‘M-advertising in India has a strong developer ecosystem, even at infancy’

The company is quite optimistic about being a billion-dollar revenue company by 2014-15. What are your strategies to make it a reality?

The mobile opportunity is evidently quite phenomenal and we believe that it is a global play. We are one of the few players who have created a global infrastructure and team, offering our customers a significantly wider canvas. We also have been in the forefront of product innovation in the mobile space. Our core strength is our product and we will continue innovating at a frenetic pace and push the boundaries. Lastly we will continue to invest in our team aiming to build on our local market expertise.

How is the US and European markets working for InMobi vis-a-vis emerging markets?

We have invested significantly in the US and Europe markets and both have been great successes and are strong contributors to our growth. When we looked at the developed markets of US and EU a couple of years ago, we noticed two things: Firstly, while there were multiple participants there was no single winner and there remained a significant opportunity for a product-led player like us.

Secondly, the mobile internet phenomenon is global—there are publishers in the US who have anywhere from 50% plus of their business now starting to come from global markets, where we are already working very strongly. This made our entry into these developed markets easy and we have witnessed very significant growth since and are a key player.

How strategic are the recent acquisitions of MMTG and Metaflow Solutions for InMobi? What are your plans to integrate both the companies?

Both the acquisitions are very strategic. Our vision is to be a significant player in the app ecosystem across App Miscovery,

vice president and managing director, InMobi Asia Pacific

Mistribution, and Monetization. We have committed resources to build innovative products across the entire value chain. The acquisition of MMTG Labs helps us accelerate the realization of this vision. While MMTG Labs gave us the ability to enable publishers to create app stores and drive content discovery, Metaflow helps us deliver a free distribution and monetization solution to developers

What is your outlook for InMobi for the next 3 to 5 years?

Roughly about a billion people access the mobile internet across the world currently and this number is expected to grow at a fast pace for a few years. Mobile as a media and advertising as a business in mobile has only tested early waters and the future looks extremely bright. With our technology, global reach and deep expertise in local markets, we believe our future is extremely bright and we aim to be one of the global leaders in this space.

What is your perspective on the mobile advertising market in India and worldwide; is it still in its infancy or has it matured?

Mobile advertising is at a nascent stage in most markets and India is no different. Mobile internet adoption has been growing at a very fast pace globally with about 20% penetration. In India the number is lower but is growing at a fast pace with the arrival of 3G and the smartphone at multiple price points. Also, while in its infancy there is a strong developer ecosystem developing in India which has a promising future. The space has no way matured with most of the potential still out there to be tapped globally.

Are there any challenges in the mobile advertising space that you think you have not been able to overcome?

Our most important endeavor and challenge has been to communicate the power of mobile to our advertising and publishing partners. Our team of mobile experts spend considerable time educating the market of the advantages of mobile media. Our edge in technology, given that mobile is significantly more complex and fragmented than PC because of multiple devices, platforms, operators, etc, makes this process easier. Still we believe there is considerable work to be done and are committed to continue to invest in growing the medium.

Will InMobi restrict itself to the mobile advertising space or is it planning to venture into other entertainmentIinfotainment or utility based VAS segments?

We at InMobi believe in innovation because it is a key driver in any organization’s growth and also for the growth of the industry. In the time to come, we will continue to innovate and will inform you about it.