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03.02.2012 | News

Ixonos prepares huge product launches for Mobile World Congress

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20.01.2012 | Blog

Making yourself heard in mobile

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Ixonos in social media

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03.02.2012 | Events

Ixonos prepares huge product launches for Mobile World Congress

The must-attend annual gathering of the mobile industry is approaching. The Mobile World Congress will be held on 27 February – 1 March 2012 in Barcelona, Spain.

Ixonos will be there to introduce its new fantastic portfolio of products and services that have market potential in various customer segments around the world. We are launching many new products during Mobile World Congress.

Our exhibition booth 1E19 is located in Hall 1 in the Finnish Pavilion, where we offer you a chance to be one of the firsts to see our new high-end smartphone platform that enables distinctive user experiences; our high-performance digital content delivery system that fully engages your brand community; our comprehensive solution for multiplatform app development that supports your mobile business strategy; as well as a complete range of platform-independent software services. We will also introduce our patented next-generation app concept that combines multiple information sources and social media channels as well as our synchronized social entertainment platform.

Mobile World Congress 2012 celebrates the current state of mobile and offers a glimpse into where mobile has the potential to go next. To learn more about the event, visit the website at http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/

Come have a look at how mobile is transforming the world.
For further information, please contact:

Antti Aumo, Vice President, Marketing, tel. +358 40 5050 477, antti.aumo@ixonos.com

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20.01.2012 | Biz Blog

Making yourself heard in mobile

Roope Suomalainen, Director, Experience
If you don’t have an app, you do not exist in mobile space. As everyone knows, apps are the best way to provide your services to mobile audiences. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that you have a mobile strategy linked to your digital strategy as well as a clear understanding of your targets and your experience roadmap – how apps tie into your digital brand experience. You need to think about how to reward loyalty and harness marketing via social networking services, what the following releases on the road map are and how to maintain and update the base segment. This shouldn’t be different from other business development or similar projects you are working on. Basically, apps can support your existing business and act as marketing and loyalty tools as well as drive traffic to brick-and-mortar real world stores. However, perhaps the most interesting option would be to create new business based on mobility enablers like location, context and direction.

Once you know why you want to create the app, and you have the concept ready, you should consider the possible business models. Will the app be free, i.e. subsidised by other business or ad revenue? Should there be a freemium model, a subscription, perhaps a paid app or something else? The next topic to consider is the target segment: who are the customers, why would they choose you and what is the competition? Understanding and segmenting the customer base is also extremely important, as different people use different devices. This is where things often go wrong; the first apps may be created for iOS and Android even though customers might be using simple Java-enabled phones. Going directly to smart TVs and gaming consoles might also make sense. Even the smartphone game can be complex: for example, Symbian and BlackBerry combined have almost 70% of the market share in the Middle East.

Getting the business case, concept and customer segmentation right are the time consuming parts. When the groundwork has been done well, technical implementation is more straightforward. The key question there is whether to go native for each platform or utilize cross-platform technologies like HTML5 to reach a wider user base and a larger variety of devices. Unfortunately, there are still some challenges with cross-platform technology compatibility and it may not always live up to the promise. Selecting a right partner is important to make sure that your app’s usability and performance are on the right level and can be maintained to support future devices and functionality. You also need to consider whether to have the app use your existing web infrastructure or perhaps run it on a cloud.

The next hurdle to tackle is the publishing. First of all, managing global deployment with localization across multiple versions and platforms is a huge challenge. In addition, Apple’s App Store and the Android Market both have more than 500,000 apps and Nokia Store has more than 100,000 apps. How do you make your app visible to users and get downloads, where and when should you run your marketing and how do you ensure that your app is preferred to those of your competitors? Without downloads, there is no business case. Unless you have a unique idea and content that no one else can access, someone else might build a better app using your content and find a way to monetize it. It is amazing that the most popular Twitter and Facebook apps are not built by those companies themselves. Usability is really king in the digital world and even more in mobile, where the screen size is limited.

