Hictu – Jajah Partnership: Creating a unique footprint in the VoIP Industry
Hictu – Jajah Partnership
Joshua Gonzalez
Georgian Court University
Organization Theory BU629
Dr. Leslie Korb
March 6, 2007
Disclaimer
This case study and teaching note was prepared by Joshua Gonzalez and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion on strategy partnership by web-based companies. Copyright © 2008 by Joshua Gonzalez.
Hictu – Jajah Partnership: Creating a unique footprint in the VoIP Industry
In the late 90s a handful of people created their own sites identified as weblogs, and later as a blog thanks in no small measure to Jorn Barger and the introduction of www.blogger.com. These sites were mostly links to other places the user had visited that day or past couple of days. However, something extraordinary happened: around 1999 there was a lift or explosion in the number of weblogs. The so-called blogs were not just web links they were daily online journals, independent news stories, and pictures of the user's daily events. The evolution of the blog exploded to new heights. These blogs became online diaries, online pictures diaries (see www.flickr.com), video diaries, complete with email redirection, and Short message Service (SMS) texting. For example, John McCain is using the power of web logs to communicate with Americans using the Internet. Mr. McCain’s eCampaign Director, Michael Palmer, posted on the John McCain 2008 blog on March 4th an entry titled: “McCain Wins Republican Nomination”,
This is a historic day for us all! Congratulations on a hard fought victory. You deserve it, John McCain deserves it and America deserves it. We are ready to move on to the last phase of the campaign and elect the next President of the United States, but first we deserve to celebrate a little (2008).
Figure 1. Blog entry on John McCain’s win for the Republican Nomination. From “John McCain 2008 - John McCain for President”, http://www.johnmccain.com/Blog/
Later on something new would create a new rift in the blog culture: micro-blogging and micro video-blogging, miniature blogs where people who wanted to have a blog but did not have the time to write normal length blog entries. There was one catch to this type of new blogging: “it holds you to a certain limits of characters" (Priya, 2007). We can see how this works by visiting www.twitter.com, the free social messaging site for staying connected in real-time with friends via online micro-blog entries, instant messages, and SMS texting.
Figure 2. Senator Barack Obama’s twitter page. From Twitter.com, http://twitter.com/BarackObama
A small Italian company by name of Abbeynet decided to take micro-blogging one step further by implementing video and audio posts into its service. "Hictu (See Appendix A) is the first service for video micro-bloggers, who can create for free their own microblog with small posts (containing text, audio and video), and meet new friends" (About Hictu). In his company's blog (Jajah) Frederik Hermann states in his entry titled, Hictu video micro-blogging platform integrates JAJAH:
Developed in Italy and capable of competing over an international Web 2.0 scenario, the Hictu video micro-blogging platform lets users instantly publish text, audio and video messages online and share this content with friends and other Hictu users. Video and audio messages can be recorded directly from within Hictu web pages, turning the service into the "Twitter" for video micro- bloggers. Hictu enables users to update the world with their "real-time" status and activities, while integrating content from leading IM and VoIP services.
Around the same time as the start of the weblog evolution, Internet and technology hobbyists began to see the benefits of sending voice data packets over the Internet rather than using the traditional methods of communications via land based Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). This concept came to be known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Voice over Internet Protocol works by converting "the voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that can travel over the Internet. If you are calling a regular telephone number, the signal is then converted back at the other end” (FCC, 2008).
In 2005 JAJAH created a new type of Phone Company specializing in web-activated telephony. Jajah's strategy is Jajah Direct: use your existing phone (landline or cell phone) to connect to Jajah's internet telephony network which reroutes your call to a user's phone in any part of the world. No software, headset, downloads, or hotspots. The company also has the capability of users embedding code into their weblogs so that visitors who wish to speak with the author of the weblog can click on the Jajah button and be connected to the author's phone via VoIP.
What could be a next step in the web logging evolution? This was the question Luca Filigheddu of Abbeynet, makers and owner of Hictu may have been thinking. Right after New Year's Day 2008 Hictu and Jajah announced complete integration of Jajah's voice-calling capabilities into their technology platform of Video Micro-Blogging. As Roman Scharf, Jajah co-founder stated:
Micro communities like Hictu are becoming daily places of congregation and are increasing in importance for their users. It is our conviction to provide these spaces with the opportunity for web to voice capability to match the communication needs and preferences of its users. Hictu's service is compelling and unique and we are thrilled to be working with them (Jajah Source).
Luca states in his own blog that "Jajah is one of the players that will play an important role in 2008 in the field of web-based communications, and Hictu-Jajah is another example of ... integration" (Filigheddu).
What is your analysis of this partnership?
Information to Help with your Decision
Below is a brief interview with Abbeynet's (makers of Hictu) CEO Luca Filigheddu on Hictu's partnership with Jajah for web-based communications.
JG: Why did Hictu consider Jajah for a partner?
LF: They have great visibility both in EU and US since they are European and moved to Silicon Valley. I know them, there is a good relationship and they are offering a unique proposition in the market.
JG: What was your strategy before partnering?
LF: Hictu has a "presence-based" contact list, so you can get presence information of your contacts from all the major IM and VoIP networks. However, we decided to choose Jajah ad the primary way to let user contact each other, giving them a higher visibility.
JG: What is your strategy after partnering?
LF: Nothing changed
JG: Considerations for Hictu?
LF: Hictu is the first video micro blogging service. You can use it as you use Twitter or similar services, but you can express yourself through short videos. You know, a video/picture is worth more than thousand words... In one-month time Hictu will undergo a major re-design and we will announce two major new partners that will enable users to do much more.
