InMobi ties up with mobile gaming platform CocoaChina. What’s the deal?

InMobi ties up with mobile gaming platform CocoaChina. What’s the deal?

-By Prathamesh Patil

InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network has announced a strategic partnership with CocoaChina, owner of the Fishing Joy app franchise, to enable app monetization and revenue maximization across its entire user base. The partnership also extends to CocoaChina’s parent brand, Chukong Technologies, the top Chinese mobile gaming publisher with the largest iOS developer community.

With nearly 415 million smartphone users in China and mobile ad market growing at 150% year-on-year, China is an exciting mobile Internet market. Similarly, the InMobi network in China, has witnessed an 84% increase in the number of ad impressions across mobile devices and tablets from September 2012 to September 2013. For the same period, in-app advertising also grew by 86%.

InMobi currently delivers 350 million peak impressions and 1.5 million clicks, in the region, daily. This partnership will grow the InMobi network by 25 per cent by leveraging CocoaChina’s user base and the extended developer community working on its Cocos2D platform.

“InMobi is a global leader in mobile monetization with superior technology and partner management teams. This partnership will help us to better monetize our user base of over 100 million game consumers through features such as a rich library of ad formats, analytics, and access to top advertisers worldwide,” said Li Jian, Director of Inventory, CocoaChina. “We also aim to attract more developers to our platform as a result of this partnership, who will also look to InMobi and its new ad formats that increase click through rates by up to 50 per cent.”

This partnership brings China’s leading game franchise, Fishing Joy, into InMobi’s ad network, and positions InMobi as the partner of choice for brand and developer advertisers in the region.

“CocoaChina is the leading developer platform for mobile gaming in China and we are excited to partner with them. The partnership will enable CocoaChina and its developers to benefit from InMobi’s market access, technology and monetization capabilities, including our newest ad formats that increase click-through rates by up to 50% and app install conversion rates by up to 600%,” said Jayesh Easwaramony, Vice President, Business Development, JAPAC, InMobi. “The partnership will aid developers as they approach the Chinese market while aiding CocoaChina to increase its global footprint in the West.”

The partnership follows InMobi participation as a top sponsor at CocoaChina’s annual developer forum last month in Beijing. The event drew over 1,000 developers who were looking for new ways to monetize their apps and access global markets.

Persistent Systems launches Early Stage Venture Fund. Invests in ustyme

Persistent Systems launches Early Stage Venture Fund. Invests in ustyme

– By Prathamesh Patil

Pune based Persistent Systems has unveiled Persistent Venture Fund, an early-stage investment fund focused on supporting innovation in social, mobile, analytics and cloud computing (SMAC) technologies. The fund is focused on providing early stage companies from around the globe with seed capital for promising technology ventures.

The initial investment recipient is ustyme, a free, video-call app for iPad that creates shared experiences through quality content, like books and games.  ustyme creates the context for spending time together and allows family and friends to read classic tales, such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “Henny Penny,” and play well known games, like Checkers, Chess and Go Fish, while seeing and interacting with each other through a video-screen.

As a leading global player in the software product development and technology services space, Persistent Systems intends to be a value-added partner to early stage entrepreneurs in its core sectors, investing in companies that have an advantaged solution and by enabling its investee companies to leverage Persistent’s domain expertise and customer reach to benefit the start-up.

“The Persistent Venture Fund enables  innovative companies like ustyme to not only gain from our capital investment but to tap our seasoned engineers who are working with next-generation technologies,” said Dr. Sridhar Jagannathan, Chief Innovation Officer, Persistent Systems, Inc. and Head of the Persistent Innovation Venture Fund. “For Persistent Systems, investing in entrepreneurs who are pioneering development in the areas of our core competency brings benefits to the start-up and to Persistent. We look forward to actively working with our investee companies to enable their success.”

“We are delighted to have Persistent Systems as an invaluable investment partner and a trusted advisor. With the support from Persistent we will be able to augment our resources, expand our capacity and support our strategic international expansion” said Linda Salesky, CEO, ustyme.

Shopify – Bharti Airtel’s DIY ecommerce platform for SMBs. What’s on offer?

Shopify – Bharti Airtel’s DIY ecommerce platform for SMBs. What’s on offer?