In addition to selecting the key smartphone and other platforms, it is a good idea to keep tablet users in mind as well. What works on a smartphone most likely does not work well on a tablet, and people tend to use the two in different situations and environments. Cars are also connected, through various technologies such as MirrorLink. Most TVs sold are Internet enabled, but you can also get your apps and services on the big home screen with a game console. The real opportunity lies in integrating all these different devices and ensuring a larger presence in your customers’ everyday life.

Mobile business opportunities are emerging and most of the technology is already in place. Now is the time to create the concept that will change consumer behavior.

For more information, please contact:
Roope Suomalainen, Director, Experience, tel. +358 50 564 5988, roope.suomalainen@ixonos.com

 

 

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12.01.2012 | Highlighted

Ixonos creates a LazyTown game app for Nokia and Microsoft

Ixonos has concepted, designed and developed a LazyTown game app called AirShip Challenge, which is available in both Windows Phone Marketplace and Nokia Store. Created in support of Nokia’s Windows phones, such as the new Nokia Lumia, AirShip Challenge is based on the Windows Phone Mango operating system. A Symbian 3 version of the app will follow shortly.

Ixonos launched an App Agency service portfolio in June 2011 in order to offer its customers a comprehensive solution covering all aspects related to app development. The holistic concept has received an enthusiastic reception among Ixonos’ existing clients and attracted numerous new companies looking for an effortless entry in to the apps business. The AirShip Challenge, fully concepted and created in-house at Ixonos, is proof of the superb quality and efficiency provided by Ixonos App Agency.

Well known for developing mobile software for communications and collaboration purposes laced with fantastic user experience, Ixonos now shows stunning evidence of its capability in developing engaging gaming experiences as well. The UX design work for the app has been carried out in Ixonos’ UK Design Studio, set up in the summer 2011. The head of the studio, Creative Director Julian Harris, says: “With AirShip Challenge we created an engaging game idea that would appeal to the target audience and be consistent with LazyTown’s brand. After constructing the game mechanic, experience design and technical implementation, we were delighted to discover that the game tested very well with the target audience.”

True to LazyTown’s gaming philosophy, AirShip Challenge promotes a healthy and active lifestyle for kids of all ages. In the game, the player navigates the LazyTown hero’s AirShip through the clouds and collects points by capturing falling SportsCandy. “We’re very happy to be supporting LazyTown’s mission to educate kids to get active and make healthy lifestyle choices, as this aligns well with Ixonos corporate values, namely learning and responsibility”, says Antti Aumo, head of Marketing from Ixonos.

>> Download the game for Microsoft WindowsPhone mobile from the Windows Phone Maketplace:  http://bit.ly/z7gKS9 >>

For more information, please contact:

Julian A D Harris, Creative Director, UK Design Studio, tel. +44 7843 725 809, julian.harris@ixonos.com

Antti Aumo, Vice President, Global Marketing, tel. +358 40 505 0477, antti.aumo@ixonos.com

Nigel Alexander, Director, Sales & Business Development, +44 7831 485 081, nigel.alexander@ixonos.com

Roope Suomalainen, Director, Experience, tel. +44 77 178 23 707, roope.suomalainen@ixonos.com

 

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10.01.2012 | Events

Ixonos in the IndustryForum Municipality event: cost-effective and practical deployment of municipal e-services from the City Online cloud

Ixonos will be participating in the IndustryForum Municipality event together with the other City Online network members, Arcusys and Cerion. The event will take place on 17-18 January 2012 in the congress hotel Majvik in Kirkkonummi, Finland.

Teppo Kuisma from Ixonos and Jussi Hurskainen from Arcusys will be delivering a speech that explains why it is cost-effective and practical for municipalities to deploy e-services from the City Online cloud.

The City Online is an Ixonos-led network of companies developing municipal e-services and offering deployment support. With City Online services municipalities can enhance the service operations of its citizens, municipal employees and service providers. A selection of e-services has already been developed ready for instant deployment by municipalities. 

