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  • Writer's pictureSlashData Team

Mapping the mobile ecosystem: top-20 most connected companies

Back in March we released the 3rd edition of the Mobile Industry Atlas, the definitive who’s who of the mobile industry. Since its humble beginnings in 2008, the Atlas has grown to more than 1,100 companies across 69 industry sectors; including all key companies, from 20:20mobile to ZTE, and market sectors, from Active Idle Screen solutions to Service Delivery Platforms.

To distill market noise into market sense, we have broken down the entire mobile ecosystem into four main categories:the core value chain, the suppliers to network operators, the suppliers to handset manufacturers and finally the services that run on top.

Top-20 most connected companies in mobile We run some stats on our Atlas database and came up with an interesting analysis on the most ‘connected’ companies in mobile, i.e. the companies who have fingers (products) in most pies (market sectors).

At the top of the list are Nokia, Google, Microsoft and Qualcomm, which represent heavyweights from manufacturing, services, software and IP backgrounds respectively. Nokia appears in 17 market sectors including, the OS and Browser sectors, Developer Tools, Mobile Search, Barcode Services and Connected Addressbook sectors, to name a few.

It’s also instructive to analyse which market sectors are most frequently encountered within these top-20 companies: it’s operating systems, browsers, application stores, as well as content management & delivery infrastructure. These sectors are either building blocks as part of a more integrated offering (as in the case of operating systems or browsers), or high growth opportunities (as in the case of app stores).

How does this help me? The main function of the Atlas is to provide a clear view of the key players operating in each sector of the mobile ecosystem. For example, the Handset Manufacturer Supply Chain can give you an idea of the leading companies operating in this part of the ecosystem, from chipset manufacturers and RF component manufacturers all the way to operating systems and browsers. It’s all in there, from the much-hyped Android platform to the more obscure plastics manufacturers and vendors of input technologies. Most of the Atlas is being a paywall, but you can see a sample here.

Under-the-radar sectors We ‘ve showcased several under-the-radar sectors into the Atlas, including Application Analytics, Campaign Analytics and Service Analytics. These three sectors comprise the leading providers of usage and marketing analytics tools to developers and mobile web (or WAP) sites, as well as platforms for mining network or service data to extract service intelligence. Naturally, you ‘ll also find your typical hyped sectors like Mobile Ad Networks & Mediation Engines, as well as Mobile Advertising Platforms and Agencies. The Connected Addressbook sector is yet another category that has attracted a lot of media attention and is part of our Atlas.

The complete list of market sectors in the Atlas is below, broken down into the four main categories:Network operator supply chainHandset manufacturer supply chain– Billing platforms – Call completion, voice messaging & voicemail – Content Management & Delivery – Content retailing and billing mediation – Core network and radio infrastructure – Customer support services – Deep Packet Inspection – Mobile media publishing platforms – MVNEs – OSS / BSS – Service Analytics – Service delivery platforms & Network APIs – SMS/MMS gateways & aggregators – Traffic & content optimisation– Application environments – Audio middleware – Baseband and application processors – Browsers – Camera technology and subsystems – Imaging and video middleware – Input technology – Multimedia chipsets – Non-cellular connectivity components – Operating systems – Plastics & mechanics – RF components – Silicon – UI frameworksCore value chainContent and services– Industrial design – User interface design – Reference hardware designs – System integrators – ODMs and contract manufacturers – Handset OEMs – Luxury handset OEMs – Mobile network operators – MVNOs – SIM card OEMs – SIM application vendors & services – Distributors – Retailers– Active Idle Screen solutions – Application Analytics – Barcode Services – Campaign Analytics – Connected Address book – Content backup & synchronisation – Developer tools – Device capabilities databases – E-mail synchronization – Enterprise mobility – Games publishers – IVR Platforms – Mobile Ad Networks & Mediation Engines – Mobile Advertising Platforms & Agencies – Mobile banking and payments – Mobile content publishers – Mobile Device Management – Mobile instant messaging and chat – Mobile search – Mobile social networking – Mobile VoIP – Navigation, Mapping and Location platforms – On-Device Portal solutions – Recommendation services – Security solutions – Software integration services – White-label Application Stores – Widget Platforms

The Mobile Industry Atlas is available in A1+ wallchart format or PDF, for carrying around in your iPad or sharing with colleagues. What do you think of the Atlas and what would you like to see next?

– Matos

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