Cellular network operator Vodacom today launched the Vodacom Developer Zone, an Internet-based SMS and MMS (multimedia message service) application development platform, providing an environment for developers, entrepreneurs and businesses.
Powered by mobile messaging developer Clickatell, www.vodazone.co.za will enable developers of mobile applications to use the site to register, connect, test and deploy their SMS application or service in real-time.
The site also aims to provide the creators of mobile applications with an environment to cater for all their development needs by offering easy access to documentation, information, software and support.
"The launch of the Vodacom Developer Zone means that we are now able to offer developers the opportunity to interface with Vodacom through a simplified process, allowing immediate SMS integration," says Mthobi Tyamzashe, Vodacom`s group executive of corporate affairs.
He says having a Web-contained environment will stimulate growth in the local developer community. Access to mobile data services such as alerts, mobile marketing, mobile content and premium-rated messaging has already benefited society and will continue to add value as users will be able to transact more, using mobile phones, he says.
The new site includes an IP-based interface that allows real-time connectivity to Vodacom`s Short Message Service Centre and Multimedia Messaging Service Centre infrastructure, allowing for real-time product testing, in a controlled and managed environment. Vodacom says the site will benefit from management by Clickatell, which has 4 500 existing active developers.
"Clickatell has always believed that mobile messaging enablement is the key to the development and adoption of mobile data services, and it is important to enable application service providers, schools, universities, developer communities and businesses with an intelligent front-end to local mobile operators," says Pieter de Villiers, Clickatell CEO.
De Villiers says he has always maintained a strong belief that the next "killer" application is most likely to come from one of several thousand imaginative developers "out there", or rather a suite of applications aimed at specific communities to provide a decent value proposition.
"With the launch of the Vodacom Development Zone, that imaginative developer who changes our lives for the better might be South African," he says.
The Vodacom Developer Zone will also allow Vodacom to select the "best of class" solutions for inclusion in a third-party application showcase, from where partnership, distribution and commercialisation deals may be forged.
Share
