appolosophy thesis fahadzahid ivanbuncic

8/8/2019 Appolosophy Thesis FahadZahid IvanBuncic

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Appolosophy

Starting up a Mobile Applications, Tablet Computing Solutions &

Web 3.0 Development Company in Luxembourg

www.appolosophy.com

Fahad Zahid & Ivan Buncic

Master in Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Luxembourg Business Academy

Faculty of Law, Economics & Finance

University of Luxembourg

July, 2010

Thesis Mentor

Prof. Jean-Luc Arrgle


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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our professors Sten Soderman, Jean Luc Arregle and Nicolas Jonard fortheir help and feedback during the whole process of the thesis writing.

Special thanks to Benjamin Ledran, who has always inspired us to be creative and original.

We would like to thank Andy Zuest and Erika Timko for guidance in the financial plan.

Last but not the least; we would also like to thank our beloved families and friends.

Without your support, nothing would be possible.


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The past cannot be changed, but it can, in part, be known; the future cannot be known, but it

can be imagined and by acting on that imagination it can, in part, be changed. Imagination is

shaped, though not determined by the interpretation of environment and experience. However,

most of what is imagined turns out to be impossible; and so progress depends on both the

variety of imagination and some process for selection among this variety the essentials of

evolution. Loasby, B., 2001, P: 397.

Executive Summary

The entertainment economy is undergoing continuous improvements. New and alternate

technologies have replaced the existing ones. Television, radio and newspapers were once

considered to be the only attention acquisition mediums. These mediums are not only losing their

popularity but are also struggling to rethink their value proposition models. The core reason

behind these changes can be attributed to the massive outreach of the internet. The internet has

forced businesses to reshape their value proposition models to capture the opportunities

available on the World Wide Web.

The rise of smart phones signals another shift in the entertainment economy. With millions of

smart phones in the hands of consumers and counting; majority of the brands have not

developed a strategy to address consumer demands on the mobile web. We found out that

majority of the companies are not exploiting the immense potential of the mobile web by creating

mobile applications, mobile optimized websites and associated solutions. Majority of the brandsdo not have any applications on the existing app stores and for tablet computing devices like the

iPad. Our inner desire to pursue intellectual freedom coupled with our marketing & technological

expertise led us to the idea of starting up a mobile applications and web 3.0 development

company Appolosophy in Luxembourg.

We intend to exploit this rapidly growing market segment by providing customized solutions for

brands which will ensure leverage, outreach and brand loyalty. Through this thesis; we analyze

our motives, the problems, purpose, proposed solutions, methods, data, framework, analysis,

conclusion and consequences of starting up a mobile applications and web 3.0 company in

Luxembourg. This thesis is amalgamatesan pedagogical inputs which pave the way for a concise

business plan.


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Table of Contents

1 Introduction............................................................................................................................ 7

1.1 Motives ............................................................................................................................ 8

1.2 Problems.......................................................................................................................... 91.3 Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 10

1.4 Method........................................................................................................................... 101.4.1 Potential Methods..................................................................................................... 111.4.2 Chosen Criteria........................................................................................................ 121.4.3 Data.........................................................................................................................121.4.4 Data Collection......................................................................................................... 13

2 Literature Overview & Framework ....................................................................................... 14

3 Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 16

4 Appolosophy Business Plan.............................................................................................. 16

4.1 What is Appolosophy?................................................................................................... 174.2 Company Purpose.......................................................................................................... 18

4.3 Customers Problem ....................................................................................................... 18

4.4 Value Proposition........................................................................................................... 19

4.5 Customer Profile............................................................................................................. 22

5 Why Now ............................................................................................................................ 23

5.1 Historical Evolution of Mobile Phones & Applications....................................................... 24

5.2 Primary Data (Results of the Survey) ............................................................................. 26

5.3 The recent trends that make our solutions possible........................................................ 27

5.4 Market Dynamics............................................................................................................ 35

6 Competition .......................................................................................................................... 38

6.1 Local competitors (Luxembourg).................................................................................... 38

6.2 Global competitors ......................................................................................................... 39

7 Services .............................................................................................................................. 42

7.1 Service Line up.............................................................................................................. 43

7.2 Features ........................................................................................................................ 44

7.3 Functionality................................................................................................................... 45

7.4 Technology .................................................................................................................... 47

7.5 Intellectual Property........................................................................................................ 48

7.6 Development Roadmap................................................................................................... 49

7.7 Prototype Mobile Applications......................................................................................... 50

8 Business Model ................................................................................................................... 53


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8.1 Revenue Model.............................................................................................................. 55

8.2 Pricing Structure ............................................................................................................ 56

9 Marketing............................................................................................................................. 57

9.1 Macro Environmental Scan............................................................................................. 57

9.2 Highly engaged and highly networked marketing models ................................................ 59

9.3 Marketing Tactics ........................................................................................................... 619.4 Sales Pipeline................................................................................................................. 63

10 Team.................................................................................................................................. 63

11 Financial Analysis .............................................................................................................. 65

12 Action Plan......................................................................................................................... 68

12.1 Market Entry Strategy................................................................................................... 68

12.2 Scalability Strategy....................................................................................................... 69

12.3 Resource Retention Strategy........................................................................................ 69

12.4 Customer acquisition, retention & extension strategy.................................................... 71

13 Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 73

14 References........................................................................................................................ 77

15 Glossary of Technological Terms ....................................................................................... 80

16 Annexures and Supporting Data ........................................................................................ 81

16.1 Application Development for Brands (workflow) .......................................................... 81

16.2 Flagship Applications (Workflow) ................................................................................. 82

16.3 Website Development (Workflow) ................................................................................ 83


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Table of Figures

Figure 1: Appolosophy............................................................................................................... 17Figure 2: Appolosophy Value Proposition................................................................................... 20Figure 3: Do you think brands/individuals can promote themselves through mobile applications? 26Figure 4: Do you access internet through your smart phone? .................................................... 26Figure 5: If you are loyal to a brand will you download its mobile application? ............................ 26Figure 6: Will you make use of a promotion available to you through your mobile phone?............ 27Figure 7: Do you think search engine optimization and social linking are important for a business?.................................................................................................................................................. 27Figure 8: iPhone OS unique device distribution by region (Source: adMob, April 2010) ............... 28Figure 9: Android OS unique device distribution by region (Source: adMob, April 2010) ............. 28Figure 10: Android and iPhone unique devices (Source: adMob, April 2010) .............................. 29Figure 11: Ad requests by Geography, April 2010 (Source: adMob, April 2010)......................... 30Figure 12: Decline in Loyalty for many consumer brands during recession ................................ 31Figure 13: Social networking is the fastest gro wing mobile category ......................................... 32Figure 14: Mobile music users .................................................................................................... 32Figure 15: Mobile benchmark data for European market.............................................................. 33Figure 16: Touch screen smart phone adoption.......................................................................... 33Figure 17: iPad Unique Device Distribution by Region (Source: adMob, April 2010) ..................... 34Figure 18: Smart phone users (Source: research2guidance, March 5, 2010) ............................. 35Figure 19: Mobile Internet Access (Source: adMob, April 2010) ................................................. 36Figure 20: Applications for Brands (Source: research2guidance, March 5, 2010)...................... 36Figure 21: Number of new apps (2007-2009) (Source: research2guidance, March 5, 2010)...... 37Figure 22: Porters Five Forces .................................................................................................. 42Figure 23: Appolosophy Service Model...................................................................................... 43Figure 24: How Fusion Works................................................................................................... 47Figure 25: University of Luxembourg (prototype mobile application) ........................................... 50Figure 26: Cargolux (prototype mobile application) ..................................................................... 51Figure 27: Luxair (prototype mobile application).......................................................................... 51Figure 28: Atelier (prototype mobile application) ......................................................................... 52Figure 29: Appolosophy Business Model ................................................................................... 53

