Evernote and Deutsche Telekom, which co-owns EE in the UK, have announced a partnership to monetise content on the telcos networks. In the first initiative the content publisher will provide one-year Evernote Premium accounts to all Deutsche Telekom customers in Germany.
The move is the latest in a series of deals that sees fixed and mobile operators publishing content in a bid to generate extra revenue from their infrastructure.
Evernote Premium normally costs €40 (£34) per year but all Deutsche Telekom subscribers will have it bundled into their fixed line, broadband or mobile services for the next 18 months. The content management system – which enables users to take notes, clip webpages, snap articles and record audio on mobile phones – works faster on its premium accounts, giving users a quicker upload and better sharing options. Evernote already has 50 million users worldwide with 1.3 million based in Germany.
Over the top (OTT) content, or services that run over another service, shows that telcos are desperate to pan gold from the masses of content that passes through their dumb pipes, according to analyst Clive Longbottom at Quocirca.
Lyn Cantor, CEO of Tektronix Communications, and Doug Suriano, CTO of Tekelec, both point out that this shows the way the channel can cash in on OTT services.
“Operators need to leverage their data assets. Doing nothing is not an option. Smarter subscribers want OTT services,” said Cantor.
Resellers have the data knowledge to help them grasp the opportunity, he argued: “The OTT opportunity shows how they can wrest the initiative from OTT players and monetise the services they have.”
Doug Suriano, CTO of Tekelec, said resellers must not hesitate to get involved as telcos are “chomping at the bit”.
Deutsche Telekom’s business development and venturing vice president Heikki Makijarvi was cock-a-hoop with the coup. “Our goal is to offer innovative and unique services with the easiest access possible. The co-operation with Evernote is an excellent example of two companies combining their strengths for the benefit of our customers, ” he said.
Evernote and Deutsche Telekom are also anticipating joining forces for the Berlin Hackathon on April 5-7 and will challenge developers to create new prototype APIs for Evernote and the telecom’s Developer Garden application designer ecosystem.
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