Emerging Mobile and Micropayment Technologies Will Democratize Commerce and Change the Nature of Services: New Payment Solutions Support Disposable, Unbundled, and Fragmented Services

Business Wire, Feb 4, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2003

A new report from SRI Consulting Business Intelligence's (SRIC-BI's) Scan Program -- Mobile and Micropayments: Changing the Nature of Commerce -- analyzes the impact of mobile and micropayments, solutions that support new types of commerce facilitating individual e-commerce participation. The new payment types have the potential to democratize electronic commerce because current payment types -- namely, the credit card -- prevent widespread participation on the seller side.

Mobile and Micropayment Technologies Support Emerging Commerce Types

The opportunity to charge small amounts of money anywhere, anytime will provide a platform facilitating the development of new commerce types and opening larger market segments. These payment types enable or facilitate location-based commerce and small-application commerce for pieces of information or ring tones and the like. They will have strong impact on opportunity and P2P (peer-to-peer) commerce. Opportunity commerce describes commercial transactions for services or information that were not traditionally available commercially. P2P commerce will enable consumers to sell to and buy from other consumers directly.

Mobile and Micropayment Technologies Change the Nature of Services

New payment systems and emerging types of commerce will enable and favor the following kinds of services:

-- Disposable services. The tendency of application and content services gradually to become disposable one-time-use services (moving away from users' keeping the content for future use such as guides) will have to be a consideration in the design and offering of services.

-- Unbundling of services. Bundled services covering an entire segment (for instance, Yellow Pages), an entire region (for instance, the San Francisco Bay Area), or constant information (for instance, subscription to weather forecast) do not cater to specific needs and defy disposability. Existing service bundles require redesign to allow access to specific information, content, or applications.

-- Fragmentation of services. Disposability and unbundling services to target highly time- and location-sensitive needs will fragment services. In addition, the opportunity for smaller players, even individuals, to generate market-relevant services will multiply the number of service providers fragmenting the entire market for wireless and online services. Incumbents will have to address this challenge by becoming more conscious about their capabilities and restrictions.

About the Scan Program

Scan provides early warning of important changes in the business environment and peripheral vision about forces outside the day-to-day focus of clients. SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (SRIC-BI) has conducted scanning for clients since 1978; we have provided futures-oriented analysis through the Business Intelligence Program and the Long Range Planning Service since 1959. Scan clients include the world's leading corporations, government organizations, and emerging private enterprises.

About SRI Consulting Business Intelligence

SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (http://www.sric-bi.com ) believes that capturing business opportunities requires exploring the big picture and then focusing on actionable strategies in an uncertain environment. Our research identifies the defining forces of change to help our clients expand their perspective. Our expertise and unique tools enable our clients to focus on strategies for action. Teaming with SRIC-BI increases our clients' ability to capture opportunities. An employee-owned spin-off of the former Stanford Research Institute, SRIC-BI taps into a history of technology innovation that nurtured the computer mouse and the Internet. We combine content-based research programs with consulting expertise. And we bring an optimistic view of opportunity coupled with a realistic view of the difference between hype and reality.