Figure 30: Appolosophy Pricing Structure .................................................................................. 56Figure 31: Appolosophy STEEPLED Analysis .......................................................................... 59Figure 32: Highly Engaged Marketing Model................................................................................ 60Figure 33: Highly Networked Marketing Model ............................................................................ 60Figure 34: Appolosophy Organizational Structure ................................................................... 65Figure 35: Customer acquisition, retention and extension strategy ............................................. 72Figure 36: Applications development for brands workflow......................................................... 81Figure 37: Flagship Applications workflow................................................................................. 82Figure 38: Website Development workflow ................................................................................ 83


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1 Introduction

Long gone are the days of divergence, this is the era of convergence which is accentuated by

the availability of information easily and seamlessly. The whole world is converging towardsaccessing information & making appropriate use of it. It starts from checking email, connecting on

social networks, browsing through favorite sites; the choices and possibilities are endless. We

live in an attention economy which is characterized by innovation. Nobody anticipated the scale

and scope of dot com companies like Google, Yahoo or MSN 20 years ago. Internet is one of the

focal cornerstones of our society as it supports social and economic interactions at a global

scale. YouTube is considered to be one the most innovative websites of this age and millions of

users visit its website everyday. As we write this paper; there are millions of messages being

broadcasted through the instant messaging service Twitter. The ideas and inventions around the

internet will continuously and consistently evolve.

As these ideas and inventions impact the world around us, they also dynamically change the

landscape of marketing, advertising, outreach and publicity. Internet spawned a huge flood of

online advertising and prompted every enterprise on the face of this earth to build a website.

These websites created alternative spaces for companies to promote their products and to reach

their customers on the World Wide Web. The internet was founded on a simple architectural

principal, a simple network that can be used as a universal means to interconnect end systemsand users. This principle alone allowed the internet to reach impressive heights of success.

Nowadays, experts predict that the future of internet looks highly mobile. A reason for this

statement can be attributed to the fact that in less than four years there will be 4.5 billion

subscribers for next generation mobile internet services (3G & 4G). (TeleGeography Research,

July 2009). Lenovo, the 4th largest computer maker in the world anticipates that mobile internet

products will account for 10-20% of its revenues in the next five years.

Mobile phones are becoming smarter by the day as they provide users with numerous features

which enables them to send and receive emails, access the internet, chat, download favorite

applications to name a few. Everyday developers are creating new mobile applications to capture

the interest of consumers. However, most of the software companies create mobile applications

restricted to one platform i.e. Apple, Blackberry, Nokia or Google. We believe that mobile

applications need to be created and synchronized across all platforms making it possible for


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multiple users to access similar data. This single possibility impacts the entire dynamics of

promotions in a way that if applications (either created for big brands or created solely for

innovative purposes) are spread on all platforms they can attract a wider audience and spur

increased retention. Similarly tablet computers like the iPad present a new niche market for

applications and widgets.

In 2002; no one had anticipated that the World Wide Web will become smart as it will have the

capability to predict, analyze and store preferences and help in making critical decisions. Today

with the layering of semantics to the web (the ability of a website to analyze data, to map out

specific historical changes and logically integrate the possibilities) has enabled the web to

understand. The ability of a website to understand is coined as web 3.0. There is a dire need to

make intelligent websites that analyze and react according to set preferences. Similarly, mobile

websites, bro wsers and plug-ins are in very high demand. Even companies with good websites

need optimization for mobile internet. In this way once a companys site has been optimized for

mobile usage; it will appear properly on the mobile phone in terms of its resolution and usability.

The next sections contain information related to our motives, the problems, purpose, and method.

1.1 Motives

Our entrepreneurial mindset to pursue intellectual freedom prompted us to review the global

technological landscape and develop creative ideas. Initially we started off with the idea of

developing highly creative mobile applications for sale on the application stores. With the passage

of time we refined our idea in order to collaborate with brands to improve their outreach through

customized applications.

Innovation is a creative process which spurs improvement and innovative ideas fuel successful

business entities. The core motive for conceiving and developing the idea of Appolosophy can

easily be attributed to our inner desire to do something worthwhile, different and progressive

which in turn generates value.

Luxembourg and its surrounding EU countries present unique opportunities for entrepreneurswith innovative business ideas. There is almost no competition in the mobile and tablet

applications development/web 3.0 arena in Luxembourg. Servicing this market segment is highly

challenging yet extremely appealing.


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Studying in the Entrepreneurship & Innovation program has augmented our existing international

marketing and technology based consulting skills. Furthermore it provided us with ample

opportunities to brain storm unique business ideas and the precise knowledge and tactics to

deploy and implement them.

Appolosophys business concept is totally unique and is fully aligned with solving the problems ofits customers in an innovative manner. The next section addresses the problems faced by

majority of the brands.

1.2 Problems

The mobile application and web 3.0 development segments are relatively nascent in Luxembourg

and other EU countries. We researched that there is only one prominent web development

company operating in Luxembourg. Websites of prominent banks, business entities andGovernment offices are designed by this one web development firm. The other web development

companies operating in Luxembourg are only engaged in outsourcing. This practice results in

creating a big divide between the expectations of a customer and the delivered results. Best

practices show that outsourcing is not always the sharpest tool in the toolbox.

Mobile/tablet application development is a new business segment in this region. This practice

requires appropriate knowledge in the relevant development domains i.e. Software Development

Kit, Java, Flash Lite, Mobile Ajax and numerous other platforms. It also requires experience in

adhering to the standards set up by mobile phone manufacturers and their online stores like App

Store (Apple), Ovi (Nokia), Blackberry Store (RIM) and Android Market (Google).

The problems which we intend to solve through this paper are as follows:

a. How can companies make use of new mediums other than print, media, radio

and web to re-engineer their brand perception and market presence global ly?

b. Are there any fresh and creative marketing strategies that companies can

pursue to stay connected to their customers while surviving the presenteconomic turmoi l?

c. What is the potential outcome for a brand to create its presence on the mobi le

web?

d. Is it possible to alter consumer behavior and obtain real time consumer

feedback through mobile applications?


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A clear gap is prevalent in Luxembourg in terms of competent web and mobile application

development firms. Numerous local and international businesses entities, Government/Private

institutions and individuals from all walks of life require websites, widgets and applications to not

only to create a virtual parking space for their business but also to promote themselves and

attract attention of the masses.

The best brands in the world are considering development of smart widgets and mobile

applications in order to hold on their customers with velvet handcuffs, maintain the brand loyalty

and continuously inform them about new developments/promotions.

The problems identified above are closely linked with the purpose mentioned in the next section.

