WHITE PAPER
Enabling New Mobile Data Services using Mobile Software Management
1 Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction of New Services Today
3. Example of Ideal Service Enablement: Olympic Games
4. Why Current Technology is Limited
a. Service Delivery Requirements
b. Existing Solutions for Remotely Managing Mobile Software
c. Exponential Growth of Software in Mobile Devices
5. How Red Bend Breaks the Boundaries
a. Service Enablement on Feature Phones
b. Service Enablement on Smartphones
6. Conclusion
7. About Red Bend Software
8. Acronyms
Author Biography
Guy Yohanan, Business Development Manager Red Bend Software
Guy Yohanan is responsible for growing the company’s business in Israel. Previously, he served as Product Manager for Red Bend’s next-generation mobile software management solution, vRapid Mobile™, and played a key role in the early success of the product among mobile device manufacturers and network operators. Before joining Red Bend in 2007, Guy spent nine years at Intel in various senior technology development roles, most recently as Strategic Planning Manager for Intel’s Mobile Platform Division, where he led long-term planning and defi nition of software capabilities for Intel’s Notebook and Ultra-Mobile Device platforms. Guy has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Sciences from The Open University of Israel.
2 1. Executive Summary
This white paper is intended for mobile operators and service providers that want to learn about new advancements in over-the- air Mobile Software Management in order to enable new revenue-generating mobile data services.
With voice services now commoditized and potentially facing declining revenues, operators and service providers are looking to introduce new and exciting mobile data services aimed at generating new revenue streams. The ability to bring these services into the market and to consumers’ handsets in a timely manner becomes crucial for success. An example of a compelling event that can trigger new revenue generating services is the Olympic Games.
Enabling new services on mass market handsets requires multiple embedded software components, with dependencies among them. To reach the mass market, there is a clear need for a post-sale, over-the-air (OTA) service delivery framework. Requirements include the ability to decouple the handset software lifecycle from the hardware lifecycle, and to distribute and manage embed- ded applications and middleware OTA and across multiple device platforms.
An examination of deployed mobile devices in the fi eld today reveals that existing solutions for managing software post-sale are limited. Yet the industry is experiencing exponential growth of software in mobile devices. Software in new mobile handsets is reaching several hundreds of megabytes in size. This phenomenon mandates the ability to manage the entire software stack on the handset by individual software components.
Mobile Software Management (MSM) enables management of software on remote mobile devices. It allows operators and service providers to deliver new services and applications to mobile handsets in the fi eld. MSM starts at the point of the software creation and continues throughout the lifecycle of the handset. There are three key elements for MSM: the tools for the software creator, the logic within the service provider service delivery framework for managing software, and the technology on the hand- set for software manipulation. Like Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) updating, a cross-platform approach is required when design- ing a solution for managing Software Components Over-the-Air (SCOTA). Such a solution must be portable to any handset device platform, including feature phones and smartphones, open operating systems and proprietary.
2. Introduction of New Services Today
With voice services commoditized, and the growth rate of voice revenue dropping, operators and service providers are striving to introduce new and exciting data services aimed at generat- ing new revenue as well as creating diff erentiation from the competition. These data services include entertainment such as mobile TV, communication such as push-to-talk, personal fi nance such as mobile banking, and many others. Operators that can provide these new data services to mobile consumers have a tremendous opportunity to become integrated with their daily lives, potentially resulting in higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and increased brand loyalty.
For consumers, the mobile industry is continually creating a “new norm” – something that is better than before, something that you never want to go back from. For mobile operators and Example: Planet 3 is a world of entertainment and services, the ability to create this new norm by delivering new information on your 3 mobile. Get news, sports, mobile TV, music and games. Check your email, share photos, and compelling services to consumers’ handsets in a timely fi nd a local restaurant, watch movie trailers, instant manner is crucial for success. message your friends and more.
3 3. Example of Ideal Service Enablement: Olympic Games
New revenue-generating data services may support a consumer’s day-to-day life, or may be affi liated with specifi c events, such as school year, sports season, Oscar night, theatre season, or a major event such as the Olympic Games.
The Olympic Games is an example of a major event that presents new revenue opportunities for operators and service providers. By launching a suite of mobile services specifi c to an event, operators can increase their subscriber base and ARPU before and during the event, with the hopes of retaining those subscribers afterwards.
