Alcatel-Lucent Releases APIs for Accelerating Application Development Business Model

Alcatel-Lucent released its first API (Application Programming Interfaces) bundles that blend service provider and third party application capabilities to enable the faster creation of new applications. Alcatel-Lucent's goal with these API bundles is to enable a new revenue share model to transform service provider networks into an application development platform by unlocking network resources and functionality -- similar to what smartphones and apps stores did for the device world.


The company's first vertical API bundles include three social bundles supporting the creation of new mashups in social gaming, advertising and virtual goods markets. Collectively, the APIs included are SMS, advertising, location, virtual goods, credit card and billing. The initial delivery of these API bundles targets the 14+ million developers worldwide and the two fastest growing and increasingly profitable applications markets today: mobile advertising and virtual goods.


Earlier this year, Alcatel-Lucent introduced its cloud-based developer platform, which leverages the Application Exposure Suite to build, test, manage and distribute applications across networks, including television, broadband Internet and mobile.


With the release of the APIs, Alcatel-Lucent also announced a new business and application modeling tool that allows developers to get the most out of their applications. This new functionality helps developers and service providers improve the potential for the success of services they are introducing and helps them better manage the overall business of their applications.


"The business model benefits everyone across the value chain. Whereas service providers did not share in an application's revenue before, they now gain new sources of revenue from ad network or virtual goods applications. They can invest that income back into their network, which in turn supports new services innovation," said Johnson Agogbua, head of Application Enablement solutions for Alcatel-Lucent.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com