Page 11 - Helixion-swisscom-tapit-case-study
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Tapit to Market: Rollout and Beyond
It is easy when specifying a new product to include
everything and anything in the first release. The problem
with this approach, especially for emerging technologies
like mobile payments, is that it adds complication.
When a technology is in its infancy, Helixion believes that it is a far better approach to follow
Swisscom’s example and have a controlled (but still full) set of initial features. Far better to
release something that is a truly exceptional product and works well, than one that is overly
ambitious and fails. By learning from the initial developments, adding features then becomes
a much more straightforward proposition.
Following Swisscom’s planned, commercial launch towards the end of 2013, the range of
supported handsets will grow quickly from the initial Android handsets - with Blackberry 10,
Windows Phone 8 and iPhone all in the pipeline. The number of products being made
available through Tapit will be increased with new payment and non-payment services.
Commercial launch is clearly only the start of the journey for Tapit. If successful, it will have a
long life so the on-going challenge is ensuring that it continues to be a success. The solution
will always require the following elements to allow it to grow and scale:
• A consistent user experience regardless of the handset and, to some extent, the service.
• Seamless and secure operation on current and future devices.
• The ability to easily incorporate new (and as yet unthought-of) services.
When considering the future and potential issues, one example is the problem of supporting
all handsets in a consistent and reliable manner. If you think about the number of phones in
your local mobile phone shop, and if only half of them support NFC payments, that’s still a lot
A Helixion Case Study 11
It is easy when specifying a new product to include
everything and anything in the first release. The problem
with this approach, especially for emerging technologies
like mobile payments, is that it adds complication.
When a technology is in its infancy, Helixion believes that it is a far better approach to follow
Swisscom’s example and have a controlled (but still full) set of initial features. Far better to
release something that is a truly exceptional product and works well, than one that is overly
ambitious and fails. By learning from the initial developments, adding features then becomes
a much more straightforward proposition.
Following Swisscom’s planned, commercial launch towards the end of 2013, the range of
supported handsets will grow quickly from the initial Android handsets - with Blackberry 10,
Windows Phone 8 and iPhone all in the pipeline. The number of products being made
available through Tapit will be increased with new payment and non-payment services.
Commercial launch is clearly only the start of the journey for Tapit. If successful, it will have a
long life so the on-going challenge is ensuring that it continues to be a success. The solution
will always require the following elements to allow it to grow and scale:
• A consistent user experience regardless of the handset and, to some extent, the service.
• Seamless and secure operation on current and future devices.
• The ability to easily incorporate new (and as yet unthought-of) services.
When considering the future and potential issues, one example is the problem of supporting
all handsets in a consistent and reliable manner. If you think about the number of phones in
your local mobile phone shop, and if only half of them support NFC payments, that’s still a lot
A Helixion Case Study 11