As an example, a mobile service suite for the Olympics might include:
• Mobile TV – Live streaming Olympic Games TV • Device look & feel for Olympic games channels over the cellular network o Wall-papers \ themes • Video clips \ replays of game highlights \ photo gallery o Ringtones • Olympic calendar – Games schedule, dates and o Service icons locations • Community-created content for Olympic Games • Medals by country and athlete, updated in real time o YouTube • Games \ java-games – Olympic-related computer games on the mobile handset o Blogging
• Quizzes / trivia
4. Why Current Technology is Limited
To enable the Olympic Games service suite, there are multiple software components in diff erent layers in the software stack that need to be on the handset. These include:
• Messaging Engine / Client • Calendar
• TCP\IP stack • Music Player
• UI Engine • Photo Viewer
• JVM • Wall Paper
• Internet Browser • Service UI
• Media Player
The following fi gure shows some of the software components and their location in the handset software stack. In addition, there are components such as video codecs, audio codecs, resource fi les and language fi les which need to be embedded on the hand- set in order to support such an Olympic Games service. Software components have critical dependencies among themselves as well as with other components on the handset. These dependencies must be considered and managed in order to successfully enable a new service.
4 a. Service Delivery Requirements What is Mobile Software Introducing services on deployed mobile handsets when timed with a Management? specifi c event depends on the ability to decouple the handset software “The management (i.e. deployment, installation, lifecycle from the hardware lifecycle. Increasingly, operators want to market activation, update, de-activation and removal) of new services to their entire installed base, without requiring consumers to software components (i.e. applications, handset buy a new handset. However, most services depend on the existence of features and their dependencies) on any device, certain middleware and embedded applications in the handset in order throughout the software lifecycle (pre- and post- for the service to work on the mobile device. If only a few handsets are manufacturing).” capable of supporting the new service, the operator is limited in its address- Andreas Constantinou, VisionMobile able market at the time of service launch, and must wait until consumers replace their handsets in order to subscribe to the new service. In addition, operators must be able to manage native applications and middleware OTA across multiple device platforms.
The ability to add embedded features post-sale in order to support deliver- ing new revenue-generating services to the subscriber base has become a critical requirement for operators. If operators can ensure that the same functionality is available across handsets and terminals, they have a better chance of delivering service convergence and reducing churn. This implies the need to control and dynamically discover all software and fi rmware components available on devices in the fi eld. b. Existing Solutions for Remotely Managing Mobile Software
Most existing solutions for managing software remotely are point solutions that do not address the minimum requirements for service enablement across multiple handset platforms types, and may limit the level of innova- tion the mobile ecosystem can provide. Some solutions enable only add-on applications in Read-Write File Systems (R/W FS), like Open Operating Sys- tems (Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc).
5 Other solutions are limited to a specifi c software technology implementation, like in the case of the Java Application Framework. And some others are limited to a specifi c handset platform, like Qualcomm’s BREW. None of the existing solutions address man- agement of both R/W and embedded applications and software components across multiple platforms, which are required for enabling new services in a timely manner across a range of devices.
The following table summarizes the existing software management point solutions and their limitations:
Standard Application Mgmt Built in platform capability for add- Works mainly for add-on Open OS Native Apps on software applications to be applications in R/W File System Java Applications installed and deleted on a phone Weak performance and Security
Requires high-end Java VM Mobile Service Architecture Improves Java interoperability, (CDC) JSR232/OSGi functionality, enables on-demand Targeted for Java applications delivery of Java components in R/W File System
Applicable for QCT handsets BREW Client Technology Qualcomm proprietary application only environment. Enables add-on Targeted mainly for native application management applications in R/W FS
FOTA (Firmware OTA Updates complete Firmware Not scalable for updating update) images and File-Systems using individual components in ROM Diff method
Source: Red Bend Software
c. Exponential Growth of Software in Mobile Devices
Another important factor for service enablement on mobile handsets, and the ability to manipulate software OTA, is the hand- set software architecture and the size of the software stack. Just a few years ago, a mobile phone software stack was only 30-40 megabytes in size. Today, there has been exponential growth in software on mobile phones, reaching one hundred megabytes and more, and in some cases, like the Apple iPhone, even several hundreds of megabytes. Taking a closer look at this growth trend, basic telephony software has grown in a linear rate, while applications software has grown at an exponential rate. This is due to application software having become both a critical value diff erentiator as well as a fundamental revenue generator by enabling new services on the handset. This phenomenon mandates the ability to manage the entire software stack on the handset by individual software components.
Managing individual software components introduces several challenges such as managing the dependencies between those components, and being able to manage them holistically and individually. Mobile handset features are tightly integrated as embed- ded software on the handsets. A few examples are: browsers, multimedia messaging (MMS) and instant messaging clients, Java virtual machines, digital rights management, e-wallet, 3D graphics, video telephony, video streaming, location/GPS, Bluetooth/WiFi, mobile TV, push-to-talk clients and music players. Embedding those software components in the mobile handset is crucial for ensuring the required level of reliability, performance, security and user experience.
