Amdocs strengthens off-portal offering: Move attempts to bolster struggling segment

Amdocs Ltd. last week expanded its offering for off-deck content providers as it launched a new business unit designed deliver advertising, commerce and entertainment products across platforms.
The St. Louis-based firm released additional modules for its Qpass Off-Portal Suite, a carrier-targeted software offering designed to “create a safer and more consistent customer experience” for off-deck transactions. The technology allows operators to manage direct-to-consumer short-code campaigns, access real-time transaction reports and optimize the level of network usage for each merchant.
“To effectively grow the off-portal market, wireless service providers need capabilities that enable them to manage their business increasingly as a large-scale commerce marketplace, with best-in-class payment and financial processing capabilities,” said Charles Born, Amdocs’ VP of corporate communications.
Amdocs, which acquired the Seattle startup Qpass last year for $275 million, is hoping to provide solutions in a space teeming with problems. Direct-to-consumer companies say they’re struggling with reduced margins, an overall lack of traffic and an infrastructure ill-equipped to handle monetary transactions.
“What we get frustrated with is the way the system’s been laid out,” according to CEO Brian Casazza of 9 Squared, a ringtone provider that uses both on- and off-deck strategies. “Even though you have a human conversion rate, it doesn’t always trickle down to profits.”
Amdocs’ new offering was introduced at the Mobile Marketing Forum in Los Angeles. The company also unveiled a new business unit for content providers looking to distribute their wares across mobile phones and other platforms.