Alcatel-Lucent Opens Developer Sandbox in the Sky

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA, February 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) today extended its push to transform the network into a powerful platform for the delivery of applications by announcing a new cloud-based developer platform and a game-changing business model that flips the traditional API (application programming interface) aggregation approach on its head. The new elements mark a critical next step in the company's application enablement vision - combining the trusted capabilities of service providers with the speed and innovation of the Web to provide both consumers and business users with richer experiences.

Alcatel-Lucent's developer platform provides service providers and enterprises with tools that enable partners and third-party developers to build, test, manage and distribute applications across networks, including television, broadband Internet and mobile. Alcatel-Lucent is the first to supply such a comprehensive cloud-based platform to open network-based services for service providers, MSOs and enterprises which are looking for ways to help 14+ million developers around the globe more easily adopt their APIs. It allows service providers to securely expose their unique network APIs to more developers than ever before. As a result, service providers and developers can jointly facilitate the creation and delivery of thousands of new, compelling applications. By speeding services innovation to service provider customers, more applications will be tailored to vertical markets and ultimately drive more revenue across the value chain.

The platform builds on the Alcatel-Lucent Application Exposure Suite (http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0v M0Y_QjzKLd4x3tXDUL8h2VAQAURh_Yw!!?LMSG_CABINET=Docs_and_Resource_Ctr&LMSG_CON TENT_FILE=News_Releases_2009/News_Article_001884.xml) announced in December, by including a set of developer tools, a virtual sandbox and application distribution to address the entire developer lifecycle and support service providers and enterprises with an end-to-end API and application solution.

Alcatel-Lucent's API aggregation and bundling model introduces a bold new approach that enables application revenue sharing to benefit developers, service providers and enterprises alike. The model bundles a collection of two or more APIs/Web services that developers can use to create a new application. The approach gives developers access to new smart API bundles without requiring burdensome upfront API fees that until now have been a major pain point for developers. By incenting application creation and mobilizing the value chain in this way, network providers can attract new developers leveraging their network assets. Developers can build audiences for their applications, and enterprises can gain solutions to their business challenges. The bundles are the next iteration of the Open API Service (http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0 vM0Y_QjzKLd4x3tXDUL8h2VAQAURh_Yw!!?LMSG_CABINET=Docs_and_Resource_Ctr&LMSG_C ONTENT_FILE=News_Releases_2009/News_Article_001884.xml) the company announced in December 2009.

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To support the adoption of the API bundle model, Alcatel-Lucent also unveiled two new developer tools - a virtual sandbox and a dashboard. The Virtual Sandbox provides developers with a comprehensive environment in which they can simulate, test and verify new applications across service provider networks for delivery across a wide range of platforms. Developed through Alcatel-Lucent's extensive engagement with customers worldwide, the Virtual Sandbox helps provide a scalable and comprehensive testing ground to accelerate development, distribution and deployment of new services.

The Dashboard offers developers real-time business analysis of application activity, API statistics, costs and the revenue potential of applications. Using the dashboard, developers can explore the various business model options associated with a given service and make an educated determination about its relative value and revenue potential before committing significant time or expense to creating the application. It also can be used to track the success metrics of an application over time.

"We're in this to help everyone in the application ecosystem make money," said Johnson Agogbua, head of Application Enablement solutions for Alcatel-Lucent. "The research we've done with more than 1,000 developers shows that the bundled approach to aggregation could drive up an API's value by 200-300 percent versus its value on its own. It also shows that developers want to participate in API revenue sharing and have access to service provider analytics."

"Developers would love to have access to the key functionality of a service provider's network through easy to use web-centric APIs, as well as business modeling tools," said Tobias Kemper, vice president of Nimbuzz Inc., USA, a mobile VoIP operator & social network aggregator. "Alcatel-Lucent's developer program and platform delivers this by providing an extensive test environment and analysis tools to take some of the guess-work out of the planning process and enables developers to do what they do best - leverage functionality from various sources (handsets, network, the Web) and mash them up with their own unique innovations to create powerful new applications for the next generation of mobile web users."

Alcatel-Lucent will showcase these initiatives at the Mobile World Congress Tradeshow and Exhibition, (February 15 - 18, 2010 Barcelona, Spain) in the "Application Planet" Hall 7, booth #7D61.

About Alcatel-Lucent's Application Enablement strategy

Application enablement is an industry vision and network approach that combines the trusted capabilities of network operators and the speed and innovation of the web to provide end users and enterprises what they demand: a richer and more trusted web experience and beyond. Through a strategic focus on application enablement, Alcatel-Lucent is helping its customers create new value by exposing their network capabilities in a managed and controlled way, facilitating new business models and improving return on investment. For more information, go to http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/application_enablement/

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) is the trusted transformation partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries such as defense, energy, healthcare, transportation, and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 15.2 billion in 2009 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent