Funambol today announced the MVNO Simyo – a subsidiary of KPN, the fourth largest carrier in Europe – will be launching Funambol’s white label cloud storage solution, MediaHub, in the form of Symio Sync.
The new service, which goes live today, will allow users to keep mobile phones, tablets, PCs and other devices in sync with a digital locker in the cloud. It backs up user data and allows access across multiple devices.
The move comes in the wake of major cloud storage launches from players like Google, Amazon and Apple. Carriers are now looking to offer their customers branded cloud storage systems that drive data usage and increase stickiness.
Hal Steger, vice president of worldwide marketing for Funambol, said MediaHub is unique in that it’s platform and device agnostic, as well as easy to implement. Symio was able to deploy MediaHub in about two months.
Steger cites recent research from Forrester that projects massive growth for personal cloud solutions, with global revenues reaching around $35 billion by 2016. He said that cloud storage solutions, with a range of add-on features, are an attractive way for operators to differentiate their services.
Steger credits Apple’s iCloud announcement for driving interest in personal cloud solutions. “Apple has really done Funambol a great service by promoting iCloud very heavily, because all these other companies are now saying we need to have our version of iCloud,” he says.
Funambol is sitting pretty as one of only a few market-ready white label cloud storage solutions. Steger points to Real Networks’ Unify product, which focuses more on selling content, as MediaHub’s only direct competitor.
Funambol expects to name more operator partners, both in the U.S. and abroad, in the near future.
