Why Wireless DA Is A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry

Wireless Directory Assistance (DA) is a virtual directory that offers a fast way to get directory-dependent applications online. It is a multi-billion dollar industry that has a window of opportunity to develop and offer a higher value and more flexible services to subscribers. With billion of calls to DA, approximately a third of which generated by wireless users, it has become the cash cow of telecommunications carriers. Virtual Directories Virtual directories are not unlike meta-directories. User data can be accessed from different repositories. Meta-directories copy data into a new repository that needs to be created, maintained and synchronized. Updating data can be very difficult especially when there is frequent change in source directories’ data. Business units may find the idea of creating a second repository for customer data objectionable since it will be outside of their control. Virtual directories can access the attributes requested from each directory or database on the fly. A cache is used by the software to speed performance but data doesn’t usually get to be scored locally. Virtual directory deployments cost substantially less than other alternative strategies. The virtual directory technology should be considered for any plans to customize an application. It can also help applications that are not sophisticated enough to deal with more complex directory mechanisms such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) referrals. A virtual directory can follow the reference to locate the data and return it to the application. Its potential weakness lies in the fact that it can only be as good as the directories behind it. A meta-directory having its own data source may prove to be a better choice if a directory tends to go down frequently or offers poor response. Virtual directories however, have load-balancing and fail-over features that can be configured to redirect a request to an alternative data source. In instances where a connection drops in the middle of a request, the outside directory retries another repository and returns the rest of the data. An additional repository is not created but another layer of complexity is. This is because virtual directories require applications to access information indirectly through the virtual directory server instead of going to the directory that actually holds the data. There are some apprehensions with the added layer of infrastructure because if anything happens to the web single sign-on, the critical applications are down. Virtual directories are recommended for use for applications that can access only a single directory when the user data or attributes reside in many places. It is also offered as an alternative to meta-directories when attributes in source directories change frequently. It can be used as a directory migration tool as it lets administrators migrate to a new directory architecture without updating all the applications that depend on it. These applications are presented with a view of the old directory and its schema structure. Very large repositories can be broken apart to improve writer performance and reduce downtime. Wireless Directory Assistance The industry focuses its attention on Enhanced Directory Assistance which hopes to increase value for wireless users. This is because wireless directory assistance comes in second to subscription with regards to the largest source of revenue as analysts project the total amount of access fees to continue increasing. Wireless customers are looking for more informative and user-friendly services to enable them to be more wirelessly productive and efficient. A research conducted by the Wireless Commerce Monitor Study revealed that one in three subscribers use Directory Assistance on their wireless phones. The remaining number either use online directory assistance, mapping services and the newer services including Enhanced Directory Assistance, wireless short messaging, wireless e-mail notification and wireless mapping and direction services. Barriers that have been identified with regards to qualitative work are inaccurate, incomplete or irrelevant information and low perceptions of value for money. Wireless and Internet providers compete for most of the said Directory Assistance customers. The research further revealed that more than half of wireless users are using two or more Directory Assistance solutions. This would seem to support the thinking that there is not one form of assistance service that would fit everybody in the same way that one person will not always use a single form. People tend to prefer and choose from voice and electronic solutions depending on the situation. It would be advantageous to the wireless industry to continue developing wireless as a delivery mechanism for Internet applications. There is a need for Directory Assistance providers to prove to prospective business partners that Directory Assistance services actually stimulate revenue. This is especially true with small business advertisers who want to see real value. Majority of those using Directory Assistance on their wireless phone have used it for the purpose of contacting or receiving information with regards to business. The percentage is very close to the levels of inquiry seen with online methods. Another important aspect of the study revealed that the conversion potential or the proportion of actual purchase as a direct result of the inquiry is considerably strong. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association together with the majority of the largest wireless carrier proposes to include wireless phone numbers in a data base accessible by dialing 411. Those who oppose this move say that it compromises user privacy and thus is totally unnecessary. However, backers of the directory insist that privacy remains paramount in their agenda. The group will use one unnamed aggregator to store the number in a data base and such numbers will not be published and posted on the Internet or sold. These numbers will only be available to 411 operators. Users are required to make a formal request to have their number included in the directory. All numbers with no request shall remain private. There will be no additional cost incurred, whatever the option is taken. Some have seen the benefit of having a wireless directory include all the business numbers as it can provide more company employee accessibility to clients. Protection from unsolicited wireless calls on one hand and the consumer’s right to directory assistance on the other constitute the basic differences in opinion of each side’s proponent. Wireless directory assistance will be different from tradition landline directory assistance or printed white pages type of directory. Mobile directory assistance benefits consumers in terms of location capabilities. Carriers likewise stand to benefit from this type of directory service since operators can charge for these services. The combined features of Internet type directories and location capability is a sure fire revenue generator for carriers. This just goes to show that any service that meets the needs of consumers will turn out to be quite a very lucrative business.

