Competitive Advantages

Innovation

It might seem a truism today to say that innovation is a competitive advantage, If only because of the number of times it is mentioned in the newspapers, the concept has become something of a cliché. Nevertheless, innovation is something that a lot of people talk about but few do.

At Atinco we have the satisfaction of widespread recognition as a firm with a high capacity for innovation. Video streaming is an example of innovation made fact by Telefónica, one of the key players in the world telecommunications industry. But that is not all. Vodafone, another of the majors in the field of mobile technology, awarded Affinity a prize as one of the most innovative products. In view of this recognition, there is little need to explain that Atinco is an innovation-driven firm.

What is the competitive advantage of innovation? While our competitors are marketing businesses that license basically the same technology from third parties, at Atinco we create. We create our own products and ideas, and then we market them. Some are successful and others less so, but all of them differentiate us, positioning Atinco as a force for the market to watch rather than a me-too player. Differentiation is an outcome of innovation and leadership, providing a clear competitive advantage.

Time-to-market

In a globalized world of international markets and instant communications, time-to-market is fundamental for a product to compete successfully. Atinco has always been defined by its aggressive time-to-market. A clear example was the launch of the video streaming platform with Telefónica. Both Vodafone and Amena (Orange) had announced that they would launch video streaming by late 2003. Movistar appeared to be out of the game. In May it had not yet selected a video platform, and none of its providers (including the largest) was willing to commit to a launch integrated with a billing system before the end of 2003 with such a late start. Atinco undertook to have the platform up and running not by the end of the year but before. On September 15 Movistar was first to market with its video streaming platform. Amena had no option but to launch its own system that same afternoon. Even so, only the Movistar platform was integrated with the billing path. The Amena launch was, to put it simply, a rush job.

Other examples are Atinco’s first-to-market launch of virtual pets in Mexico, followed up by the launch of the “Club Entretiene” loyalty club in the same country months ahead of its rivals.

Quality

A short time-to-market is not the only requirement for new products. They must also be launched with the maximum quality; if not the consumer’s experience will be negative, damaging the image of the product. The extensive experience of Atinco’s partners in the creation of very robust critical software means we are able to incorporate best practice into the development process for mobile handset and platform software. This is the only way of ensuring a good user experience and customer loyalty.

Service

In a new market, users need service and support if they are to enjoy all of the benefits of Atinco’s highly innovative products and attain the highest levels of satisfaction. To this end, Atinco acts in two different fields. The first is once again technology. Atinco employs expert systems to analyze the causes of users’ problems and the technology automatically adapts to provide support. Let us imagine, for example, a user who wants to buy a product for a recently launched mobile device, but the available content is as yet unable to get the best performance from the new handset. In this case, when the user tries to access the Atinco product, a technological system identifies the device and, if it is not already listed, immediately establishes its characteristics. The product then adapts in real time and the user receives what he/she is seeking without noticing the whole background process.

The video streaming platform provides another example. When a user is watching a TV show or any other content on his/her handset, all sorts of things can happen. The user may be stationary or traveling by car, passing through areas with better or worse cover. In the first case, it is easy to provide the level of service, because the start of the broadcast can be calculated. This is more complicated in the second case, however. The Atinco platform resolves this problem by measuring flow (user cover). If the flow drops, quality is lowered so that the user does not lose the video stream, but when he/she returns to an area of better cover, the platform automatically raises it again to provide the best service to the consumer at all times and guarantee enjoyment of the purchase.

If the technology is unable to resolve service problems, Atinco operates call centers in all of the countries where it operates, allowing users to report incidents and obtain solutions. Because Atinco has a strong engineering team, unlike its competitors, it has a second level supporting the resolution of technical problems above and beyond mere product delivery. Our rivals mainly depend on third parties to provide level-2 service, because the products they market are not their own.

Synergies

Atinco generates numerous synergies from the standpoint of both the business and the countries where it operates.  Some of out content rights agreements are valid for several Latin American countries, making it unnecessary to negotiate individual contracts on a country-by-country basis. In Latin America, a shared language often ensures greater understanding between all of the parties concerned, which shortens roll-out and provides greater launch flexibility for new content and services.

At present (September 2006) few if any of our competitors have the geographical positioning of Atinco.  Opening up these markets to our business involves a major and continued effort in terms of negotiations with all operators.

Agreements are closed with all of the operators in the majority of the countries where Atinco is present.  In this way Atinco’s publications guarantee maximum effectiveness and impact, reaching any reader of the medium, whatever operator they use. Atinco only opts for agreements with a single operator in cases where it can obtain enhanced competitive advantage and where the operator is clearly dominant in the market.

Innovation, research and development with a view to marketing proprietary products and content enable Atinco to create once but sell many times over in different countries.

Thanks to the agreements reached with numerous content owners and music labels (negotiated on a worldwide basis to maximize synergies), Atinco is responsive and able to change content quickly, remaining constantly up to date with the latest content.