business questions remain difficult to answer, not least, how to balance the need to nurture the developer community and the need to benefit from its existence.