Richard: Marc, before we talk about the new Zones within Forum Nokia PRO, perhaps we could talk about the first year of Forum Nokia PRO. Has it been successful?

Marc: Yes, it has been successful. We measure our success in several ways. One is the level of demand for the program, which has forced us to limit membership to about one in seven companies that apply. Another measurement is the level of program utilization; the repeat demand from members who continue to come back to us for new content, new devices, or new opportunities.

Equally important is what our PRO members are reporting back to us about the program's value. At the end of last year we asked developers to report their success, to quantify where they are getting their business and by what channels. There were 50 members who reported, on an average, a 50 fold return on their PRO membership fee. So quite a few have made significant incremental revenue improvements from the program, all in less than a year.

Another thing which validates the success is that we have arrived at the point where members need to renew their membership and almost all of them are choosing to renew.

Richard: What is the reason developers have given for not renewing?

Marc: Some have been acquired and some have changed their business model. If a developer was looking at client server but refocused purely on a server model, then they may feel the program is no longer vital to them. There are different reasons why some have chosen not to renew, but we have renewed the vast majority. Also, in a small number of cases a very few members were not offered the opportunity to renew.

Richard: How do you determine who does not qualify for renewal?

Marc: We look for developers who are going to be extremely active, who want to compete, to go to every event, get on every device or promote actively to all the operators within their reach. So if a member joins and they don't participate they are occupying a valuable seat. As there are so many companies that would like to get into PRO we want to make it the best opportunity for everybody.

Richard: If you had to highlight one developer who illustrates the success of Forum Nokia PRO to date, who would it be?

Marc: That a difficult one, because there have been many successes. If I had to select one developer I'd probably choose Macromedia and its Flash viewer. With the help of Forum Nokia PRO Macromedia has delivered Flash as a feature on Series 60 phones, but also as a tool for other developers to use to deliver content to smartphones.

While this is the desired outcome for someone like Macromedia there are other outcomes that we promote for a wide range of developers. An enterprise developer's aim may not be to get onto the device, rather their goal may be to get into our enterprise solutions area or the go to market channels, so they can get their solution in front of the right customers. If you are a game publisher you want to get promoted in the channels that Nokia is creating to distribute games.

So there is a variety of goals, and different successes, depending on what kind of player you are.

Richard: So presumably the new Zones are designed to recognise these different goals?

Marc: Yes this is exactly why we are deploying the Zones. These different kinds of players are going to want different outcomes, as we deploy different Zones it's going to help them realise their goals to a greater extent.

Richard: So are the Zones creating a super-PRO for some developers?

Marc: No, we don't see this as some sort of platinum club. They are areas of specialisation designed in conjunction with business units within Nokia, or partners. In fact in the future there might be some partner who wants to sponsor a focus area within PRO. It's not a platinum club arrangement because, even though there are some rich benefits in there, the benefits are only rich to developers who specialise in the Zones domain. So the enterprise Zone, and the channels it opens, would serve no purpose to a game developer.

Richard: Entry to Forum Nokia is vetted, you mention that six out of seven applicants don't get in, will the Zones work the same way?

Marc: It has become quite difficult to get into PRO because we want it to be a very rich quality offering. It relies on skilled people to service the developers and these people's time is not scalable. There are also other limits, such as prototype devices, as there are only so many. So it cannot be an open invitation with anyone who applies getting in, because then our commitment to the existing members would be meaningless. So we are selective and pick those companies that PRO can make successful, that compliment Nokia's business goals or can help operators or licensees differentiate their offerings.

Richard: So does the same apply to the Zones in terms of access?

Marc: While each Zone will evolve over time, essentially entry is gated. Our enterprise solutions business unit has some very specific criteria they are looking for. So they want to make sure, for now, that developers who get into the Enterprise Zone are working on Series 60- or Series 80-based enterprise mobilisation solutions. They also want to see more than a concept. They want solutions that have a few deployments or pilots, so they can validate the quality of the offering in some way. Others will get in, but the key is providing solutions to the enterprise business unit's customers.

Richard: OK, so when a developer is in the Zone what difference will they see?

Marc: They will see quite a few differences. The Enterprise Solutions business unit will get to know these developers and will share more detail with them. One category will be information, product information, technology information or market information on developing channels. A second category is events, events that Forum Nokia conducts for the PRO members and events where Forum Nokia partners with Enterprise Solutions. There will be go to market events organised by the Enterprise Solutions organisation and Zone members will have top priority for these events.

Co-marketing is another opportunity for Zone members. There will be marketing material that they can use in creating their own presentations. Priority will be given to requests for enterprise solution prototype solutions. So if there is a new version of the Communicator available, Enterprise Zone developers will have top priority.

Finally there will be funding to help selected Zone members deploy or push their solutions into the industry.

Richard: Will this cost a developer more?

Marc: Not at the moment, developers will get into the Zone if they meet the entry criteria. At some point in the future there may be additional services offered for a fee inside the Zones.

Richard: So is enterprise the only Zone that has been set up?

Marc: No. There is also the Network Zone which takes Forum Nokia in an entirely new direction to bring more developers into the Networks channel. So Nokia Networks is promoting some exciting new technologies on the cutting edge, like IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS, and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) within the network. These technologies create opportunities for new services. The operators are interested in the revenue that can be generated by connecting users together in shared experiences. That is going to require new content or new versions of existing services. So we have deployed the Network Zone to further enable PRO members to develop suitable applications.

Nokia Networks is working with some operators to deploy these enhanced systems, so they are now looking for developers to put in front of these operators and say 'here is a pool of developers who can fuel your new services'. We have already run a few competitions in Asia for PRO members to develop SIP applications; one is going on right now in China.

We think this Zone will change the composition of the PRO membership. Now we will have developers that are server-based solutions providers and aren't themselves focused on Series 60 or Series 80. These new developers will probably be looking to partner with Series 60 developers to create SIP applications that help differentiate the networks of Nokia Networks customers. This will create a new set of opportunities for PRO developers.

Richard: Presumably the other Zones will follow in time once you have proved these?

Marc: Yes, but don't expect to see Zones for every business activity. Take games, an area where we have been in standard operating mode for some time. We were acquiring and distributing gaming content before PRO existed, so a Zone would not serve much purpose.

Zones are most likely to be built around emerging technology or emerging channels, not the more mature sectors.

Also don't expect a huge number of Zones. Remember Forum Nokia PRO is a premier offering and we intend keeping it that way. So it's a matter of bandwidth; we want to make sure that each Zone deployed is of quality. So we are going to take our time and put those ones in place that have the strongest need.

For more information on Forum Nokia PRO visit: pro.forum.nokia.com