MIAMI – Amdocs has set its sights on transforming the set-top box into a media center controlled by tablets with integrated real-time social media and sharing tools. The 30-year-old customer experience system and services company is engaging 22 different areas in its innovation program to achieve these results. Ran Achituv, Amdocs’ chief technology officer, knows the top four by heart: machine-to-machine, data monetization, gamitification, and payTV.
Achituv spoke to RCR Wireless News during the Amdocs InTouch event in Miami May 14-16.
Indeed, to grow continuously, Amdocs has to invest in differentiation and move beyond the traditional tools. The company has plenty of know-how in B/OSS and by addressing innovations it can further support carriers’ evolving business needs, analysts say.
“We’ve seen many companies coming and going,” Amdocs President and CEO Eli Gelman said. “Good companies come and do not disappear after 30 years. Why are we still there? We are walking into the new generation. The constant moving and the ability to change are key.”
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During a press session, company specialists performed some demos in the new fields Amdocs is targeting. One is in an area that the company sees as the next generation of pay TV. Amdocs is looking to provide an end-to-end solution with video commerce and analytic tools to identify what audiences like and to offer specific products. “There are many partners working together to unveil this solution,” said Yael Ashkenaz, from the company’s incubation team. “There are several components, so the ability to integrate them is crucial.”
It is a great challenge to manage this complex partner ecosystem, Ashkenaz said. This is why Amdocs runs its own innovation program and operates innovation centers. Joint programs with consumer entities oversee the full cycle of product development from inception to commercialization.
One of Amdocs’ partners is TVersity, which offers software solutions for operators and service providers that use set-top boxes and other devices to connect TVs with PCs. The company offers a mobile-centric experience, since its applications run on tablets and command TVs through a Wi-Fi connection. “We use a non-propriety protocol that reduces integration cost,” said TVersity’s founder, Ronen Mizrahi.
“The big point is that the set-top box is dumb, so we add intelligence via tablet applications,” said Achituv. According to Achituv, this solution is already up and running in Israel’s Yes and France’s Baud.
“Drivers are clear: there is a huge opportunity for this solution and to generate user experiences before Google or Apple do,” added Mizrahi.
Amdocs provided travel expenses to this event.
