Selling Co-opetition: Openwave, Cisco, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and IBM Unify Communications

by C. J. Kennedy

Wireless technology is not an old industry. It is like an elementary school classroom: the students are learning not only to produce, but also to get along with each other. Openwave, working with Cisco, Gap Gemini Ernst & Young, and IBM, unveiled their table's group project on January 31st: A Next-Generation VoiceXML-Based Unified Communications Architecture. The project is impressive both for what it does - bundling fax, email, and voice solutions offerings - and for what it will offer the companies involved - a bigger "Unified Messaging Pie" for them to slice up.

Unified Communications Architecture

The Unified Communications Architecture is a platform for communications service providers, allowing them to develop and offer voice messaging, communications, content, and commerce services.The technology combines Openwave's Unified Communications software and Cisco's AS5300 Voice Gateways. IBM and CGE&Y provide the intergration abilites that "glues" them together. Each company will add the services of their engineers to help with integration and reliability. For the customer this will mean they will soon have the ability to check and return all messages - fax, email, and voice, plus any future advanced voice applications -from one communications service provider.

Looking carefully at the Unified Communication Architecture technology it is unclear how the companies decided what role each would play. These giant companies have obvious overlapping strengths. Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a software and hardware development and systems integration company. Openwave Inc. not only develops software for voice solutions, but is also a platform provider wireless internet access gateways. Cisco produces servers and hardware that the internet and wireless internet run on. And IBM offers consulting for systems integration (like CGE&Young), software solutions (like CGE&Y and Openwave), severs (like Cisco), Wireless Web Hosting (similar to Openwave), and is a leader in the voice technology field (like Openwave). It appears as if one or two of these companies could have produced the Unified Communications Architecture by themselves. So why are they all working together?

How To Share Market Share

Each companies emphasizes collaboration as a real strength in the offering. Don Listwin, president and chief executive officer of Openwave, says, "Our collaboration with Cisco, IBM and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young will allow CSPs to capitalize on infrastructures they already have in place, while also adding sophisticated services to second and third generation mobile networks."

These infrastructures include not only the actual technology but sales infrastructures too. During a conversation with Dean Douglas, General Manager of Wireless E-business Americas for IBM Global services, he explained that IBM's interest also lay in the shared client bases. "There is a large base of clients using Openwave products. And we have to address potential clients concerns about whether our solutions can integrate with Openwave." Openwave's unified messaging service and their messaging products currently support over 95.9 million users.

In other words this collaboration opens the market to companies offering technology solutions to clients that already use another company's products. As clients look to extend their technology, whether it is to add voice based services or network messaging systems over cellular phone, IBM, Openwave, Cisco, and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young can all offer an understanding of how to integrate different systems. And this unified messaging market is very lucrative pie to slice up. Industry analyst firm Ovum Group predicts that the total revenues from unified messaging services will increase from $1.2 billion in 2001 to $31 billion in 2006.

Co-opetition Comes to Market

"Co-opetition" has been the buzzword of the wireless market since the success of the initial WAP forum. Since then co-opetition has been evident in the forum and open-standard explosion led by the Bluetooth and SyncML initiatives. The Unified Communication Architecture is a perfect example of using co-opetition as a marketing tool. Rather than IBM flying solo with its own voice technology offering, it makes perfect financial sense for Dean Douglas of IBM to announce, "IBM Global Services is building a dedicated practice around the new Cisco and Openwave VoiceXML architecture." The smallest of the three companies, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, is in great position for the messaging market: They get to share the spoils with the big kids in the class. Alexander Haeffner, CEO of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Telecom Media Networks declares, "We expect great success in extending our unified messaging cooperation with Cisco to Openwave." I'm sure they do. This will certainly increase their client base, and that is how "co-opetition" is supposed to work.