– By Prathamesh Patil

Bharti Airtel has revealed that it will offer an end-to-end e-commerce solution named “Shopify” to Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and SME customers by provisioning the service through its cloud platform.

Shopify will be powered by Airtel’s internet products like DSL and ILP enabling the SOHO and small and medium enterprises to create an online store to manage their e-commerce presence with great ease. It offers customizable site templates, an integrated shopping cart, search engine optimization(SEO), email marketing, inventory management and analytics.

Airtel’s data solutions such as DSL, ILP, 3G and 4G bundled with Shopify will offer all the features needed to host an e-Commerce platform such as built in m-Commerce shopping cart, payment gateways, social media integration which will be backed with requisite logistic support.

Airtel’s Internet products and Shopify’s content delivery network ensure the website load times are super quick from anywhere, anytime. The solution from Airtel allows customers to reach their audience via different sources like email marketing, social media integration and management apps which makes shopping on Shopify stores a wonderful social experience.

This latest addition to Airtel’s SAAS portfolio will allow customers to reach their audience via different sources like email marketing, social media integration and management apps which makes shopping on Shopify stores a wonderful social experience.

In India, today only five percent of SMEs have been able to expand on the digital platform, with Shopify more SMEs and entrepreneurs will be empowered to expand their digital reach.

 

Wipro’s Opus CMS acquisition- Why does it make a lot of sense

Wipro’s Opus CMS acquisition- Why does it make a lot of sense

– By Prathamesh Patil

Outsourcing  Major Wipro has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Opus CMC (Opus Capital Markets Consultants LLC), one of the leading US-based providers of mortgage due diligence and risk management services for a purchase consideration of USD 75 million that includes a deferred earn-out component. The acquisition will strengthen Wipro’s mortgage solutions and outsourcing business and complement its existing offerings in mortgage origination, servicing and secondary market.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Opus CMC provides comprehensive risk management solutions to the mortgage industry in the United States. It has over 490 employees, including over 315 loan underwriters, spread across 5 centers in the US.

Opus CMC offers operational and loan level due diligence, valuation support, forensic analysis, and advisory services on all classes of mortgage products, residential and commercial, ranging from re-underwriting whole loans to collateral reviews of securitized pools. Its customers include several of the top global banks, mortgage conduits, mortgage investors, and independent mortgage originators.

“We welcome Opus CMC’s employees to the Wipro family,” said Manoj Punja, Senior Vice President and Head – BPO, Wipro Limited. “This acquisition will help us expand in the high end Mortgage BPO segment, and brings differentiated capability with a platform-based risk management offering. Opus CMC has an experienced management team with a deep understanding of the emerging needs of this business. We believe Opus CMC will continue to lead with their innovative offerings and extend these capabilities to Wipro’s banking and financial services customers as well. Our vision is to leverage Wipro’s offerings with Opus CMC’s capabilities and knowledge base to create an end-to-end offering for all mortgage players, with a greater degree of automation and application of analytics.”

Opus CMC has been very successful in building a talented team that can address a wide range of quality management needs for mortgage product sellers, intermediaries and investors. Its proprietary due diligence platform, encapsulates nearly a decade of business intelligence in loan reviews, and the latest in regulatory requirements.

“We are excited about the opportunity to join hands with Wipro and continue to be a dominant player in the industry with increased range and scale of offerings for our clients. Our industry is at a pivotal point with the introduction of new mortgage regulations driven by the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and government agencies. Wipro and Opus CMC will jointly assist our clients in navigating this challenging and changing business environment and help build reliable outcomes in mortgage origination and secondary market operations,” said Joseph Andrea and Jennifer LaBud, Co-founders and Principals, Opus CMC.

Commenting on this acquisition, Dan Latimore, Senior Vice President of Celent’s Banking Practice said, “A critical differentiator for mortgage industry participants going forward is the ability to manage risk and identify profitable growth opportunities in both existing loan portfolios and new originations. Execution capabilities in legacy books, combined with deep knowledge of regulatory frameworks and the ability to efficiently implement them, will be essential for success.”

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and will be completed in Q4, FY-2014.

Portico Capital Securities LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Opus CMC with respect to this transaction.

