Revenue Models for Application Enablement: The Project Neuron Case Study

Alcatel-Lucent is at the forefront of Application Enablement to strengthen service provider offerings. Project Neuron, one of the finalists of an Alcatel-Lucent Entrepreneurial boot camp held in North America (2009), proposes a set of pre-integrated capabilities called macro-enablers to achieve rapid creation of third party-developed applications that intelligently mash up with the mobile service provider network capabilities. We provide a perspective on the future of the communications industry and application stores. We also provide key highlights from Project Neuron and the estimated benefit of employing a risk/reward revenue model over standard business models, which are discussed in this letter. We conclude by proposing considerations on macro-enabler pricing approaches. (C) 2011 Alcatel-Lucent.