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13.05.2013 | Blog

HTML5 apps as drivers for Design Ecosystems

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13.05.2013 I Sami Paihonen I Biz Blog

HTML5 apps as drivers for Design Ecosystems

There is no such thing as “killer application for HTML5″. And the “owner” of operating system or ecosystem is not the one that needs to create most popular apps. Best iOS apps are not done by Apple. Best Android apps are not created by Google (with exception of Google Maps or Google Now, but those are very specific data-intensive applications relying on completely separate data aggregation ecosystem, based on e.g. location and mapping data).

HTML5 has its perks. You don’t need to install it as native, it is cheaper, and HTML5 standard freeze will eventually ensure that it will be performance-wise on par with e.g. cloud-based apps. But, at the same time, it is similar to other, competing ecosystems, since they all support it. Sencha recently demoed HTML5-based Facebook imitation on iPhone to show that performance-wise there was actually no difference between native app and HTML5. Don’t build your hopes on a dedicated ecosystem for you which is based on HTML5; that’s not going to happen.

I have been studying for some time the concept of a Design Ecosystem, which is related to operating system / software ecosystem in terms of how things are built for them. While Apple/iOS still leads the game, Android’s power comes from a vast mass, and they can more quickly integrate design innovations from external applications to core design style. Apple does this too (e.g. rubber band effect in lists), but their update cycle on design and HMI guidelines for iOS is much slower. Thus, Android may catch up in 2014 with iOS in terms of Design Ecosystem competition. I think Apple knows this and Jonny Ive’s nomination to not only ID, but UI/UX chief relates to this.

How to differentiate an HTML5 app? Differentiation can be positive or negative; performance being the usual metric. Best opportunities are in cloud-based, SNS integrator applications that have the massive data advantage, and can leverage “smartness” being outside. Think applications like “Path”, or those News or internet compilation/parser apps, which are in dire demand to be updated to next level (Zite, Flipboard). Also cloud-based productivity apps aimed at consumers are good focus areas (Zoho, photo sharing apps). But I would not try to aim for differentiation as such, because that is old thinking for competitiveness and, as said, other platforms can have the same easily. HTML5 apps that can have push notification support from the operating system are also something interesting.

There are always significant UI innovations such as Ixonos SuperApp, which can be based on HTML5 only. We have really one the most beautiful HTML5 apps around made for KONE, how to design an elevator. That kind of “Catalogue App” would be good to be HTML5 based.

The device manufacturers are not the ones who create the ecosystem, they enable it for external companies. This might be hard to understand and accept. BUT what they can do is to build a smart way to focus on certain kind of apps and do those really well, formulating winning style guides and accumulate an easy global distribution channel (for example, based on Ixonos Experience Store). Then have the analytics data constantly monitored, and basically pay first apps to be done specifically for their specs in HTML5, and let somebody else, not the manufacturer, to facilitate this. From strategy to action.

Twitter: @paihonen

Sami Paihonen is Vice President of User Experience Design at Ixonos.

Mr Sami Paihonen, Ixonos Vice President of User Experience Design, is prominently featured in a leading industry publication UX Industry Blog. In his interview, titled “The Design of Invisible Things is as Important as the Design of Visible Things” Sami discusses in-depth understanding of user experience versus simply addressing the user interface, and offers many other evocative insights into the world of good design. The same passion and wisdom can be seen in many customer projects that Ixonos has designed and delivered. You can find the article here: http://www.uxindustry.com/2013/04/ux-talk-with-sami-paihonen.html

Ixonos is the first company in Northern Europe to launch a unique service package for the testing of smart electronic products that includes support for R&D and type approvals. This gives customers the long-awaited opportunity to outsource R&D and type approval testing to the same domestic testing laboratory. Ixonos is also the only company to provide consulting that expedites type approval.

Ixonos’ testing services can be used to finalise consumer products as well as products for industrial use, from light consumer electronics to demanding industrial hardware, including cameras, displays and mechanical structures. The extensive and versatile laboratory equipment enables Ixonos to run parallel tests in a unique way. This substantially speeds up R&D as well as the launching of new products. Parallel testing also enables very fast type approvals. In addition, Ixonos has the capacity to begin tests on very short notice – often the same day.

