The Language of the DeviceThe Language of the Device 10/07/2012 8:00 PM Eastern
For many, the ability to connect is an occurrence that happens without substantial effort — and that is just the way it should be. But in a world where people have many connected devices, technology choices can disrupt a simple connection.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, if I wanted to communicate with someone that wasn’t in the room with me, I had two technology choices — mail a letter or make a phone call.
Fast-forward to today and I can still use standard mail or phone calls, but add texting, chatting, video calling, email and Twitter posts, and things start to get a bit more complex. I have choices and preferences, and the person I’m communicating with has choices and preferences leading to a complexity we count on our device and communications service providers to manage for us. When they don’t, it creates interference — friction in the connection.
Picture the cycle of a daily connection: You have a message you’d like to send: the message must pass through a channel before it can be delivered to a recipient on the other end.
The channel is the medium by which every message must travel. In today’s connected world, the number of mediums by which to send a message continues to expand: fixed line, mobile phone, desktop, laptop, tablet, etc. Each encompasses an underlying operating system: Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry RIM or Windows, just to name a few. Each medium enables applications that support communications from text to video and everything in between. Dependent on the medium, the message can take many forms. To ensure an experience free of interference, there must be frictionless transfer across media — so that every message sent is received as intended. Frictionless connectivity is what CSPs aim to achieve to create the most enriching communication experience.
Frictionless connectivity comes from understanding the “language of the device” — which requires a certain degree of knowledge shared between service provider and consumer. Basic information, such as device type, provides information as to which operating system will be at play. This information helps CSPs discern whether the mobile device is Android-, Apple iOS-or RIM-supported. With the appropriate medium identified prior to execution, CSPs work to transfer each message in the best way possible — making sure your messages cross the proper channel.
Gary Zimmerman is director of solution marketing at Neustar.