Value-added services over the browser. Evidence from the case of TIM

In the current mobile and digital services sector, traditional operators - in spite of their essential role in the provision of services - result disintermediated concerning the contents offered by so called Over the top (OTT) providers, mainly through mobile apps. Indeed, final users have the native marketplaces of the dominant OS as the main points of reference to address their demand for digital services, over all those of Google and Apple. For these reasons, traditional operators result disadvantaged, if compared to OTT, in the relationship with customers for the proposition of value-added digital services. Although in many cases they can boast a portfolio of relevant digital services and a significant ecosystem of partners, they often do not have effective tools to provide an extended value proposition in a clear, immediate way and a user experience able to address the expectations of an increasingly demanding and "smart" mobile user. Taking into account these settings, this chapter analyses the innovative business model proposed by the Italian provider TIM S.p.A., in order to identify important insights offered by this innovative solution. The creation of a new “direct channel" with its customers indeed represents a great opportunity for TIM: it is based on the introduction of a “Multimedia Over Assistant”, a navigable user-friendly interface (browser) appearing on the UI of any mobile device and completely integrated with the natural use of it. This interface allows to valorize an important asset of TIM, namely its network, which although gives to the company a competitive advantage on the market, in relation to OTTs until now has been only used for the transmission of third-party services. To this purpose, TIM and Vivida web are developing a joint “Overbrowser” solution that combines Vivida's technological experience with the market experience of TIM and its needs of obtaining a highly customizable value proposition. The valorization of TIM’s network can take place in several ways. For instance, it would be possible to insert a pop-up advertising space inside the page that the customer is browsing or a location-based content sent to the customer’s device in push mode. Moreover, concerning the web security, it would be possible to offer a service of security scan of the website to help the customer not to expose his/her data or devices to risky web environments. The exploitation of this type of technology also allows the operator to obtain an indefinable amount of data that can be, in a completely anonymous form, processed and analysed in order to improve both user’s experience and business performance.