For further information, please contact:
Timo Aittoniemi, Director, Public Authorities business team, Online Solutions, tel. +358 40 566 7060, timo.aittoniemi@ixonos.com

Visit the organizer’s web site at www.managementevents.com/IndustryForum/Municipality.html

 

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16.12.2011 | News

Flagship design studio in Beijing ready to welcome clients looking for unparalleled user experiences

Ixonos APAC Design Studio in Beijing is celebrating its grand opening on Monday, 19 December 2011, fully set to offer a wide range of services from user research, UX strategy and concept design to prototyping.

The APAC Design Studio has been designed top-to-bottom with the aim of building a work environment that facilitates creative team-working and unleashes the inventiveness of the team. Recruitment of a top team of UX experts has been on-going throughout the autumn. There are still a few positions to be filled, check them out at our UX career listings page. >>

The APAC Design Studio is headed by Creative Director Vijay A Selvaraj and compliments the design studios already in place in Helsinki, Finland, London, UK and Kosice, Slovakia.

Read more about Ixonos’ user experience services. >>

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14.12.2011 | News

Ixonos Experience Store: customisable boutique app store enables mobile services to better support business

Ixonos has created an app store platform on which businesses can base their mobile strategy. The Ixonos Experience Store™ is a digital marketing and distribution channel that enables companies to improve brand awareness, build customer loyalty and monetise mobile apps.

Ixonos has been a leader in the design and development of mobile services for more than a decade. “We now offer a turnkey solution for a boutique app store that is always customised to the customer’s brand and strategy”, says Roope Suomalainen, head of the Experience business area at Ixonos. The Ixonos Experience Store is cloud-based, which provides for easy, cost-efficient maintenance and allows the store to adapt to sudden global expansion of the company’s operations. The platform is also suitable for distribution of other types of digital content such as video, music, e-books and online magazines.

Building their own boutique app store on top of the Ixonos Experience Store offers the greatest benefits to companies with young customers who are also the most eager to adopt new technology and social media services. “Specifically consumer brands, media powerhouses, game studios and record labels are among the companies most interested in the brand visibility an interactive app store enables in social media”, notes Antti Aumo, Vice President, Global Marketing.

Unlike the largest app stores, a company’s own boutique app store does not have to be confined to any particular operating system. Apps for all mobile and tablet devices can instead be provided through the same channel. In addition, instead of having consumers wade through a myriad of apps, user profiles can be utilised to show each customer the few hundred apps he or she is likely to find the most interesting. “Not all apps offered in a boutique app store need to be built around the company’s own brand. The company can also provide to other businesses supporting its brand a ready-made distribution channel for apps and advertising”, Mr Suomalainen explains.

A boutique app store built around a strong brand allows customer relationships to be strengthened, for instance by using individual user information to target marketing activities. The store also enables a diverse brand experience: as an example, deep Facebook integration allows consumers to share their experiences and recommend apps to others.

In the last few years, and particularly for the younger generation, mobile apps have become a natural way to communicate, enjoy entertainment and obtain services. According to research institute Gartner, the combined turnover of app stores was some USD 3.9 billion in 2010 and it is generally estimated to grow past USD 15 billion in 2012. Ixonos anticipates the number of app stores to double from the current less than 200 to over 400 by the summer of 2012, particularly as consumer brands invest in increasing their customer loyalty. Accordingly, mobile apps constitute a significant market in which more and more companies in every industry want to participate.

For more information, please contact:

Ixonos:
• Roope Suomalainen, Director, Experience, tel. +358 50 564 5988, roope.suomalainen@ixonos.com
• Antti Aumo, Vice President, Global Marketing, tel. +358 40 505 0477, antti.aumo@ixonos.com

Links:
• Twitter
• YouTube

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30.11.2011 | News

Ixonos’ test laboratory certified as the first authorized MirrorLink test lab in Europe

 

A leap in the development of sophisticated in-vehicle connectivity solutions

Ixonos’ test laboratory has fulfilled the requirements defined by the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) and is conditionally approved as a CCC Authorized Test Laboratory. Ixonos can help car and electronics manufacturers to accelerate the entry to market of their new MirrorLink-enabled products by assuring that they fulfil the strict criteria set by the CCC. For manufacturers interested in utilizing the momentum of the new MirrorLink technology, Ixonos functions as an enabler, delivering significant reductions in time to market and R&D costs. To consumers, MirrorLink conformance guarantees seamless compatibility of their chosen phone and car model with one another.