1.3 Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to:

a. Identifythe dynamic changes taking place in the entertainment economy.

b. Explain overall potential of the smart phone/mobile web market and the opportunities

available.

c. Elucidate new ways of reaching out to customers and generating significant ROI by

communicating on mediums other than Radio, Print & Television.

d. Analyze the target market, customers, consumption patters and recent trends to

develop solutions with high value proposition.

e. Mould the inputs of the paper into a clear business plan for Appolosophy that

prescribes innovative solutions for developing mobile/tablet applications and web 3.0

solutions. Furthermore, our focus is on integrating all the components of the business

plan into the perfect fit in order to generate interest of the VCs and investors.

The next section outlines the methods which will be adopted for identifying the diagnostics for

the problems mentioned earlier.

1.4 Method

In the earlier section the problems have been discussed. This section identifies the potential

methods which could be adopted to solve the problems and selects the most practical method


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which enables us to achieve a two pronged result i.e. to solve the problems and to properly

present the proposed solutions.

1.4.1 Potential Methods

There are different methods for analyzing the problems and providing viable solutions. The

problems mentioned in the earlier section are distinctive and therefore demand unique solutions.

We evaluated different methods which are as follows:

a. Primary Research

We had the option of conducting primary research in order to address the specific issues and

pinpoint the various solutions in the paper. This option is not only time consuming but could also

hamper our activities by exposing the core business idea in front of the respondents.

Literature reflects that surveys are very helpful in identifying the current trends and preferences

of the target market segments. They provide first hand user preferences in quantifiable form. It is

possible to collect information from a large number of respondents simultaneously.

b. Secondary Research

Nowadays, secondary research is very cost effective due to vast amounts of information

available on the internet. However, basing the entire paper solely on secondary research is not

feasible as the business concept is unique and has never been attempted by any entity in the

past.

There are a number of case studies, research reports and articles which can be reviewed in

order to gain an insight into the companies which are developing mobile and tablet computing

applications. These case studies provide information about the best practices prevalent in the

organization and management of these businesses. However in our specific case this

knowledge is only partially beneficial from a broader management perspective as our businessconcept differs from the typical mobile applications and web development companies.


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1.4.2 Chosen Criteria

Appolosophys business concept has not been practiced before therefore the best method to

describe and communicate this concept is to mould this paper in the form a detailed business

plan.

We use the following methods for developing the business plan:

Survey

A structured survey was floated to a group of 15 respondents belonging to academic and

professional spheres. Primary data from this survey identifies the mobile phone internet access,

branded mobile applications, mobile applications downloads, mobile promotions and social linking

paradigms.

Case Studies, Research Reports & Articles

We reviewed the sales numbers of an Australian mobile application developer, Firemint.

Furthermore, we also analyzed the numerous findings of the research reports prepared by

renowned consulting firms and academic articles pertaining to our business concept. This

secondary data provides us with a broader picture of the mobile/tablet applications and web

development industry. It also reflects the best practices pertaining to mobile application and web

development platforms, the increased volume of usage and geographical trends.

Financial Modeling

The financial block of our course helped us in creating a structured financial model for

Appolosophys business concept which provides in-depth information related to the financial

resources required to generate revenues.

The business plan is a combination of numerous components which clearly describe the

business concept, customers problems, market dynamics, competition, business model,

financial analysis and a detailed strategic action plan. All these steps will define the concept of

Appolosophy and focus on providing concrete conclusions and consequences.


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1.4.3 Data

We make use of two types of data:

a. Primary Research

b. Secondary Research

We had the option of engaging in focused primary research with the risk of exposing the core

business idea. Keeping this fact in view we floated a generalized survey to map the opinions of

15 users related to mobile applications, mobile internet usage and other relevant paradigms.

However on a broader spectrum precise data related to mobile applications, operating

environments, handset manufacturers and consumption patterns is available through extensive

research carried out by renowned firms like Gartner, Research2Guidance, ComScore, and

AdMob. This research is secondary in nature. We intend to make optimum use of this research

for the marketing and operational benchmarking of the business plan.

1.4.4 Data Collection

Results of the primary data are incorporated in the Why Now section of the business plan.

The following secondary data is used in the preparation of the business plan:

- In-depth research of the market, best practices and prevailing trends in EU and world widethrough various reports by Gartner, AdMob and other research firms adds immense

value, credibility and logic to the business plan.

- Inputs on business plan writing from renowned VC firm Sequoia Capital

- Academic and business articles/cases most relevant to our business model

- Books by entrepreneurs and management profess ionals which provided success stories

aligned to our business model and failure stories to guard against potential pitfalls

- Contextual and behavioral usage data from AdMob and ComScore.


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2 Literature Overview & Framework

During the development of this business idea we have extensively read the findings of prominent

entrepreneurs, business and management leaders like Alvin Toffler, Sir Richard Branson, Malcolm

Gladwell, Chris Anderson, Guy Kawasaki and many more.

Sociologist and futurist Alvin Toffler published a book in 1970 titled Future Shock which explains

the psychological state of the individuals and societies which experience too much change in a

very short span of time. Toffler published a sequel to Future Shock titled Third Wave in 1980

which explains the progression of society in the perspective of three different waves i.e.

agricultural revolution signaled the arrival of the first wave, industrial revolution indicated the

presence of the second wave and the post industrialization scenario or the information age as

the third wave. Toffler published a sequel to the Third Wave in 2006 titled Revolutionary Wealth

which examines three key fundamentals i.e. time, space and knowledge with relation to wealth

systems. These books provide a deep insight on how society and its opinions have shaped over

the passage of time.

Chris Anderson the editor of Wired magazine wrote the Long Tail in 2007 in which he has used

statistics to describe the success stories of companies like Amazon and Netflix. The days when

companies sold popular products are over no w as there is a huge market in selling small volumes

of hard to find products. The total sales of these hard of find items constitutes the Long Tail. In

another book titled Free which was published in 2009, Anderson describes Freemium model.

Freemium is a blend of two words Free and Premium. This model works on a simple principle ofoffering the basic products/services for free and charging for the premium products/services.

This book goes on to describe new promotional and cross subsidy models which are very useful

for technology startups.

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, 2010 is an account of the challenges

faced by the entrepreneurial authors in starting up 37signals. This book highlights the simple yet

effective management methods for entrepreneurial companies.

Reality Check written by prominent entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki in 2009, focuses on ignoring

fads and sticking to common sense practices in customer service, marketing, strategic planning

and gauging competition.


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Tipping Point written by Malcolm Gladwell in 2000; explains that tipping point is the level at which

momentum for change becomes unstoppable. He has highlighted three agents of change i.e. the

law of the few (success of any social epidemic depends on a particular set of people with

special social gifts), stickiness factor (content of the message that makes it memorable) and

power of context (how human behavior is influenced by environment).

Books written by the above mentioned business and management celebrities have not only

provided us with requisite knowledge about their experiences, the best practices and the

potential pitfalls but have also motivated us to adopt a very balanced approach in developing a

viable business plan which takes into account all the foreseeable and unforeseeable scenarios.

As there is no prior research regarding our business logic therefore we have made use of

different business tools to examine the overall situation of the market. We emphasize our efforts

on developing the business plan which carries a detailed analysis of the market and explores the

financial options that make it possible for a company to start up successfully.