6 Source: Red Bend Software, industry data
5. How Red Bend Breaks the Boundaries Red Bend Software is the market leader in Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) updating and For OTA service enablement, diff erent types of software compo- Mobile Software Management. Red Bend Software nents may need to be updated while considering the dependen- enables mobile phone manufacturers and cies with other components on the device. For example, a com- network operators to accelerate the adoption ponent may be an internet browser application, or a component of new services and features, respond rapidly to may be a codec required to enable a new media content format. The dependencies between the software components are a customer needs and reduce support costs through crucial element that must be considered in order to be successful mobile software management solutions. Red in managing software components and enabling new services on Bend’s vRapid Mobile™ is the fi rst solution to the handset. manage Software Components Over-the-Air The management and the defi nition of those components must (SCOTA). This enables comprehensive manage- start at the point of their creation, which includes their metadata ment of the entire software stack of a mobile defi nition and their dependencies on other components. For that handset, including core and embedded software, reason, the right tools and processes need to be in place for the throughout the entire lifecycle of the software and software creator to use. Considering the holistic, end-to-end view handset. of MSM, there are three key elements which need to be observed.
1) The fi rst key element is the software components creator (such as OEM or ISV). A set of tools to defi ne and manage components is required. Those tools should also have the capability to create the most effi cient update package for a new version of components, using delta technology, to be delivered to a device OTA. As handset applications can become very large, there is a need to get only the delta between two versions of a component, and re- fl ash the relevant part of the phone memory with the new component version. As ISVs port their applications and services across various operating systems and platforms, the metadata associated with each application needs to be defi ned and documented.
2) The second key element is at the service provider. The operator should have the ability to realize the full potential of MSM as a service enabler. It should be able to control the software on the handset, and be able to manage it in a dynamic fashion such as executing diff erent types and fl ows of MSM transactions. For MSM to become a service enabler, it must be completely integrated with the operator’s business processes, as well as the related OSS and BSS systems existing in the operator’s back-end framework.
7 3) The third key element is on the handset. Here there is a need to manipulate any type of software, at any level of the software stack, as well as to manage the software components on the handset throughout their lifecycle. Software manipulation includes the ability to install, upgrade, downgrade, remove, activate or deactivate any software component on the handset, as well as to manage the handset software inventory. In order to fulfi ll that requirement, there is a need for an innovative and reliable solution to manipulate and manage software components on the handset, while still considering the best user experience.
Source: Red Bend Software
In order for operators to enable new and innovative services, an MSM solution must support multiple platforms types. A cross- platform approach is required when designing a system to manage software components over-the-air (SCOTA). Such a solution should be portable to any handset device platform. Another important factor to consider is that almost 70% of the mobile market consists of feature phones. Therefore, in order to deliver a new service to the mass market, an MSM solution must be able to ad- dress feature phones in order to manage their software stack throughout their lifecycle.
The following chart shows the cross-platform approach mandate for creating an MSM solution. It also shows that embedded, component-based software updating is essential to all device platforms.
Source: Mobile Software Management: Advances & Opportunities in Service Delivery, by Andreas Constantinou, VisionMobile
8 A compelling MSM solution must support introducing new services to handsets in a timely manner, with 100% reliability, in order to guarantee the availability and usability of the service. This is crucial to prevent consumers from abandoning the service due to a poor user experience. An MSM solution should enable the operator to accommodate ever-changing business needs, and to control the software loaded on devices, POS and post-sale. It must enable distributing embedded applications and middleware OTA across all devices despite wide device platform diversity. It also should create commonality with loaded software components on the users’ handsets. And lastly, it should enable the control and the dynamic discovery of all software components on a hand- set, and the delivery of segmented updates to end-user devices.
a. Service Enablement on Feature Phones
What if you could launch revenue-generating services on feature phones just like smartphones?
Feature phones, by nature, have well-integrated and statically-linked software stacks. “Feature phones” is a term used to describe closed-architecture phones that do not support general applications download, usually have closed a software image (rather than a fi le-based dynamically linked image) and are considered a “closed system.” However, feature phones should not be confused with the entry-level, basic-functionality low-end part of the market. On the contrary, feature phones are sophisticated devices con- taining dozens of megabytes of software. This software implements all the high-level features consumers have come to expect, such as music player, camera, image processing, MMS, push-to-talk, mobile TV, and more. This design makes feature phones very powerful in terms of reliability, performance, security and best user experience for its simplicity with lower bill-of-material (BOM). With those important advantages, managing and manipulating software components on feature phones is challenging, but crucial for enabling new services to the mass market.