Ixonos’ experts have been working with MirrorLink™ technology for the past 2 years already, developing solutions for seamless connectivity between smart phones and in-vehicle infotainment systems. A member of the Car Connectivity Consortium since last June, Ixonos has become an integral contributor to the development of sophisticated in-vehicle connectivity solutions. “Being heavily involved in the consortium and in MirrorLink development as well as having state-of-the-art test laboratory facilities and competence for thorough SW, HW and mechanics testing means the CCC certification was a logical step for us,” says Damien De Maya, Manager, Customer Operations, Automotive & Home,
from Ixonos.

Ixonos’ role as a MirrorLink Authorized Test Laboratory (ATL) means it can officially test and certify that car and phone manufacturers’ products meet the requirements defined by the CCC. The clientele for MirrorLink conformance and IOP testing comprises the other Car Connectivity Consortium members, which include leading vehicle manufacturers as well as smartphone and consumer-electronics makers.

Currently, only two laboratories in the world have MirrorLink ATL status, and of those two, Ixonos is the only one offering software development services for smart phones and head units. At the moment, Ixonos is also the only MirrorLink test laboratory in Europe, while also working towards getting global accreditation for a network of test laboratories by joining forces with testing and type approval partner Nemko.

Ixonos has also utilized its vast experience with the MirrorLink technology to create a full range of MirrorLink-related products ready to deliver to customers interested in gaining faster market access with fully developed and compliant high-quality products. “Our MirrorLink product offering includes MirrorLink server & client software, software development and verification services, and all-encompassing user experience design. Device manufacturers across the world and across industries are showing increasing interest towards our MirrorLink offering and the first MirrorLink-certified customer products will be shipping early next year,” reveals Antti Aumo, head of Global Marketing at Ixonos.

Ixonos is also an optimal development partner for companies interested in creating their own in-vehicle services and connected devices from scratch, as Ixonos’ unique offering combines user experience design with top-of the-line online solutions and full device creation. “We can design and implement for our customers connected devices and services specifically designed for in-car use and guarantee that these are fully compatible with the new industry standards”, Antti points out.

For more information, please contact:

- Damien De Maya, Manager, Customer Operations, Automotive & Home, tel. +358 400 287 692,
damien.demaya@ixonos.com
- Antti Aumo, Vice President, Global Marketing, tel. +358 40 505 0477, antti.aumo@ixonos.com
- Timo Salminen, Director, Automotive & Home, tel. +358 40 745 6821, timo.salminen@ixonos.com

Links:
- Follow Ixonos on Twitter and YouTube
- Car Connectivity Consortium’s website

 

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29.11.2011 | Events

“Building Ixonos Elastic Cloud with Red Hat”, Teppo Kuisma’s topic in Stockholm Cloud Conference

The Cloud Conference, Sweden’s most comprehensive, independent event on cost-efficient IT solutions, will be held for the fourth time on 1 December 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden.

At the event, Teppo Kuisma, Head of Online Solutions at Ixonos, will be delivering a speech with the topic of “Building Ixonos Elastic Cloud with Red Hat”. In the speech he will discuss how to cut project time with PaaS and why an integrator should have its own cloud. He will also share customer feedback on Ixonos and Red Hat’s joint cloud project.

Read up on the topic from a press release issued on 31.5.2011: “Ixonos launches Ixonos Elastic Cloud, the first Red Hat certified cloud in the Nordics”, or at the Ixonos Elastic Cloud product page.

