Mobile Relationship Management – VIPorbit

A year ago I posted on the future of the newly announced iPad and its relevance for mobile and the Internet. I am pleased to see that my predictions came more or less true, both in terms of the iPad and the AppStore being expanded to the Mac. Apple has also made in its latest releases of its development environments the porting of iOS applications to the Mac a lot easier, similar to the emulator I mused about.

Forrester’s CEO, George Colony has recently posted on Apple’s position in the mobile market. I agree with much of what he says, except that I am not sure that the Apple distribution charges for the AppStore will reduce it’s market potential and leave the market open to Android. Why do I see that differently? First, Android App markets are apparently growing three times faster than AppStore, but it is easy to grow faster in the beginning. Only if that difference in pace continues would Android Market surpass AppStore in volume sometime in 2012. Well, the main reason is that typical software distribution channels require at least 50% commission to the seller, they don’t provide automatically a worldwide market, and leave the vendor open to software copying or fraud by the dealers. All in all 30% are a pretty good deal, plus the opportunity to make additional revenue through advertizing. All of which doesn’t exist in the same way in any other mobile environment.

iOS Apps are undoubtedly of better quality than Android, because of the quality cycle in the approval process. That also ensures that iOS apps will hardly ever hang or crash the whole operating system. Once we see more malicious viruses appearing on Android, the benefits of Apple’s approval model will be obvious.

The lesser quality also causes usability issues with getting an Android mobile device to work due to interdependencies of its various HW vendors, Android versions, SW libraries, and various application sellers. AppStore and iOS are however a no-brainer for a non-technical user. Sure some of it will stabilize and get better on Android too, but I don’t think that we will be looking at Android winning a 80% marketshare as George proposes.

On the book publishing front that might be a different story and to understand that better I can recommend the Monday Note post on Apple’s Bet on Publishing by Frederic Filloux. I propose that Apple will be very successful also in the publishing arena with its well managed and cash-producing approach.

Mobile Relationship Management with VIPorbit for iOS!

That leads me to another subject of the mobile world and applications. I am very proud to be able to speak for the first time openly about a venture that I started in 2010 with one of the most innovative people in the PC world, Mike Muhney, the co-creator of the first and famous ACT! Contact Manager for Windows in 1987.

 

Mike Muhney and Max Pucher - Co-Founders VIPorbit

I met Mike in 2009 and soon we found ourselves in discussions how we could do something together. Mike by chance lives only a few miles from our Southlake office in Texas. I said to Mike that I truly believed that the way Apple had opened up the Smartphone Mobile market would be a game changer for information technology and the Internet in general.  Eventually Mike approached me with the idea to take the original concept of ACT! contact management into todays mobile world and expand it around Social Networking. So I became the angel investor and co-founder of VIPorbit Software International Inc.

Our plans worked out and a few days ago the VIPorbit Mobile Relationship Manager went on sale on the AppStore. VIPorbit is a new way of integrating all functions that you need to improve your personal and business relationships:

• Connect to your Contacts via Phone, Email, Text, Twitter & Facebook
• Calendar & Contacts are Automatically Linked Together
• Notes, History, and Logs for Each Contact
• Organize your Contacts with Orbits to Build Spheres of Influence
• Fully Customize the Way you Work

You can be assured this is just the very first step in the direction of an Orbital Network of Relationships, completely managed and driven by mobile technology. Because of its extensive feature set, VIPorbit will also have a substantial impact on how enterprises provide sales management support. Connectivity with relevant enterprise software and Internet sites will provide a new way to empower the sales force.

In difference to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Mike and me strongly believe in privacy. Your personal details and your network are YOUR asset and not to be divulged to or data-mined by anyone with unknown intentions. This is why MOBILE Relationship Management is the future. Your Orbits of influence belong to you and you carry responsibility to guard the information that you retain about others with the utmost care. This is why mobile technology is perfect for this approach as the device is in your hands and no information can be misused, no matter how well people will be connected.

So here is the VIPorbit website and the company blog. These are the first editorial reviews of VIPorbit at Appadvice and at PCWorld.

The future of Mobile Relationship Management has just begun!

About Max J. Pucher

I am the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Papyrus Software, a medium size software company offering solutions in communications and process management around the globe. I am also the owner and CEO of MJP Racing, a motorsports company focused on Rallycross or RX, a form of circuit racing on mixed surfaces that has been around for 40 years. I hold 8 national and international championship titles in RX. My team participates in the World Championship along Petter Solberg, Sebastian Loeb and Ken Block.

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Posted in Mobile Relationship Management