The Latest Patent Applications: Kernel Of Technological Advancement

The value of freedom in a country is priceless. If one country has freedom of speech and thought then they are sure to have a bright future ahead of them. How so? If a society has freedom of thought then they are free to explore their interests or whatever else that may pique their curiosity, which could eventually lead them to great knowledge and amazing discoveries. Take the United States for example. America has surpasses all the other countries of the world not only economically but technologically as well. Although it is true that most technological inventions and other scientific discoveries did not really originated from the Americans themselves but rather are attributed to citizens of other countries. However, it is undeniable that these technological inventions are enhanced and further developed in America. Thanks to America’s innovative patent system these technological inventions are put to better use. Just what is a patent you asked? The term “patent” is generally defined as a set of exclusive rights granted by the government to a person for a certain period of time (usually for 20 years) in return for the regulated, public disclosure of some information about their invention. It was Thomas Jefferson who initiated the first national patent system in the United States of America during the year 1790. From then on, this exclusive right has been protecting the inventor’s interest by preventing other people from copying, using or selling the already claimed invention. So how exactly are these patents significant in technological advancement? According to the World Intellectual Property Organization or WIPO about 90% to 95% of all the world’s inventions can be found in patented documents. However, these technological inventions comprise only a small percentage of all the patents that are applied for and granted. Therefore it is safe to assume that the latest patent applications are the kernel of technological advancement. Take a look closer at the Internet. This technology has undergone numerous changes from the time that the concept of the World Wide Web was first introduced a few decades back. In an attempt to put Internet into better use, various inventors who aim to further develop and enhance the existing models filed numerous patent applications that are related to this technology. One of the latest patent applications is called system and method for scoping searches using index keys. The invention involves a set of index keys, which is to be included in an index search system that are related with the scope of the search instead of the content of the documents, which are the target of the search. These so-called “scope keys” enables the scope of the search to be customized, thus reducing the number of documents that a search supposed to sort through in order to acquire the results. Another latest patent application that is related to technological advancement in the Internet is the “system and method for performing a search and a browse on a query”. Now, in this invention a search and a browse on a single user query is executed. Then a refined query is chosen from the results of the first user query. After that, a list of concepts from a first directory that are related with the refined query is acquired. Here, the “concepts” are categorized in a hierarchical relationship. Concepts with broader scope are obtains a higher position. Meanwhile, the concepts with narrower scope get a lower position in the hierarchy. In addition, a list of web sites that related with the search concept is also acquired from a second directory. The forming intent-based clusters and employing same by search, is also a patent application that is related in further enhancing the Internet. This patent application is associated to a system and method that will be use for identifying and forming intent-based clusters based on search requests that were sent by the users to the search engines, as well as to the search engine utilizing the formed intent-based clusters to answer the search requests made by the users. To be more precise, the invention is associated to recognizing and utilizing intent-based clusters so that a search made by a user with similar intent may receive a respond more quickly and efficiently. Most importantly, with search results that more directed to the search of the user. All three patent applications are dedicated in making the Internet searching process less complicated and not to mention, much more efficient in terms of coming up with results. Today, patents are considered as the leading source of technological information that is vital in technological advancement. Thanks to the innovative Information Technology industry, particularly to the Internet, the general public can now easily access these constructive documents. Just about anyone who is familiar with the Internet can browse through different patent databases available and obtain the specific patent document that they needed. There are various patent databases that are accessible by the public, USPTO, EPO, JPO, to name just a few. For instance, if you are looking for patents that are related to a certain technological area you will find countless information regarding the entire process of technological innovation, such as the evolutionary path of a specific technology, it’s technological development, technological diversification, technology merges, as well as the major players in specific technological area, and the key points of the specific technology. The secret behind each major technological advancement and inventions are thousands of patents that were applied, filed and then put it into practical use. Fortunately for us the public are well aware of the significance of patent application in developing tomorrow’s technology. The number of patent applications is growing at an enormously fast rate. Inventors not only from America but from other countries as well, are diligently working on their inventions as well as on patenting their ideas -- a clear indication that our nation’s future is indeed in good hands. For as long as the American government continues to nurture innovation, then they will remain as global leaders both in economy as well as technology.