Useful models like the social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal, educational

and demographic (STEEPLED) analysis, John Jantschs highly effective/highly networked

marketing models and Michael Porters Five Forces Model are incorporated in the business plan to

carefully examine the different factors which play a pivotal role in the success of Appolosophy.

Collectively, these actions act as yardsticks in determining the viability of the business plan.

The list of books, case studies and articles we have gone through is very extensive. To

summarize everything in the briefest way possible we have condensed the list of books and

articles to the ones that influenced and assisted us the most. A list of the literature is available in

the References section.

Key Concepts

Mobile Applications: are in fact softwares which possess the ability to run on a mobile device

and provide users with rich functionalities and features to simplify their tasks. The usage of

mobile applications is very diverse as they can range from providing basic organizing and

telephony services to complex services like entertainment, news and games.


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Tablet Computing Applications:Tablet computing devices like iPad and the Android Dell pad

are in increasing demand all over the world as they provide extreme mobility and ease of use.

Furthermore, these tablet computers are easy to carry as they are significantly lighter than the

notebooks. Software designed and developed for the tablet computers can be referred to as

tablet computing applications.

Web 3.0: Web 3.0 is the successor of web 1.0 and 2.0 Also known as semantic web; the

information on a webpage is categorized and stored in a way that the computers understand it. It

is a combination of semantic web and artificial intelligence. Semantic web teaches a computer

what the data means and this paves for artificial intelligence to utilize that information.

Associated Services: Associated services in Appolosophys case refer to search engine

optimization (SEO) the art of getting better visibility and rankings on search engines. Viral

campaigns and social linkages provide flexibility to companies as they ensure less money is

spent on developing extremely creative promotional campaigns. Mobile optimized websites are

versions of existing websites that function properly on the mobile web.

3 Analysis

Mobile phone and tablet applications present an immense potential for a business with focus,

creativity, relevant experience and vision. Based on the primary and secondary data we have

used different tools in our business plan to justify that the business idea is unique and highlighted

the immense market potential in this segment.

As mentioned in the above section we will make use of various models to evaluate the potential

of our business. Furthermore, the financial and market analysis will clearly validate the business

idea in front of the prospective angels and venture partners.

4 Appolosophy Business Plan

We have the capacity to accept and adapt to change and shape our opinions in line with the

social acceptance prevailing at a particular point in time. Necessity is the mother of invention and

technological innovations have played a pivotal role in progression of societies. Everything that

was considered to be virtually impossible is possible today thanks to the advancements in

technology. Social adoption and usage patterns of a product/service change with time; the wave


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of entertainment which started from radio shifted towards the television and from the television to

the internet. Ground realities coupled with our futuristic vision predict the shift from internet to

mobile web. The rich and interactive content of the internet is now available on the mobile web

through the introduction of smart phones. Our business idea revolves around development of

applications for the smart phones. This business plan reflects our entrepreneurial drive and

connects all the creative inputs into a viable strategic action plan for starting up Appolosophy.

4.1 What is Appolosophy?

We spent quite a lot of time brainstorming on a perfect name for our business. After short listing

quite a few names we finalized Appolosophy. Appolosophy is a combination of two words

applications and philosophy. It reflects our creative vision of developing innovative solutions on

the mobile and web spaces.

Figure 1: Appolosophy

The logo consists of a stylized play icon. It reveals our forward thinking, creativity, pro-activity

and acceptance of continuous change. It has three different shapes blended into the play icon in

different colors i.e. the triangle, square and circle. These shapes symbolize our professional

diversity i.e. we work on three core areas: mobile and tablet computing applications, web 3.0 and

associated services in the form of search engine optimization, viral campaigns/social linkages

and mobile optimized websites. The blending of the colors in the logo represents the synergy

which exists among all our services.

The slogan for Appolosophy is earn attention. We developed this slogan to inform clients aboutthe services we render. Appolosophys focus is on the promotion business and every software,

application or website is directed to achieving the simple objective help businesses in earning

attention from their target consumers. Our focus is to use high end technologies to provide

creative services to help brands earn attention they truly deserve.


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4.2 Company Purpose

Appolosophy provides attention acquisition solutions for mobile web and tablet based computing

environments. We develop mobile/tablet applications and provide web 3.0 solutions to help

brands earn the attention they deserve.

(2010, Appolosophy.com)

4.3 Customers Problem

On the whole our customers include small scale, medium scale and large scale brands which

intend to expand their outreach and brand loyalty by making use of the mobile web. Verticals

which we are focused on include lifestyle, luxury, aviation, education, entertainment, banking,

sports, automotive, travel and many more.

Our customers problems are summarized as follows:

- Usage of basic attention acquisition mediums like print, radio, television &

web withlimited or no access to customers on the mobile web: Majority of the

companies have not thought about developing their own mobile applications and deploying

them on the mobile web to enable their customers to stay brand loyal. Ironically, even

established brands focus on achieving critical mass by turning their attention towards

promotions on print, radio, television & web. There is no denial regarding the importanceof these mediums. However, we must consider the element of saturation and wide

variety of choices. Companies that focus on reaching out to customers through the mobile

web platform possess the opportunity to enhance their market share and brand loyalty.

- Lack of emphasis on nearness to customers: Mobile phone applications connect

directly to the customers without any hassles of competition. If a user has a branded

application then it will obtain undivided attention without any interference. Obtaining

feedback is faster, simpler and easier compared to any other medium. Brands with first

mover advantage on the mobile web have greater chances of multiplying their revenues

compared to brands with no presence on the mobile web.

- Inability to link mobile applications with the current marketing strategy of the

firm: Though companies try to build applications for mobile phones but there is no clear

synergy between their marketing activities and the developed applications. Usually an

application is developed and deployed without keeping the key concerns of the target


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market consumer in view. As a result these applications get limited downloads thus

leading to limited usage and attractiveness.

- Dearth of the multiplicity coefficient: A precise strategy to harness the power of the

mobile applications has not been devised. For e.g. an application developed only for one

mobile platform caters to only the users which possess the relevant mobile phone. If

companies carefully dissect their customers on the basis of their mobile handsetpreference and choose three or four popular platforms at once and develop one

application that is accessible on these different types of phones then the results will be

much more rewarding.

- Scarcity of Freemium strategies: Majority of the brands use push and pull strategies

to attract customers. The benefits of Freemium need to be taken into consideration. By

offering customized mobile applications as downloadable for free, brands can leverage

and promote their premium products through these free applications. The whole concept

revolves around providing utility and value to customers and generating healthy returns.

- Limited or no penetration in terms of web 3.0, mobile optimized websites and

SEO: web 3.o technology possesses the ability to work wonders for any company by

integrating all the historical data and making information easily available. Presently the

focus is only on web 2.0. Similarly majority of the enterprises do not possess websites

which are optimized to work on the mobile web. This practice results in frustration for

their customers whenever they access the website from their mobile device. Search

engine optimization is another technology which has not totally been exploited.

- Lack of viral campaigns: in the era of meta tagging and websites like YouTube, viral

campaigns are cost effective and in many cases provide maximum leverage and ROI. Oneof the best marketing options exercised by few smart companies is to design a viral

campaign to attract a large volume of customers in a short span of time.