‘Because we are accredited to carry out type approval testing, we are the only R&D and test house that offers the entire testing chain as a one-stop service tailored to the needs of each customer’, says Tapani Stjernvall, Director, Key Customer Accounts, Ixonos. ‘This allows us to substantially shorten the time to market as compared to the previous practice of using one provider for product testing and another for type approval testing. Because we have combined these activities, we continuously receive direct feedback that makes R&D much more effective’, Mr Stjernvall explains.

Ixonos’ experienced testing team act as consultants to the customer throughout the testing process. ‘Conventional testing may reveal problems but does not explain what causes them or how they can be corrected’, notes Ismo Kaastinen, Laboratory Manager at Ixonos. ‘Our consulting service helps customers understand the test results as well as to develop their products so that testing can be successfully completed in the shortest time possible. This results in cost savings because our customers need fewer tests and because the tests that are necessary can be performed faster’, Mr Kaastinen concludes.

For more information, please contact:

  • Tapani Stjernvall, Director, Key Customer Accounts, tel. +358 40 765 6508, tapani.stjernvall@ixonos.com
  • Ismo Kaastinen, Laboratory Manager, tel. +358 400 868 000, ismo.kaastinen@ixonos.com

Digitalization is a mega-trend that challenges many of our traditional business models and value networks. It breaks through old limitations of physical world and enables the execution of several unforeseen business models. We all know companies like Amazon.com, eBay, Apple and Google today. But looking backward in the history these companies have succeeded to climb among the top of global consumer brands virtually from scratch only in ten years. This would have been impossible without digitalization.

Digitalization is not just substituting atoms for bits; it affects our daily lives and business models thoroughly. Digitalization cannot be measured by the density of digital technology. Digitalization is not relevant only for consumer businesses, even if the hurricane of digitalization has raged largely in consumer-driven industries such as telecommunications and media. In essence, digitalization is about implementing new ways to connect physical and digital resources to create more competitive – even disruptive – business models.

The fundamental elements of common digital technologies have been proven already. Recent advances in Internet, information processing, telecommunications, wireless and sensor technologies are generally available and can be applied by anybody without substantial capital resources. The digital density of our life is very high, and still increasing.

We are already living in the world where each thing or device can be given a unique name and identifier (RFID, IP/IPv6), and they can be seamlessly connected to a global communication network that works almost at the speed of light. These tangible but digitized resources can be programmed to receive information and commands as well as express themselves actively. We can already now utilize enormously scalable computing (cloud computing) power to analyze increasingly bigger amount of real time sensor data, and enrich that into valuable business information. We can already now use this enriched business information to make business critical decisions instantly. Did you know that fully automatic high-frequency stock trading¹ (HFT) performed by computers (robots) accounts to over 70 percent of total equity trading activity in the US today? The share of HFT was almost non-existent in 2007.

Even being an engineer, I dare to say that the technological edge of digitalization is not so interesting. Many fundamental digital business technologies have been implemented and proven even in a global scale. The question is not whether digital technology is still advancing, but if it is a business barrier anymore. Indeed, another side of digitalization is more interesting – new potential business models. What new connections between digital and physical resources could create remarkable competitive edge? What combinations reveal to be disruptive innovations that may change whole industries and business laws? A concrete example is additive (3D) printing² – that seems to be making widespread breakthrough very soon. How will additive printing have an effect on current manufacturing processes, logistics, mass-customization or product design? On different industries and value chains? Can we outsource spare part manufacturing to the customer – even to consumers? Is additive printing a threat or opportunity for after sales business? Maybe it is both.

I’m not alone with my thoughts, but we seem to be in very similar major turning point as economy was in the late of 1700s. Industrial revolution started in those years and eventually changed almost every aspect of daily life – from skills and processes to value networks and business laws. The major driving forces of industrial revolution in the 19th century were several disruptive innovations like steam engine, spinning machine, steel making, electric power, incandescent bulb, and so on. The challenge of  disruptive innovations is that they can be rarely discovered from a market survey. Nobody could define the need for incandescent bulb before it was invented in the mid-1800s. None of technology consultants in the 2000s was able to define an iPad tablet before it was invented. We easily face innovator’s dilemma in our daily business operations.