10 Great Ecommerce Ideas for November 2013

Practical Ecommerce periodically asks industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce company. Here’s what ten of them had to say for the November 2013 installment of “10 Great Ecommerce Ideas.”

Offer Support via Social Media

“Nielson research discovered that in 2012 one-third of social media users prefer to contact a company via social media than by phone. On your support pages, provide links to your social media profiles. Set up notifications in the social media accounts so you know when someone contacts you. This way you provide timely customer support to those who want it — in the way they want it.”
Joshua Uebergang
Marketing Manager
Online Visions

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Make Research Easy for Prospective Buyers

“Research [for buying decisions] is a massive resource cost to businesses around the world. It is also a primary reason for lost deals. Were you to provide comprehensive information that was easy to find and on which a buying decision can be made, then your close rate would substantially improve. Add to this, an easy purchasing process and, rather than scouring the web, a buyer would see your site as a preferred source.”
Tony Lorge
CEO
Saxum Commerce
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Stay Ahead of the Curve

“It doesn’t take a lot of time for cutting-edge to become old hat. Keep researching to be aware of the latest tools and technology. If you stay still, you will find that your competitors will quickly surpass you.”
Seth Boylan
Owner
Xpert Fulfillment
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Don’t Forget Comparison Shopping Engines

“You’ve got a great ecommerce website. But is it hard to get traffic? Comparison shopping engines (CSEs) — like Google Shopping, Shopzilla, NexTag, Pronto, and Bing — deliver millions of shoppers to product pages every day. You list your items on the CSEs where purchase-ready shoppers will see them and click through to your site to complete the transaction. CSEs typically have a pay-per-click pricing model, and many merchants find it’s worth the cost.”
Liam Supple
Product Marketing
SingleFeed
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Think Like a Shopper

“Keep your site’s design simple and clean, make calls-to-action clear, and focus on the product. Go through the flows of your site: search, browse, and buy a product, or have a friend do it and watch him without helping. Pay attention to areas where anything is confusing, doesn’t work the way it should, or takes too many steps. Then make adjustments.”
Jeff Schlicht
CEO
Auctiva
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Emphasize Product Photography

“Whether you use high-quality renderings or actual product photography, make sure you take the time to present your products in the best possible manner. With the proliferation of product and photo sharing sites like Pinterest, The Fancy, Instagram, and OpenSky, having a beautiful product shot is imperative. Lifestyle shots of your product in use could also significantly increase conversion rates.”
TJ Scimone
Founder
Slice
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Take the ‘E’ out of ‘Ecommerce’

“Retailers need to realize that the lines of commerce have been, as John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, said, ‘obliterated.’ It’s no longer a world of online and offline commerce. It’s just commerce. Retailers are competing on a global scale with everyone, everywhere. You need to give shoppers a compelling reason to buy from you. Find a way to differentiate and make sure you can grab shoppers’ attention and keep them coming back.”
Jake Gasaway
Co-Founder
Stitch Labs
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Address Commonly-asked Questions

“One of the quickest ways to lose shoppers and sales is to make it difficult for them to do business with you. Instead of hiding commonly asked questions on an FAQ page somewhere on your site, display these answers in plain sight. Include your service agreement on every page, and provide frequent updates on orders in the mail.”
Ashley Verrill
CRM Analyst
Software Advice
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Connect with Pinterest Influencers

“Connect with the Pinterest influencers — accounts or boards with large followings — that relate to your product category. Ask for a pin here and there for a product you believe they would like. You’ll get large amounts of traffic, sales, and repins from their large followings. This method is repeatable and much quicker and cheaper than building a large following yourself.”
Mitchell Abdullah
Content Strategist
AddShoppers
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Mimic the Brick-and-mortar Experience

“Regardless of what channel they may be using to shop, online consumers are demanding the quality of the brick-and-mortar experience. They want to zoom in on a product, rotate it, change its colors — in short, they want to interact with the item as though they were physically in the same room with it. Retailers with rich interactive media that can offer this in omnichannel have a significant competitive advantage during the holiday season and can convert at rates of 30 percent higher than those that don’t.”
Rory Dennis
General Manager, North America
Amplience
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Got a great ecommerce idea? Email Drew Coffin at pinaki.mandal@sensation.nu.
TAGS: INSPIRATION