4.4 Value Proposition

Mobile web is redefining everything around us. The correct balance of creativity, marketing and

technological expertise helps Appolosophy in providing brands the attention they deserve.

Appolosophys value proposition revolves around five key elements as illustrated in the figure

below:


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Figure 2: Appolosophy Value Proposition

These five key elements are:

a. Market: it is pertinent to note that consumers will spend $6.2 billion in mobile application

stores this year (Gartner Press Release, December 2009), application stores will

exceed 4.5 billion downloads in 2010 (Gartner Press Release, December 2009) and

there are 45 million smart phone users only in the United States (AdMob, ComScore

MobiLens, 5th

April, 2010). Solutions offered are aligned with burgeoning demand of themarket.

b. Customer Experience: Appolosophys services are aimed at providing solutions that

maximize brand presence and generate value. Close collaboration and in time delivery of

services generate positive customer experiences.

c. Offering: Appolosophy offers its customers services related to development for mobile

phones, tablet computers and numerous solutions aligned with web 3.0. The ability to

design applications and multiply them on many platforms enhances brand presence.

d. Benefits: services are designed to add value to the marketing mix by attracting and

engaging the customers of a brand present on the mobile web. Appolosophy directs

brands to the right mobile platforms which possess their target customers; this in turn

results in generating additional revenue streams by promoting services through a

freemium model in majority of the cases where brands develop free applications for the

mobile web and promote premium products/services.


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e. Differentiation: Appolosophy is entering the mobile application market with a set of key

differentiators which include:

- Absolute technological edge over competition which is realized through the

creation of a software platform (Fusion) which ensures multiple outputs of the

same application. Ability to design, translate and multiply one mobile/tabletapplication on all platforms.

- Performance based approach coupled with quick development cycles. Emphasis

is on providing quality solutions in a short span of time. Appolosophy can deliver

highly complex applications inside 10 working days while the competition might

take one month to develop the same application.

- Appolosophys brand ideology is aligned with the next generation. The business

concept and services provided are new. We strive to continuously improve and

evolve the service offerings with the passage of time.

- Total customer focus which enables better interaction, collaboration and results.

These results improve brand image and ROI.

- Creative solutions with no element of outsourcing; Appolosophy is a start up

based in Luxembourg.

- Value addition in the form of competitive pricing structures to fit the requirements

of any individual/company. Lower than market price points for high end services

to provide best results and attain extremely high value for the services provided.

- Absolute technological edge over competition which is realized through thecreation of a software platform (Fusion) which ensures multiple outputs of the

same application. Ability to design, translate and multiply one mobile/tablet

application on all platforms.

- Performance based approach coupled with quick development cycles. Emphasis

is on providing quality solutions in a short span of time. Appolosophy can deliver

highly complex applications inside 10 working days while the competition might

take one month to develop the same application.

- Appolosophys brand ideology is aligned with the next generation. The business

concept and services provided are new. We strive to continuously improve and

evolve the service offerings with the passage of time.

- Total customer focus which enables better interaction, collaboration and results.

These results improve brand image and ROI.


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- Creative solutions with no element of outsourcing; Appolosophy is a start up

based in Luxembourg.

- Value addition in the form of competitive pricing structures to fit the requirements

of any individual/company. Lower than market price points for high end services

to provide best results and attain extremely high value for the services provided.

4.5 Customer Profile

Appolosophys customers consist of:

a. Large, medium and small scale brands

b. Advertising/promotional/web agencies, broadcasting & publishing companies

We serve large, medium and small scale brands related to the following verticals: lifestyle, luxury,

banks, entertainment, sports, media, telecommunications, aviation, transportation and many more.

We collaborate and interact with advertising/promotional/web agencies, broadcasting and

publishing companies to multiply offerings for their customers by developing brand specific mobile

applications on different platforms and web 3.0 solutions.

We possess the ability to create applications in the following domains:

Financial, money management and payment transferring applications

Business applications for planning and management

Advertising: corporate, promotional and coupon applications

News and sports applications

Medical and fitness applications

Educational applications

Communication and messaging applications

Music and video applications

Geo location applications

Games, entertainment and leisure applications

Social networking and blogging applications


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5 Why NowBased on the present mobile market growth; we are very optimistic that mobile applications will

be as important as websites in the near future. Organizations are keen on making significant

advancements in the mobile space as mobile technology possesses the ability to keep customers

connected all the time. Renowned company like Reuters is keen on building innovative financial

applications (Programmable web, April 23, 2010) and with the passage of time this trend will

accelerate. Six key drivers which highlight the importance of entering the mobile applications

segment are as follows:

1. Rise of smart phones: Today smart phones are rapidly replacing standard phones. In the

future everybody will have access to smart phones and applications. Presently the smart phone

manufacturers are focusing on cost reduction and pretty soon smart phones will be available for

as low as 100 Euros.

2. Plethora of possibilities: Smart phones are just like miniature computers and their

processing/multitasking abilities are becoming more powerful. This signals a dramatic shift from

usage of notebooks and desktops. Very soon robust handsets will provide all the computing

functionalities to users similar to those of a desktop computer. Big players in the market use

mobile phone applications to boost their brand value and equity. This however is just the

beginning as in the days to come companies will be able to provide healthcare, insurance,

banking, reservations and numerous other solutions to customers through the smart phones.

3. Omnipresence of app stores: In 2007 when Apple launched the first app store, today

there are numerous manufacturer app stores like the Android Market (Google), Ovi (Nokia),

Blackberry App World (RIM), Palm shop (Palm), Windows Phone (Windows Mobile), Maemo Select

(Maemo) and other independent app stores. These app stores provide the users with the

freedom of comparing, selecting and downloading mobile apps.

4. Unrivaled interaction & user-experience: Mobile applications possess the ability to

engage customers, interact with them and provide rich experience in terms of user friendliness,

graphics and features.

5. Nearness to customers: The proximity of mobile phones to their users is much greater than

any other device. Mobile devices are never further than 1 meter away 24/7/365. There are

exciting new possibilities with the introduction of the mobile web as smart phone users are


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getting updates on their mobile phones about the latest promotions from their favorite brands

along with updates on news and sports to name a few.

6. Superior visibility, measurement & feedback: A lot of companies complain that if they

develop a mobile application how it will be visible among hundreds of thousands of applications?

App stores present a lot of cross marketing and advertising options. The user experience onmobile space is extremely personal. Recently FC Barcelona (one of the largest football clubs in

the world) created a mobile application for iPhone and iPod Touch to attract millions of its users to

access information and promotions related to the club on the mobile web (Football Club of

Barcelona, March, 2010). With so many ways already discovered for promotion why did the

football club go through with developing the application? The answer is simple; the club intends to

multiply its presence and engage more customers. It created another source of revenue for the

club.

Similarly measuring the effectiveness of mobile marketing experience is very easy. The number

of users who have downloaded the application and are using it are extremely easy to identify

through tracking signatures. Feedback is swift and easy to obtain, for e.g. brand A is promoting

product B through an application and has informed customers to make use of the specific

promotion. The density of usage serves as a barometer for measuring the effectiveness of the

promotion; similarly the customers can also be provided the option of sending free sms about

their opinions directly to the company.

