Kirk LaughlinBy Edileuza Soares A fast rising Brazil-based managed mobility services (MMS) provider is looking to capitalize on the lucrative BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) market and is relying partly on a global coalition of like-minded firms to help accelerate growth. Brazil-based MMS provider, Navita, expects to generate US$ 25 million in 2012, more than double the $ 17 million it reported last year.
Navita is the Latin American partner for the Global Enterprise Mobile Alliance (GEMA), a coalition of seven MMS providers managing a base of 377,800 mobile devices in 32 countries with 37 languages.GEMA posted revenue of US$ 45 million last year and is hoping to increase that to US$ 100 million in 2012.
Blackberry Roots
Founded in 2003 and based in Sao Paulo, Navita previously developed apps for the BlackBerry App World, with its most successful app being “Navita Translator” that translates phrases to short text messages in more than 50 languages. Navita Translator was initially launched in English for mobile users in the US, Europe and Canada.
Navita then expanded development to cover other mobile operating systems and today supports Android, Apple iOS, and Windows. Their work has evolved to specialize in Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Telecom Expense Management (TEM), serving customers in over 20 countries.
Besides Brazil’s Navita, GEMA also includes Berkley (United Kingdom), EMS Mobile (Middle East and Africa), GPXS (Belgium), MSC Mobility (Australia), Schiffl (Germany), and Vox Mobile (USA).
Navita’s CEO Roberto Dariva compares GEMA to the Star Alliance model adopted by the airline industry to meet the needs of international travelers.
The initiative to create GEMA, according to Dariva, began last year when the seven MMS providers found it difficult to provide services to their international clients in all markets. They realized that by joining forces, prospects would improve significantly. The main objective of the joint venture was to help global clients.
According to Dariva, GEMA will seek alliances with telcos that deliver connectivity but do not offer MDM or TEM. “In the US, some telcos offer TEM services, but do not have global operations,” says Dariva.
BYOD Pushes Business
GEMA focuses on multinational customers that need employees to have access to office data while on the go. Dariva notes that mobility is ‘invading’ companies, but most of them do not have efficient tools or processes to manage smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices.
Dariva believes BYOD strategies will only become more complex. In addition to managing the costs of telecom, GEMA will offer consultancy to control device inventory, contracts with carriers, and mobile applications to reduce spending on international roaming.
BYOD refers to companies who offer staff the chance to choose the devices they use for work – a laptop, tablet, desktop or Mac. Under this program, companies provide software to allow employees to access a virtual desktop on their own devices. Studies showed that employees are more productive when they have BYOD flexibility.
Each member of GEMA has a regional support team to serve customers and solve mobile device issues.
Navita, for its part, is responsible for servicing customers in Latin America. “We want to be a major player in the realm of TEM and MDM,” says Dariva. He expects to increase Navita’s revenue by 30 percent over the next two years.
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