Today, the method available for updating software on feature phones is to update the entire fi rmware image using Firmware Over- the-Air (FOTA) updating. But in order to enable new services there is the need to manage software components individually. This emphasizes the importance of having the right tools on the manufacturer side, so that software components can be defi ned and managed. Provided that the device software architecture has a layered component-based design, the SCOTA tools enable a degree of modularity to components stored on the handset, so that each component can be individually updated. On the device side, the sophisticated SCOTA technology needs to be able to get an update package with the smallest delta of the component version, and be able to re-write it completely to the fl ash-memory while guaranteeing 100% reliability and being fail-safe even in the case of power loss. Along with the management logic on the operator side, operators can manipulate software components on feature phones to enable new services.
b. Service Enablement on Smartphones
Smartphones are designed with “open” architectures, using commercial “open” operating systems such as Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux. They inherently support user download and installation of add-on applications in the device Read/Write File Sys- tem. Delivering new services to smartphones goes beyond just downloading software to the user storage area. Core software ap- plication and middleware on the handset are make up hundreds of megabytes of code, and are stored in the Read-Only memory area for performance and security reasons. These need to be manipulated and managed to enable new services.
As the software stack on smartphones become bigger, the size of each component also becomes bigger, hence a delta creation technology is needed to deliver only a delta between the existing and the target version to the component. The dependencies between individual components in the diff erent level of the handset software stack are crucial to consider and manage. Enabling new services requires delivering new software to the handset and guaranteeing that all other components it depends on or that depends on it are considered. This will ensure reliability of the new service application with the best user experience.
9 The operator must be able to manage and deliver new and updated applications, as well as drivers, codecs and other service enablers. There is a need for comprehensive software management approach that covers the entire range of software on smart- phone devices, from Java, through add-on applications and down to the core built-in software components and middleware. Software components over-the-air (SCOTA) technology enables such a comprehensive MSM approach, satisfying the critical requirements of service delivery in order to introduce new and compelling services OTA.
Operators that embrace SCOTA should promote the evolution of Mobile Software Management by introducing SCOTA require- ments to their suppliers, OEMs and ISVs. Leading operators are beginning to evaluate the technology by building SCOTA proto- types, conducting pilots while examining critical use-cases and integrating MSM into their back-end infrastructures.
6. Conclusion
With the importance of introducing new and innovative data services, the need to bring these onto consumer handsets in a timely manner is fundamental. New solutions for managing Software Components Over-the-Air (SCOTA) meet this crucial need. Software can be delivered OTA, across-multiple platforms, for feature phones and smartphones, to enable new revenue-gener- ating services. SCOTA technology and related products must handle the entire software stack on the handset, and specifi cally embedded software stored in read-only memory. Managing software on mobile handsets requires managing the dependencies among the diff erent components in any level of granularity.
Mobile Software Management (MSM) is about managing the software throughout its entire lifecycle. MSM starts at the point when and where the software is created, with the ability to defi ne the components and their associate metadata using the right tools. It continues with the MSM logic introduced in the service delivery framework, with the ability to manage the software dy- namically and OTA. MSM also includes the SCOTA technology on the handset with the ability to manipulate the software on any platform in all levels of the software stack with 100% reliability.
The MSM market is evolving rapidly. Operators and service providers need to consider their MSM plans, and introduce clear requirements to handset manufacturers and software providers. Operators and service providers also need to more aggressively trial and pilot MSM, and lead the continuing evolution of MSM as it becomes an important service enabler.
7. About Red Bend Software
Red Bend Software helps mobile phone manufacturers and network operators to accelerate the adoption of new ser- vices and features, respond rapidly to customer needs and reduce support costs through mobile software management solutions. LG Electronics, Motorola, NEC, Sharp, Sony Ericsson and other large handset manufacturers use Red Bend’s fi rmware over-the-air (FOTA) mobile client software to quickly and reliably deliver compact fi rmware updates to hundreds of millions of mobile phones in the hands of consumers. Founded in 1999, Red Bend Software is a privately held, venture capital-fi nanced company with offi ces in China, Israel, Japan, Korea, the U.K and the U.S. More information is available at www.redbend.com.
10 8. Acronyms
OTA Over-The-Air
MSM Mobile Software Management
SCOTA Software Components Over-The-Air
FOTA Firmware Over-The-Air vRM (Red Bend) vRapid Mobile™
BOM Bill Of Materials
OSS Operational Support Systems
BSS Business Support Systems
ARPU Average Revenue per User
POS Point Of Sale
SW Software
R/W FS Read-Write File-System
R/O FS Read-Only File-System
400-1 Totten Pond Road, Suite 130 +1 781-890-2090 www.redbend.com Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 +1 781-890-5251 fax