#2 - Listening Platforms

For this week, I would like to discuss a new technology category that is changing the way businesses manage and monitor their market and brands.  The technology category is called “listening platforms” or also “customer analytics.”  With the explosion of blogs, forums, and other internet feedback technologies, companies and marketers now have a wealth of data with which to assess their market and brand strategies.  This however also presents a problem; there is too much data.  Because of the semantics and idioms of human language, initial listening platforms proved inadequate and incapable of deriving true meanings in large data sets of customer feedback.  However, over the past decade, refinements have been made to listening platforms through expansion and innovations in computational linguistics.  The end result has been a suite of products that today are widely used by major companies and marketing firms in the e-commerce marketplace.  

As of today, the major trend has been the consolidation of smaller listening platforms into larger business intelligence products. Such an example was the acquisition of Talkback by SaaS and other similar acquisitions by Oracle, IBM, and other large BI companies to expand their service offerings.  The market though is still young given the vast number of smaller listening platform products that are still in existence and heavily used.  A good list of popular listening products can be found here.  

At the root of it all, listening platform products scan customer feedback and postings on websites, social media sites (twitter, Facebook, etc.), and user communities were products are discussed.  With the current advancements in linguistical intelligence and social media networks, the sky’s the limit for listening platforms, which will certainly change with future acquisitions looming. 

#1 - LightRadios

We all know what cell towers look like. They're usually 100 feet tall (unless they're on top of buildings) and stick out easily in any environment. But what if a cell tower could fit in the palm of your hand? A company called Alcatel-Lucent has created such a thing and they believe it can change the world of telecommunications (at least make coverage better and cost cheaper). The company has not only managed to reduce the size of cellular antennas, but they've also been able to consolidate multigenerational networks into one single antenna (2G, 3G, and 4G). This technology has created quite a buzz within the telecommunications industry and Sprint is already testing the cubes within their own network.

Now the analysis. "LightRadio" as the product is called has its advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious advantage is its size. Unlike cell towers which require lots of energy and a small dedicated power supply to operate, the LightRadio cube runs on only 1.5 watts (yes I did say 1.5 watts).  This allows them to be easily installed on lampposts, bus station coverings, and other locations previously impossible for traditional cell site technology.  In addition, the cubes can be monitored remotely and even directed to provide directional signaling to address local congestion. This makes their maintenance cost cheaper while also improving network coverage. Remember, current cellular towers broadcast in all directions, so most signals do not reach users; wasted energy equals higher costs.

The disadvantages of the product center on its limitations.  For one, a cube only has a coverage distance of 2.5 city blocks. That means that cell towers will still be used, but their numbers can be reduced to instances where long distance transmission and coverage is required.  The second disadvantage is that LightRadios must still be physically wired to cellular base stations. This can create a nightmare of wires for network engineers, but Alcatel-Lucent is currently working on integrating base station components (smaller of course) into a LightRadio cube by 2014.

All in all, the advantages of a product like LightRadio are welcomed within the telecommunications industry as a simpler and cheaper solution to address the explosion of data needs on their networks.  Sprint's immediate interest and announcement of testing just one month after product release shows that the industry is looking for smaller and cheaper ways to expand their existing networks.  Who knows, maybe you'll see a LightRadio on your way to work tomorrow? 

Hello there!

As part of my Emergining Technology course at George Washington University, I will be blogging about ten new emergining technologies throughout the semester. Each posting will focus on a different technology or innovation and it's impact to the technology industry and users as a whole. I hope you enjoy the topics and opinions shared within this blog. Comments are always welcome, so please post away.