Even though there is still a long way to go before many companies will realize the benefits of

this exciting market but it wont take long before creating mobile applications becomes a

standard business practice especially for media, consumer goods, automotive, sports and

travel sector.

5.1 Historical Evolution of Mobile Phones & Applications

With the progression of time; cellular technology has improved dramatically. Initially mobile phones

made use of the analogue technology. Regarding form factor the phones were very large and

were not portable at all. The analogue technology was also referred to as the 1st generation(1G) mobile communication system (introduced in 1979) and it was replaced in the 1990s by the

first digital systems.

High level of usage demanded a greater coverage and flexibility in form factors. These

requirements gave way to the 2nd generation (2G) of mobile communication systems (introduced


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in the early 1990s). Similarly as usage of mobile phones increased it gave way to new

possibilities like access to internet and data transfers. Data transfers became possible through

mobile communication technology referred to as 2.5G. After the introduction of 2.5G greater

access speeds and reliability was required which gave way to 3rd generation technologies

commonly referred to as 3G (first introduced in 2001). Today, 3G will soon be replaced with the

4th generation of mobile communication technologies known as 4G.

Previously, phones were extremely heavy and large and with the development of newer mobile

technologies the physical specifications of the mobile phones also experienced tremendous

change. Now the phones are light, portable and possess the ability to provide access to the

internet. On the entertainment side big steps have been taken to allow users to play touch based

games, capture pictures/videos, organize the data and integrate the cell phone with the computer

for sharing data. Today, mobile phone usage is integrated in our lives to such an extent that

majority of the people feel uncomfortable without a mobile phone. A few years ago the most

popular functions of the mobile phone included phone calls and simple messaging service (SMS).

Now the priorities of the users have changed significantly due to innovative technologies

integrated with the mobile phones. Previously mobile phone applications were embedded into the

mobile phones with absolutely no freedom for the users to abandon them or retain them. Earlier

mobile phone applications came in the form of organizing solutions like calendars, memos,

calculators and games. Users had to retain these applications and had no freedom to add or

delete applications.

User access to internet through their mobile phones gave way to the development ofcommunicators and smart phones. Mobile content and applications got a serious boost with the

introduction of the Apple iPhone in June, 2007. Apple created the appstore where developers

could create and sell apps to users. Users had the freedom of buying paid and free applications

for their mobile phones. Blackberry and Nokia soon followed suit and now the most recent

addition to the smart phone industry is the Google Android platform. Only a few years ago the

processing, memory, display, and connectivity options for all mobile devices represented great

compromises as compared to the more capable characteristics of a desktop computing

environment. However, the appeal of bringing even this minimal computing environment away

from the desk was simply too powerful to ignore. Now times have changed and we possess

color display, fast processors, expandable memory, pervasive connectivity along with a vast

array of applications and utilities which provide maximum customization and flexibility.


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Figure 6: Will you make use of a promotion available to you through your mobilephone?

Figure 7: Do you think search engine optimization and social linking are important fora business?

The responses from the survey indicate that majority of the respondents (86.7%) agree on the

fact that brands can promote themselves through mobile phones. Almost 67% of the respondents

access internet through their smart phones. 53.3% of the respondents will download a mobileapplication launched by one of their favored brands. 73.3% of the respondents intend to make

use of a promotion available through their mobile phones. Last but not the least 93.3% of the

respondents agree that search engine optimization and social linking are important for a business.

5.3 The recent trends that make our solutions possible

In addition to the above mentioned findings of the survey; the recent statistics of the smart phone

industry indicate that this market is ripe for individuals/companies which possess creativity and

relevant technical knowledge.


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iPhone and Android device distribution by region

AdMob is a mobile statistics research company recently purchased by Google. Through the

figure below we can examine the distribution of iPhone handsets in different regions of the

world. iPhone usage apart from USA is growing very quickly in Western Europe and Asia.

Figure 8: iPhone OS unique device distribution by region (Source: adMob, April 2010)

The figure below shows Google Android handset usage across the different regions of the

world. Although USA is still the biggest market for Android phones but after that China has the

second greatest number of Android devices.

Figure 9: Android OS unique device distribution by region (Source: adMob, April 2010)

iPhone and Android unique devices (US and worldwide)


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According to AdMob; 11.6 million Android devices and 27.4 million unique iPhones are present

worldwide as of April, 2010.

Apple has a wide array of supporting products along with the iPhone to make its offerings much

more attractive than all its competitors around the world. Apple has created a multimedia empire

through its iPod, iTunes store and appstore.

With millions of smart phones around the world and counting we believe the timing is right to enter

this market.

Figure 10: Android and iPhone unique devices (Source: adMob, April 2010)

The interesting landscape of mobile ad requests

The figures below demonstrate the ad requests on mobile phones across different regions of the

world as of April, 2010. The monthly growth in advertising traffic on the mobile phones reflects

how sharply this trend is picking up all over the world.


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Figure 11: Ad requests by Geography, April 2010 (Source: adMob, April 2010)

Decline in Loyalty for Many Consumer Brands during Recession

Research firm ComScore estimates that brand loyalty among consumer goods is declining quickly.

This decline is the byproduct of recession and now consumers give greater consideration to the

price of the products.


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Figure 12: Decline in Loyalty for many consumer brands during recession

The above mentioned consumer dynamics go on to demonstrate what we mentioned earlier; that

brands need to be more creative in their approach towards winning consumers. With a recession

looming in the background its imperative for companies to find new ways to reach out to

customers with better promotions.

Social Networking is the Fastest Growing Mobile Content Category

The fastest growing mobile applications and browser based content category is social

networking.


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Figure 13: Social networking is the fastest growing mobile category

Mobile music rapidly growing across Europe

ComScore estimates that 23.5% of the mobile phone users across five leading European mobile

markets (UK, France, Germany, Italy & Spain or EU5) listen to music on their mobile phones. There

are a total of 54 million users which use their mobile phones to listen to music.

Figure 14: Mobile music users


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Of the 54 million users listening to music on a mobile device in the EU5:

- 42 percent have smart phones compared to 25 percent of the total mobile subscribers

- 47 percent browse the mobile internet compared to 25 percent of the total mobile

subscribers

Figure 15: Mobile benchmark data for European market

Touch screen Mobile Phone Adoption growth in the US

According to ComScore a leading digital research firm; touch screen based mobile phones are

multiplying very quickly in the United States approximately at 159% in the last year.

Figure 16: Touch screen smart phone adoption


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Experts estimate that touch screen based phones adoption will grow continuously as they allow

consumers to easily navigate the complex services of the phones.

In order to exploit this segment, players like LG, Blackberry and Palm have also introduced touch

screen phones.

Increasing demand of the iPad

Currently the iPad is available in 9 countries outside the US. The latest stats by AdMob show a

very high demand for iPad.

iPads distribution by worldwide regions shows that it is quickly going to pick up pace in terms of

sales in Western Europe and Asia.

