Viber to invest in content, technology innovation in India - Business Standard

With innovation continuing to be the mantra for technology start-ups across globe, four year old Viber plans to actively use the innovation tool for content and backend development for its India business.

Viber is a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging voice-over-Internet Protocol application developed by Viber Media founded in Feb 2010. Currently, Viber is active in India serving over 16 million clients.

"Product innovation in terms of content as well as backend will be our focus for the Indian market this year," Country Manager –India Anubhav Nayyar told Business Standard. "An investment will be made towards innovation of products, out of which 80 percent would be towards the technology or backend development and balance for content development," he said.

At Viber, users can send free text messages, photo messages (also known as stickers), video messages and share locations with other users. Users can also make free HD-quality calls to other Viber users on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Windows, Mac, Symbian, Nokia S40 and Bada devices over 3G/4G or WiFi connections.

"Localised content via stickers for India is something that we have in mind. For example, given the diverse cultures and traditions in the country perhaps innovative stickers depicting such cultures would be exclusive for Indian customers," said Nayyar. "Our innovation platform will be looking at two aspects, one that offers newness and improvement in quality to the existing clients and the other that would attract new clients to use Viber," he added.

Through its thrust for innovation, Viber is targeting to double its customer base in coming years.

 "Conversation has no more remained just communication. Conversations are beginning to be expressions and this is where our (Viber) stickers' app (application) comes in to picture," said Nayyar. "We will be adding some more stickers to the existing list of about 1,500 in 2014 and about 85 percent of these will continue to be freely available."

Viber has two revenue generating streams—Viber out and Stickers. The sticker stream of revenue has 15 percent of its total stickers available exclusively only to paid customers of Viber, while its Viber out app which is a low-cost anywhere calling application is the second revenue generator.

"Given such low cost structures and innovations, we are expecting to reach wider set of customers," said Nayyar. Viber charges as low as between Rs 100-300 for a set of stickers and Rs 1.60 per minute on Viber-out between India and US.

Though privately held Viber Media, run from Cyprus by Israeli entrepreneur Talmon Marco, is in the process of being acquired by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc, Nayyar said there would be no change in business model or functioning of Viber upon its acquisition.

Viber Media is being acquired by Rakuten in an all-cash deal for $900 million.

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