More information about the event is available in Swedish on the event web site. >>

For more information, please contact:
Teppo Kuisma, VP, Online Solutions, tel. +358 50 581 4075, teppo.kuisma@ixonos.com

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14.11.2011 | Events

Ixonos showcases a sports super-app at the Rugby Expo in London

The Rugby Expo 2011 brings the business world of rugby under one roof, combining technical, creative and commercial development of the sport. The expo is held this year at Twickenham Stadium in London, on 23-24 November 2011 and offers networking and business opportunities from the world of rugby. The conference programme is designed to support both the technical and commercial development of the sport. It combines master class workshops and live exhibition to produce the ideal environment for learning the latest developments in the game and to meet the most influential people from all areas of the game and globe.

Ixonos will be there featuring latest technology showcases such as the mobile super-app for iPad and Android tablets. It is a companion to your favourite sport and club, and allows you to follow the game wherever you are and to engage with all the non-game day aspects of the sport. The app is built using an Ixonos patent pending interface. We will also be showcasing Ixonos’ TV Compass concept, a real-time, contextual, social and personal experience of tomorrow’s television.   

Ixonos representatives attending the event include Julian A D Harris, Creative Director and Studio Lead for the UK Design Studio; Diego Lago, Lead Creative Technologist, and Nigel Alexander, Sales Director EMEA, User Experience Design.  

More information about the event at Rugby Expo web site: http://www.rugbyexpo.com/

For more information, please contact:
Nigel Alexander, Sales Director, User Experience Design, +44 783 148 5081, nigel.alexander@ixonos.com

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09.11.2011 | Blogs

The best concepts are the realized concepts

Sami Paihonen, VP, User Experience Design
Numerous times over the years, after attending one creative presentation or another by some well-known and respected design agency, I have found myself thinking “I liked what I saw and I agree with the reasoning behind the user interface (UI) concept… but there is so much missing”. This feeling has followed me over the years, repeating itself. Whilst design concepts can be creative when presented, having the responsibility to deliver them was not a very nice position to be in. I learned to understand that 80% of the work to make these design dreams come true was still missing.

I have thought about the “perfect” design agency many times over the years: what it would do differently, how it would make its products more ready, how it would actually push the boundaries – and execute that 80% that is still needed after any beautiful, well-crafted UI concept. The introduction of user experience (UX) didn’t actually help: 90% of any creative presentation by a design agency was, and still is, about UI. So eventually, random thoughts of learning from the best agencies in the world and combining those lessons into a more holistic view on user experience, providing greater value for companies doing services, devices or web sites, became a list of seven areas (The Magic 7) that define UX as I feel it should be. Not because it feels right for myself, but because it is right for the companies desperately seeking competitive advantage in a fierce business such as the mobile one.

Ixonos has entered the UX area from a new angle based on The Magic 7 UX thinking and we strongly believe that the real magic, even in UI, happens outside the screen. We also want to enter the UX area in a way where top talented people find themselves enjoying working for us and can develop into real specialists and change-makers in the UX domain. I am fascinated by our team already: individuals who can see the potential of our UX approach, combined with exceptional development forces, is a match that – simply put – is second to none.

Because Ixonos UX is present in everything we do, not even those of us working in the User Experience Design unit “own” it. We are champions in UI design, information architecture, visual design, design strategy, user research and demo creation, to name a few, but we still need those passionate developers, smart SW architects and creative back-end developers who can work with us to deliver that remaining 80% of the creative concept.

Ixonos will invest decisively into the UX area as an offering and an integral part of other Ixonos offerings as well as establish a truly global design agency born to make a difference. Our plan is not to become the biggest design agency out there – we simply want to be most innovative, creative and dependable UX agency there is. The roots of our company may be more on the development side than those of e.g. marketing or ad agencies, but we have turned this background into a strength. We are in the best possible position to deliver a very broad UX offering and get those projects done – in a true turnkey way.

We are very happy that so many companies have already found that our approach is on the mark and improves the success of their business. This motivates us even more and gives us confidence that our goals for UX are the right ones.

Simply because the best concepts are the realized concepts.

Welcome to follow our blog frequently. I hope you will find lots of exciting entries here from now on; our global design team will regularly publish articles on interesting topics. Stay tuned!

For more information, please contact:
Sami Paihonen, VP of User Experience Design, +358 50 502 1111, sami.paihonen@ixonos.com

 

 

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