startupi

Besides making games and entertainment, and besides addressing the needs of end users and advertisers, developers of apps for cell phones can explore other business strategies.

One method is to sell applications to businesses and then provide them in a free version to end users. In some cases there is no interest in the number of downloads and installs, just a focus on the end user experience being the best possible one.

One example is the set of apps for iPhone and BlackBerry from MTM Tecnologia Mobile Solutions, a Brazilian startup that has an operational team in Salvador and business offices in São Paulo, the USA, Canada and France.

They have a history of innovative and pioneering initiatives; a recent example is the application for the Albert Einstein Hospital which confirms that applications aren’t always just about fun and advertising, but can be much more important.

How to position a business that produces cell phone apps

Any type of solution can have a mobile version (for cell phones and other devices). The APIs are very versatile, simply creating a bridge for integration. MTM has eight people on their team, with a constant demand for interfaces; some may call them pros now. To better understand this market and the work of MTM, I spoke to CEO Gustavo Perez (owner of the quotations below):

“We started out in the chemistry sector, then did medical; now we are looking at logistics, retail in general.  Our test market is abroad, where there is greater acceptance. We never wanted to become a software factory. You don’t earn much, and we don’t want to compete with India and China. We have more than 100 clinics using our solutions. We do a lot of business through partners, about 30% of the total.”

“We had some contributions from Fapesb. A grant for $350,000 recently. Otherwise we’ve received angel investment funds, or used our own money. We are capitalizing first before asking for funds or negotiating.”

“In the case of Albert Einstein [Hospital],” says Gustavo, “we closed the deal directly with them. We did a version and licensed it for use - both on the BlackBerry (downloaded from the hospital network) and on the iPhone (downloadable from the Apple store, but it requires the physician to register the device before you can receive a login).”

With one click, physicians download the application, which provides access to medical information for patients and a CRM system for internal contacts.

The market is good, but not easy.

“In this business no one has a well-defined idea of what mobile apps can do for the company. When we show them prototypes, then they begin to understand the possibilities. For this one there were several doctors who came to believe mobile apps were a critical service for their activities. For example, access to x-rays is the third most-used function. Doctors can improve the level of their quality of care.”

“The diversity of platforms makes it a difficult market. Even if you want to do something generic, for it to be a quality app you have to consider specifics. I’ve worked with all platforms, and I think BlackBerry and iPhone are very robust.

See an explanatory video on the BlackBerry Platform and one of the systems developed by MTM:

Follow MTM Tecnologia on Twitter.