Digitalization comes to the agenda of CEOs one way or another – sometimes unexpectedly and unwanted like a nightmare. Digitalization, in essence, is about connecting and combining physical and digital resources in new ways, and therefore it will provide unforeseen ocean of opportunities for new and even disruptive business model innovations during this decade and beyond.

For more information:

Jari Kekkonen, Business Development Director, tel. +358 50 342 1521, jari.kekkonen@ixonos.com

¹

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency_trading

²
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/in-depth/analysis/3d-printing-set-to-hit-the-mainstream/1014835.article

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/in-depth/the-big-story/the-rise-of-additive-manufacturing/1002560.article

Ixonos will present Ixonos IVI Connect, leading automotive connectivity solution, at  Content & Apps for Automotive event 18th-19th June in Munich, Germany. Ixonos IVI Connect™ is a software solution for connecting mobile devices and cloud services with cars’ head units and rear seat displays. Consumers can enjoy the content from their mobile devices on their car’s head units. Antti Aumo, Vice President Marketing Ixonos, will be speaking at the event about “Ultimate Hybrid Solutions for Seamless Integration of Apps and Services”.

Event web site: http://www.telematicsupdate.com/contenteu/

For more information:

Ixonos has signed a contract to deliver the user experience design and software for Marcopolo’s next generation infotainment solution for its future luxury coaches. The infotainment system utilizes Ixonos IVI Connect solution, which integrates in-vehicle infotainment systems with mobile devices and cloud. Ixonos also designs the human-machine-interface (HMI) and user experience for both driver and the passengers. The system will be implemented in mass production by Marcopolo in due time.

“We are extremely proud to work together with Marcopolo, a leader for luxury buses. From the beginning we noticed that the passion, innovativeness and technology perfection is shared by both companies. Together we will create an infotainment revolution the transportation industry has not seen yet.” says Timo Salminen, Head of Automotive at Ixonos.

“Our choice for Ixonos as a long term partner comes from their proven experience on the mobile and innovative connectivity solutions. Technology is converging to a point where everyone wants to be connected, carrying a world of possibilities in their own devices, and we at Marcopolo want to proportionate a differentiated experience to all in contact with our vehicles in this connected world”, says Edson Mainieri, Corporate Engineering Director at Marcopolo.

Marcopolo is a leader in the Brazilian market in the bus sector and is positioned among the biggest manufacturers in the world. It amplified production and commercialization operations and, today, it has an active presence in more than a hundred countries in five continents. Established in 1949 Marcopolo is today a global leader in bus body manufacturing with more than 18.000 employees globally.

For more information:

 

  • Ixonos:
  • Timo Salminen, Head of Automotive, tel. +49 151 6291 7899, timo.salminen@ixonos.com
  • Antti Aumo, Vice President Marketing, tel. +358 40 5050 477, antti.aumo@ixonos.com
  • Marcopolo:
  • Walter Cruz, Corp. Manager Strategy/Marketing, tel. +5554 2101 4942, walter.cruz@marcopolo.com.br

Ixonos participates together with Red Hat in the Cloud Services event that is organized in Meripuisto in Espoo, Finland on 30 May 2013. The annual event is targeted for the decision-makers and experts who are working with cloud services development projects.

At the event Ixonos’ Janne Sirén, Director, Key Accounts, will give a speech on the topic “The three tough challenges of hybrid cloud”.

For more information:

  • Janne Luntta, VP, Cloud & Hosting Services, tel. +358 40 591 3517, janne.luntta@ixonos.com

Ixonos participates in the IndustryForum Media event that is organized in Vanajanlinna in Hämeenlinna, Finland on 28 – 29 May 2013. IndustryForum Media is an annual event for the media companies’ top and business management. The event will offer several presentations and discussions on the current topics as well as opportunities to interact with the other decision makers in the Finnish Media industry.