Figure 17: iPad Unique Device Distribution by Region (Source: adMob, April 2010)

Experts estimate that mobile applications market will soar up to US $ 15.65 billion in 2013

(Techcrunch, March 5, 2010). Only last year this market was estimated to be worth US $ 1.94

billion. (Techcrunch, March 5, 2010). Today smart phone usage has increased ten fold with 300million users at present (Techcrunch, March 5, 2010). In our opinion, the timing to enter this

market is right as 82% of the brands, agencies and other companies plan to boost mobile ad

budgets next year (Mobile marketing watch, May 11, 2010).


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5.4 Market Dynamics

As mentioned earlier, there are 300 million smart phone users at present. This number is going to

multiply in the coming few years due to improvements in both hardware and software.

Research 2 Guidance estimates that at present there are 300 million smart phone users across

the globe.

Figure 18: Smart phone users (Source: research2guidance, March 5, 2010)

All these statistics indicate that the time is right for Appolosophy to hit the market and quickly

capitalize on the available opportunities.

Numbers


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Mobile Internet Access

Figure 19: Mobile Internet Access (Source: adMob, April 2010)

Smart phones lead the way in mobile internet access as their usage is consistently increasing in

comparison to the normal phones and mobile internet devices.

Applications for Brands

Research2Guidance estimates that only 10% of the Fortune 2000 companies have developed

mobile phone applications. Companies are very interested in using mobile applications as a

channel for approaching customers as shown in the following graph:

Figure 20: Applications for Brands (Source: research2guidance, March 5, 2010)

Numbers


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84% of Fortune 2000 companies intend to increase their engagement level in this market by the

end of 2010. These figures are based on the insights of more than one hundred leading

companies world wide that took part in the Research 2 Guidance mobile application market survey

in 2009.

Meteoric Rise in Number of New Applications Developed

The number of newly published apps rose dramatically with a compound annual growth rate

(CAGR) of 180% in the last two years.

Figure 21: Number of new apps (2007-2009) (Source: research2guidance, March 5, 2010)

Numbers


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6 Competition

As any other business; in the field of marketing, web design and applications development, there

lots of competitors. Initially we dont want to focus on the competition but on our customers,

which are businesses, and on their clients, the end users. We are aware of the competitors but

not obsessed by them.

The game is shifting so rapidly that our competitors from yesterday maybe arent any more our

competitors today and vice versa.

Who would think that Nokia, the toilet paper production company would become the number one

player in mobile market industry? Sonys founder Masaru Ibuka started a radio repair shop in a

bomb-damaged department store building in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Now Sony is the biggest

electronics, gaming console Company in the World. Microsoft started as a company producing

software for developers, and now they are the biggest software company and their range ofproducts varies from desktop operating system to large cluster server database systems with

billions of dollars in revenues.

Keeping all these facts in view, we ran through numerous databases of the companies, created

a list and analyzed the key players in web design and application development industry.

We group them in local and global categories, although in todays internet world, any company

could be global with a more localized approach.

6.1 Local competitors (Luxembourg)

Luxembourg as a small country hasnt developed the right climate for web and application

development companies. There are numerous freelance agencies which are not significant for

this business plan but we will discuss only the most important competitor in Luxembourg.

Nvision (Luxembourg) www.nvision.lu

Nvisions tag line for services is strategy, design, development and maintenance. Focus is mainly

on web development, design and deployment; it holds lions share of the Luxembourgish web

design market. Their portfolio consists of companies like Arcelor Mittal, SES Astra, Tango, RTL

and Rubbermaid Commercial Products just to state a few.


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On the application development side, Luxembourg lacks the competitive companies which could

be listed here.

6.2 Global competitorsL4 Mobile (USA) www.l4mobile.com

L4 Mobile is dedicated to helping companies deliver mobile services to their customers. The L4

Mobile development team specializes in designing, developing and delivering innovative mobile

applications to ensure their customers reach the mobile market.

With an understanding of the mobile world and partners mobile objectives; L4 also has the

flexibility to ensure business goals and objectives are aligned with the needs of each client and

user group. L4 Mobile received US $4.8M in Series D funding as of June 2006.

Mobile Sorcery (Sweden) www.mosync.com

Mobile Sorcery AB develops and distributes mobile application tools for cross platform mobile

application development needs. It offers MoSync, an open source mobile development software

that enables developers to publish various mobile applications on mobile phones and devices. The

company also provides services in the areas of pilot projects and prototyping, mobile applications

development and existing applications portability with various mobile platforms. Mobile Sorcery

AB was founded in 2004 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden. Mobile Sorcery received US

$224,000 in Series A funding as of Apri l,2004.

Mobility Valley (France) www.mobilityvalley.com

Mobility Valley is a consulting company specialized in telecom, banking and international projects

management. They assist their customers in the implementation and the optimization of projects.

Range of expertise covers key technological areas like: telecom and banking consulting, mobile

applications development on iPhone and iPad, mobile device management for terminals. Mobile

Valley was founded in 2009.

Row27 Mobile (USA) www.row27mobile.com


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Row27 Mobile created the first turn-key iPhone application platform for sports teams to sell to

their fans. With advanced live statistics, ticket purchasing, news, video, chat, mini-games and

GPS coupon finder; a robust platform for sports teams to realize new revenue opportunities was

created.

The company was founded by row27 studios; a motion graphics and interactive design studiofocused on applying emerging technologies to sports marketing. Since its founding in 2007,

row27 studios has built relationships with over 60 sports organizations spanning the National

Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and National Collegiate Athletic

Association (NCAA).

Adva Mobile Corp (USA) www.advamobile.com

Adva Mobile provides a software service that enables music artists to create closer relations

with their audience through mobile fan clubs. Free to the fan and free to the band, the companyprovides mobile messaging, mobile presence (mobile web pages), mobile content fulfillment,

mobile commerce and a sharing service using existing social networks. Adva generates

revenues from commissions on mobile sales and advertising on mobile web pages.

PhindMe Mobile (USA) www.phindme.net

PhindMe offers a web-based software platform that connects consumers with businesses

through cell phones and other mobile devices. Its solutions enables it to partner with marketing

agencies, media companies, yellow books and newspapers to bring the power of the mobilemarketing channel to their clients. PhindMe Mobile was founded in 2006 and acquired by Movitas

Mobile in 2009.

This list goes on as there are thousands of companies working on mobile application

development. Companies are funded and acquired daily and it is impossible to track the

changes on a regular basis. Our aim is to focus on core competences and customers instead

of the competitors.


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6.3 Porters Five Forces Model

We make use of the Porters Five Forces Model to analyze the key factors in the five forces

matrix. As mentioned earlier, the entire mobile industry is undergoing a tremendous growth phase

therefore customers could become buyers, newcomers can be bought by large companies and

bargaining power of the clients and vendors plays an extremely important role.

The key success factor for Appolosophy is the first mover advantage. The bargaining power of

customers will be countered through the first mover advantage. Appolosophy offers unique

attention acquisition services. To fully exploit this advantage aggressive marketing and

networking will be carried out to attract customers quickly develop solutions.

The threat of substitute products and new entrants is always visible. Many new companies

could imitate Appolosophys service model and create saturation in the market. Here, the core

development platform of Appolosophy Fusion plays a pivotal role. Competitors will havedifficulty in providing solutions on all platforms with flexibility in terms of design, languages and

usability features.

The bargaining power of suppliers is evident in terms of outsourcing. In Appolosophys case

outsourcing is a minute threat because outsourcing companies do not render high quality

services and their delivery schedules are quite long.

