Detroit 2.0???

There has been a lot of talk since TM Forum’s MW-Nice 2009 about the telco two-sided business model, or “Telco 2.0.”  While there certainly are a lot of people thinking about what a sustainable business model looks like for the communications industry; it appears as if the Ford Motor Company is rolling out its own two-sided business model.

It is widely expected that Ford will announce at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show that it is opening the source code for Synch so that developers can create Apps to be used in Ford vehicles.  The Synch technology platform, which was developed in partnership with Microsoft, currently provides drivers of Ford vehicles with GPS and other basic entertainment options.

Nevertheless by creating 3^rd party apps, Ford is hoping that owners will continue to spend money upgrading the technology in their vehicles.  This could provide a second stream of ongoing revenue that would enhance the long-term profitability of small cars.  Ford will also likely be able to gain some revenue from application developers and/or independent App Stores through licensing agreements.

Will App Stores save Detroit?  No…producing visionary cars that consumers want to buy is a bigger key to Detroit’s success.  But as an industry that was near death 12-months ago can clearly attest to, it would behoove the communications industry to look at new business models BEFORE government intervention & bankruptcy.