Ixonos’ Roope Suomalainen, Director, Experience, will give a keynote speech on the topic “Building up successful multichannel business – examples around the globe”. Esa Nettamo, Creative Director & Studio Lead, Ixonos, will also give a SnapShot presentation on the topic “Creting and piloting new concepts– best practices”.

For more information:

  • Roope Suomalainen, Director, Experience, tel. +358 50 5645 988, roope.suomalainen@ixonos.com

Ixonos will implement for Suomen Numerot Numpac Oy an information system for the relaying of payee information. The system will cost-efficiently and easily provide information about the payment recipients associated with premium-rate services for end-customers of Finnish telecommunications companies which are Numpac’s customers.  This improves the transparency and security of premium-rate service usage.

When a telephone bill includes charges for premium-rate services, it will also show which providers will receive those charges, in accordance with a recent amendment to the Communications Market Act. The main components of the system will be a database and various web interfaces. The web interfaces will be used by all telecommunications companies that are customers of Numpac and provide premium-rate numbers, and they will also be available to every telephone subscriber in Finland. The subscriber interface is estimated to serve approximately a million searches yearly.

The system will be built on the Ixonos Elastic Cloud™ platform, which enables excellent scalability and reliability. “In designing the user interface, particular attention was paid to ease of use and a top-class user experience”, says Teppo Kuisma, Vice President, Online Solutions, Ixonos. “The subscriber interface is based on responsive web design so that the user interface and the contents will automatically adapt also to low resolution displays such as those on mobile devices”, Mr Kuisma continues.

The back-end database will include a provisioning interface for feeding payee information directly into the billing systems of various telecommunications companies. This will allow payee information to be displayed on telephone bills regardless of which telecommunications company is managing the premium-rate number.

Suomen Numerot Numpac Oy helps telecommunication companies fulfil their number portability and offer telecommunications companies cost-efficient and reliable services concerning for example routing.  The company is owned by telecommunications companies operating in Finland. The shareholders of Numpac are TeliaSonera Finland Oyj, Elisa Corporation and DNA Ltd.

For more information:

  • Teppo Kuisma, Vice President, Online Solutions, tel. +358 50 581 4075, teppo.kuisma@ixonos.com
  • Mikko Sjöblom, Development Manager, tel. +358 44 273 3188, mikko.sjoblom@ixonos.com

In the era of feature phones, there was a race of who would make the smallest mobile phone. Every year, new models came out from major manufacturers, smaller and lighter. With smartphones, the race has been for the biggest display size and most powerful processor.  In Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona we saw the most astonishing new candidates for the greatest smartphone on the planet.

And in so many ways, they all looked the same.

Does this mean that the smartphone race in its current form is over? Apple’s iPhone 5 was a mild disappointment, and reception to Samsung’s Galaxy S4 was lukewarm. (Someone called it Samsung’s “iPhone 5”.) What will then be the Next Big Thing for the mobile device industry?

I am more curious about where the Next Big Thing will come from.

Each grand wave of mobile devices has had different champions. For analog mobile phones, it was Motorola. For digital mobile phones, the king of the hill was Nokia. Nokia’s supremacy was incredibly strong and long. With smartphones, the champions are now Samsung and Apple. In market shares the only constant is the change – why would it stop here and now? But the next champion does not have to be another industry giant who muscles their way to the top with sheer R&D power or marketing money.

Think about skiing in 1980’s. All major downhill ski brands introduced new fancy ski designs every year, but the features were quickly copied by others, and there was very little difference between the leading companies. But one company, working out of a garage in Vermont, made something very different. That company is Burton, the leading manufacturer of snowboards. Ski companies ignored Burton too long, and completely missed the opportunity.

Will similar innovation leap, out-of-the-box thinking, happen in the mobile phone industry? Is it wearables, some smart context-sensitive technology, truly seamless connectivity to your home and car (“ubiquitous five-screen connectivity”), or something else? Will it come from someone outside the industry, like Burton did?

Ixonos doesn’t create products to the market ourselves; we help our customers to create fantastic products. But we have some cool concepts on our drawing board…

Twitter: @anttiaumo

Antti Aumo is Vice President Marketing at Ixonos. He enjoys a life-long love affair with technology that enriches people’s lives in a meaningful way.