Major industry players such as Google, Microsoft, Apple and Adobe are also the competitors, as

they could offer in the nick of time what all small businesses try to offer. Another common optionfor these companies is to buy out the smaller firms.


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Figure 22: Porters Five Forces

We are aware that the competitors are only a mouse click away, but with our unique idea and

implementation strategy we aim at achieving critical mass quickly in order to stay ahead of the

competition with the first movers advantage and exploit the technological edge we possess with

Fusion.

7 Services

Appolosophys services cover the spectrum of mobile/tablet applications, 3.0 websites, mobile

optimized websites, SEO, viral campaigns & social linking solutions. Our core focus is on

application development and auxiliary services branch out in the areas of websites, optimization

and social linking.


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SocialLinking

ViralCampaigns

SEOMobile

OptimizedWebsites

3.0 Websites

TabletComputingApplications

FlagshipMobile/TabletApplications

MobileApplications

forBrands

Appolosophy

SocialLinking

ViralCampaigns

SEOMobile

OptimizedWebsites

3.0 Websites

TabletComputingApplications

FlagshipMobile/TabletApplications

MobileApplications

forBrands

Appolosophy

Figure 23: Appolosophy Service Model

7.1 Service Line up

Our services are bifurcated into the following categories:

a. Core Services

Mobile Space

- Mobile applications for brands

- Fusion: Appolosophys core application development software for creating customized

applications which can be multiplied across various mobile platforms (iPhone, Android,

Symbian, Blackberry, Maemo & Windows Mobile).


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- Flagship Applications for mobiles (applications developed and conceived in house to be

deployed on app stores to generate revenues through downloads and to create

promotional opportunities)

Tablet Computing Space

- Applications for tablet computers (iPad, HP tablet & Dell Android tablet)

- Fusion: develop customized applications and multiply them on different tablet computers.

- Flagship applications for tablet computers (applications developed and conceived in

house to be deployed on app stores to generate revenues through downloads and to

create promotional opportunities)

b. Auxiliary Services

Web

- 3.0 enabled websites

- Mobile optimized websites

- SEO solutions

- Viral campaigns

- Social media linking

7.2 Features

The features of our services are flexible in nature. We employ different techniques for

developing a specific solution. Mobile applications are developed on our own core software

Fusion. Individuals/brands have the option of making the changes as desired within the core

software and choose their requirements initially for further development. Websites and

SEO/viral/social solutions need to be developed from scratch therefore the features depend on

the type of solution a customers requires.


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7.3 Functionality

Functionality of the services provided by Appolosophy is as follows:

Mobile Space

- Mobile applications for brands: creation of mobile applications will enable brands to

reach out to their customers on the mobile space i.e. the app stores from where the

customers can download the specific application developed for a brand. Lets consider

the example of University of Luxembourg which has thousands of students. Once the

application for the University has been developed and deployed students will have the

option of downloading the application from the app stores and access information

pertaining to schedule of classes, course outlines, specific deadlines relating to events,

enrollment, etc.

- Fusion: Appolosophy will offer its customers flexibility of choosing colors, fonts, design,

languages, layouts and a plethora of features for their mobile applications. This is possible

through our core software development platform Fusion. Customers will have the option

of selecting their desired layout, language and feature combination which will further on

be created and deployed by our application development team. Fusion has the ability to

synchronize applications across various mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, Symbian,

Blackberry, Maemo & Windows Mobile). Brands will have the option of multiplying their

presence by creating applications for different platforms. This in turn will increase their

chances for gaining the attention of more customers and in turn reaping greater benefits.Lets consider the example of Cargolux. Supposing, Cargolux has an application for

iPhone which enables its users to check out the status of their packages and it decides to

use the multiplatform sync solution then it can deploy the same application on other

platforms like Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows and Maemo to ensure more

customers can obtain their services.

- Flagship Applications for mobiles (applications developed and conceived in

house to be deployed on app stores to generate revenues through

downloads and to create promotional opportunities): In order to continuously

refresh our creativity and accept new challenges we will create mobile applications for

different platforms. These mobile applications will be related to gaming, personal

productivity, entertainment and location based services.


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Tablet Computing Space

- Applications for tablet computers (iPad, HP tablet & Dell Android tablet): We will

create applications for brands which could be accessed on tablet computers like the iPad,Android Dell tablet and HP tablet to name a few. Tablet computing is gaining popularity all

over the world. Brands which have mobile applications can also deploy the same

application on the tablet computers. These applications will enable brands to tap into the

customers which are devoted users of the tablet computers.

- Fusion: Customers for tablet applications will have the option and flexibility of using the

Fusion platform to provide initial inputs on the design of their application which will be

further modified and made usable by our application development team.

- Flagship applications for tablet computers (applications developed and

conceived in house to be deployed on app stores to generate revenues

through downloads and to create promotional opportunities): We intend to

create applications for tablet computers in house which reflect our creativity and portray

our development capabilities.

Auxiliary Services

Web

- 3.0 enabled websites: create websites for our customers that provide smartersolutions to end users. Data is integrated and arranged in a way that users find it much

easier to navigate and obtain information from websites.

- Mobile optimized websites: will be created for our customers who intend to provide

their end users with the same experience as of a normal website. The functions of the

website will operate smoothly and the resolution will be optimized to work with the mobile

browsers.

- SEO solutions: will be deployed to improve the visibility of a website on the search

engines to ensure maximum hits.

- Viral campaigns: will provide customers the benefit of tailoring highly creative

advertising campaigns on the internet at a very low costs.

- Social media linking: integration of companys website and promotions on social

networks will enable better outreach and spur increased following.


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7.4 Technology

Appolosophy creates mobile applications which help brands enhance their communication

capabilities with their customers. Our dependence on technology is great and staying up to date

with the latest development tools is essential. We couple our existing skills and knowledge with

the latest development platforms to deliver high end results.

In a nutshell we make use of the following technologies to carry out development:

To carry out collective development and multiplatform synchronizations we make use of

Fusion.

1. Fusion: Fusion is a core application development platform created by Appolosophy in

Java Platform Micro Edition (J2ME) and it provides a robust yet flexible environment for

creating user interfaces, security/network protocols and numerous other dynamic

functions. Fusion is based on a set of two components i.e. Design Flex and Multiplatform

Sync. Design flex enables customers to decide on the languages, fonts, colors, usability

and features of the desired application while Multiplatform Sync enables them to choose

the mobile platforms on which they intend to deploy the application.

Figure 24: How Fusion Works

In order to carry out independent development (companies which want an application for one

platform only), the following technologies are used for single platform application development.

Development tools vary for different mobile platforms.


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2. iPhone: usage of tools like X code, Objective C and Cocoa Touch Framework in

developing iPhone applications. Assistance for customers in creating developer accounts

on Apples app store and in getting the applications approved by Apple.

3. Android: Android mobile operating system is based on Linux therefore Google enabled

Java libraries are used. Core development for this platform is carried out on the GoogleAndroid Software Development Kit (SDK). Furthermore, application programming

interfaces (APIs), debugging tools, emulators and samples codes made available by

Google are also used.

4. Blackberry: To gain full leverage from Blackberrys Operating System (OS

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