JG: Why did Hictu decide this was a sound marketing/business strategy?
LF: For Jajah? Visibility and the ability to spread the word in Silicon Valley as well.
JG: How was Hictu born?
LF: First of all Hictu is the composition of two Latin words, Hic (Here) and Tu (you), a contraction to say, "Here you are". At the early beginning, it was an online address book with presence information, where we start adding "social" features that led to the services as it is now.
JG: I read online, I believe on your blog about Hictu giving Jajah the recognition they deserve. Alec Saunders even said not even you can deny their footprint.
LF: The point is that my company has been developing VOIP services and technologies since 1999. The reason why we chose to put Jajah and not one of the many services we manage, is because popularity and visibility, of course.
JG: How do you think this partnership will help your company gain a unique footprint in the Microblogging/VoIP environment?
LF: Honestly? Don't think so. But it will help to gain visibility.
Works Cited
Anonymous. The 2007 pulver100 - new growth on the telecom landscape, The 2007 pulver100 - New Growth on the Telecom Landscape. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from http://www.pulver.com/pulver100/.
Anonymous. (2008a, January 23). Hictu and Jajah partner to remove barriers to convenient, affordable global communication, Marketwire. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from http://www.marketwire.com/mw/rel_us_print.jsp?id=813269.
Anonymous. (2008b, February 1). Voip.pdf (application/pdf object). Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/voip.pdf.
Filigheddu, L. (2007, December 23). Voip for 2008 is... | lucafiligheddu.com, VoIP, Web 2.0 and a lot of Tech News. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://www.lucafiligheddu.com/2007/12/voip-for-2008-is.html.
Filigheddu, L. (2008a, January 6). Voip in 2008 will be integrated and web-based | lucafiligheddu.com, VoIP, Web 2.0 and a lot of Tech News. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://www.lucafiligheddu.com/2008/01/voip-in-2008-will-be-integrated-and-web-based.html.
Filigheddu, L. (2008b, January 23). Hictu, new year's release: here is jajah | lucafiligheddu.com, VoIP, Web 2.0 and a lot of Tech News. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://www.lucafiligheddu.com/2008/01/hictu-new-years-release-here-is-jajah.html.
Filigheddu, L. (2008c, February 19). Gmail - luca filigheddu - case study q&a. Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=c8e400c63a&view=pt&search=inbox&msg=11830c456d724455.
Hermann, F. Internet telephony, minus internet: Jajah eliminates need for computer to make internet calls - Jajah media center. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://press.jajah.com/index.php?/archives/2-Internet-Telephony,-Minus-Internet-JAJAH-Eliminates-Need-for-Computer-to-Make-Internet-Calls.html.
Hermann, F. (2008, January 23). Hictu video micro-blogging platform integrates jajah - jajah blog, Jaja Free.Your.Voice. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from http://blog.jajah.com/index.php?/archives/258-Hictu-video-micro-blogging-platform-integrates-JAJAH.html.
Maltoni, V. (2008, January 11). Is blogging changing? five things you should do in 2008 to keep pace. : the blog herald, Blog Herald. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from http://www.blogherald.com/2008/01/11/is-blogging-changing-five-things-you-should-do-in-2008-to-keep-pace/#comment-315829.
Palmer, M. (2008, March 4). Mccain wins republican nomination, John McCain 2008 - John McCain for President. Retrieved March 13, 2008, from http://www.johnmccain.com/Blog/Read.aspx?guid=384810eb-fb15-49e1-aa98-1183fd4af7fb.
Priya. (2007, July 31). Have you been pownce’ing lately? | watblog.com - web, advertising and technology blog in India, WAT Blog - The Refreshing Blog on Web, Advertising and Technology in India! Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://www.watblog.com/2007/07/31/have-you-been-pownce-ing-lately/.
Saunders, A. (2008, January 26). Jajah and Hictu! join forces — Alec Saunders .log, Saunderslog.com. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://saunderslog.com/2008/01/26/jajah-and-hictu-join-forces/.
Appendix A
Abbeynet
Abbeynet (http://www.abbeynet.it/en/index.php) is Telecommunications Company offering advance communications solutions based on Voice over Internet Protocol. They provide solutions for “media companies, telcos, system integrators, public administrations, banks, small and medium businesses” (Abbeynet). An eight year company, its focused research and innovation has led it to two years in a row win the Pulver 100 award. The Pulver 100 award is a prestigious award listing the 100 most innovative ICT (Information and Communications Technology) companies in the world.
Timeline of the company
Abbeynet has been set up in 2000 in Cagliari. Its first year comes up with Chocophone, one of the first VoIP services in the world: completely free, supported by advertising.
Milestones:
2001 Release of EVT (Enterprise Video Telephony) A VoIP platform/softphone for enterprises.
2002 Release of the VoIP EPM platform (Colombian telephone operator) Triple play Offer merged with Italtel softswitches and Cisco gateways.
2003 Release of WTS - Web Telephony Platform (SIP/H323) A VoIP platform/softphone, distributed by Italtel to several telcos all over the world.
2004 Launch of Abbeyphone, the first European prepaid VoIP solution for the consumer market.
2005 Release of VoIP services based on Abbeyphone technology. Some customers: Repubblica, Telecom Italia and Wind.
2006 Launch of Sitòfono. The click to call for small and medium business.
2007 Launch of Hictu!, a new way of communicate on the Net, through Presence and video microblogging.
2007 Release of Chiama gratis, a click to call platform based on Sitòfono technology, developed for Seat-Pagine Gialle group (Abbeynet).
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