Mobile Monday Singapore (or MoMoS as it is sometimes fondly called) has turned 1 year old and is showing no signs of losing any steam. Chris Chandler, one of the co-founders of MoMoS notes that it is truly a community of mobile professionals and that he and the other founders are very proud of the fact that they have reached people from every aspect of the industry, something which has been achieved much more easily than they thought it would be.

The Internet is a huge draw to both manufacturers and distributors and it is easy to understand why – its convenience, ease-of-use and time-saving nature makes it a perfect medium to capture the interest of consumers. However, while the Internet does carry the promise of new customers for distributors and manufacturers, many are slowly awakening to the fact that they have been viewing the promise of selling direct via the Internet, through rose tinted glasses.

A Forrester survey has revealed that 66% of distributors and manufacturers surveyed cite channel conflict as the major obstacle to selling online. Moreover, many of them have also discovered the additional costs of inventory management and logistics that selling direct incurs, which often eats into profit margins that once looked so large.

Personalization. Is it a mere buzz word or does it mean a fundamental shift in the way consumers choose and purchase content?

The answer? Yes and no. Yes, personalization indicates a massive paradigm shift towards consumer control. However, it is useful to examine the true meaning of personalization.

The Asia Pacific videoconferencing endpoints market was worth $208.8 million in 2005, declining around 4.2 percent year-on-year. According to Frost & Sullivan, reductions in end user pricing have affected the overall state of the market. As a result, almost every major vendor in the industry has faced a revenue decline. Yet, while this has impacted vendor and channel margins, pricing falls have also helped stimulate renewed interest in videoconferencing as a cost-effective business tool. Frost & Sullivan urges that with the evolving level of competition, vendors need to work closely alongside channel partners for the right go-to-market strategy to target the different tiers of customers.

They also need a good understanding of each local competitive landscape and have the right mix of channels to target the different opportunities around software-based codes, high-definition and customer-facing services. Internet protocol networking expertise, for example, will become more critical, as will strategic partnerships with other major enterprise solution vendors.