Hewlett-Packard has announced a new business, the Services Marketplace, aimed at helping telecommunications operators adopt new, innovative services for their users.
The company already has 200 services registered with its marketplace and can help any mobile network operator offer them to users.
It works by HP consulting with an operator at first, gaining a profile of the services they already offer and suggesting new ones that might fit their users' needs. HP can then help an operator deploy the service, including troubleshooting to ensure the service runs smoothly on the operator's network, and providing the necessary software and hardware, such as servers.
"We can even find cost efficient ways to test new services. HP can run and host a service for the operator to reduce risk, and if the service is accepted, then HP can help deploy it," says Peter Svanberg, director of the mobile solutions network and service provider business at HP.
The idea is to enable mobile network operators to deploy new services in a speedy fashion, and get fun, new services to users so they can try them out. Svanberg says HP seeks ideas from all over the world, enabling small companies with innovative service ideas to reach new markets quickly, as well as moving services across cultures.