Towards a business model for cellular network and telecommunication operators: a theoretical framework

Cellular networks and telecommunications bring major change to the way businesses are conducted. Mobility has become one of the main priorities for users and this has impacted on cellular networks and telecommunication operators (CNTOs). However, entrants into the cellular industry have been confounded primarily by inexistent or weak Business Models (BMs). Designing a BM for a CNTO is complex and requires multiple actors to balance different and often conflicting design requirements. Nevertheless, most research about CNTOs has been technically oriented and has mainly addressed the technological and engineering issues related to their infrastructure. Less attention has been given to the business model of CNTOs. Hence, there is a need to enhance our ability to determine what constitutes the optimal and most viable business model to meet the various strategic objectives and goals for these CNTOs. In this paper an overview of research into the cellular business model and the main issues to be resolved is provided. In particular, the authors propose guidelines as a basis on which to develop a more comprehensive definition which may lead to a consensus. Moreover, a generic model (V4 Model) is proposed for the BM of these companies based on value proposition, value architecture, value network and value finance

Towards Developing Grid-based Portals for E-Commerce on-Demand Services on a Utility Computing Platform

Trends and current practices in the design and development of grid-enabled portals(GeP) reveal the need to identify and fulfill certain additional relevant requirements in order to build applicable and usable grid-enabled portals for evolving computing platforms such as the utility computing (UC). This paper reports an investigation of the minimum relevant additional requirements that must be fulfilled to attain effective GeP design for UC. A GeP prototype for the Grid-based Utility Infrastructure for Small, Micro, and Medium Enterprises (SMME) Enabling Technology (GUISET) initiative – a UC platform was developed, and an analytic evaluation experiment undertaken in the study to elicit these additional requirements using a set of benchmark requirements (standards) revealed that it fulfilled the minimum requirements to be suitable for UC context. The result of the study underlines the need for more controlled experiments in portal prototyping in order to foster the practice of GeP design for UC

Kiosks 21: a new role for information kiosks?

Discusses and analyses the latest generation of information kiosks, Kiosks 21, which features information provision/promotion, interaction, transaction and relationships. In contrast to their task based predecessors, these kiosks focus on customer service delivery to ‘customers in context’. Five case studies of such kiosks located respectively in an airport, railway station, car rental base, hotel lobby, and shopping mall are analysed to demonstrate the way in which the kiosks are implemented to meet the differing requirements of customers in different contexts. Case studies are analysed in terms of kiosk design and location, user profile, information architecture, interface design, communication, and commerce. A range of areas for research and development are proposed.</p

ERP implementation for an administrative agency as a corporative frontend and an e-commerce smartphone app

This document contains all the descriptions, arguments and demonstrations of the researches, analysis, reasoning, designs and tasks performed to achieve the requirement to technologically evolve an managing agency in a way that, through a solution that requires a reduced investment, makes possible to arrange a business management tool with e-commerce and also a mobile application that allows access and consultation of mentioned tool. The first part of the document describes the scenario in order to contextualize the project and introduces ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning). In the second part, a deep research of ERP market products is carried out, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each one of the products in order to finish with the choice of the most suitable product for the scenario proposed in the project. A third part of the document describes the installation process of the selected product carried out based on the use of Dockers, as well as the configurations and customizations that they make on the selected ERP. A description of the installation and configuration of additional modules is also made, necessary to achieve the agreed scope of the project. In a fourth part of the thesis, the process of creating an iOS and Android App that connects to the selected ERP database is described. The process begins with the design of the App. Once designed, it is explained the process of study and documentation of technologies to choose the technology stack that allows making an application robust and contemporary without use of licensing. After choosing the technologies to use there are explained the dependencies and needs to install runtime enviornments prior to the start of coding. Later, it describes how the code of the App has been raised and developed. The compilation and verification mechanisms are indicated in continuation. And finally, it is showed the result of the development of the App once distributed. Finally, a chapter for the conclusions analyzes the difficulties encountered during the project and the achievements, analyzing what has been learned during the development of this project

Consumer decision making in mobile-banking service selection

This paper reports on the findings of a study of 267 consumers on the first order selection criteria within a decision making model that utilizes the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate mobile banking service selection. The AHP analysis of the first order selection criteria for the full data sample identified ‘Time Saving’ as the highest ranked factor followed by ‘Control’ then ‘Any Place’ and lastly ‘Cost’. The survey also reports on consumer usage patterns for internet and mobile services as well as exploring their experiences with mobile banking services

GoGlobal: How can contemporary design collaboration and e-commerce models grow the creative industries in developing countries?

Using previous case studies by the authors and a current live project, this paper considers whether the creative industries in a developing country (Ghana, Africa) can be nurtured through design collaboration and an e-commerce model to contribute significant economic growth through increasing international trade. The paper draws on practical experience of five annual projects, with a focus on GoGlobal Africa. Initiated in 2005, GoGlobal is a collaborative design research activity between the University of Technology Sydney, the Royal College of Art, the London School of Economics, RMIT Melbourne, and other partnering organisations. GoGlobal Africa was initiated in 2008 with 3 phases: creative studio with design students from the RCA UK and KNUST Ghana; an e-commerce process for supply, distribution and marketing; and a “hub” location to facilitate project delivery and dissemination. The context to GoGlobal is informed by the UNCTAD studies of global creative industries