Austrade media release15 November 2007
Australian desktop-to-mobile messaging specialist Red Oxygen is now providing text messaging software for Beeline, the second largest mobile phone operator in Russia, with 56 million subscribers.
The Brisbane-based company is one of the world’s leading developers and distributors of enterprise SMS software applications and services, catering for the rapidly growing global text messaging market.
Red Oxygen has an impressive client list including BMW, Deloittes, Eli Lilly, IBM, Qantas, Panasonic, Pepsi, Pfizer, Phillips, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Siemens and 3M.
“There are an estimated three billion text message devices globally, compared to only nine million Blackberries worldwide, with the total number of text messages expected to double by 2010,” said Red Oxygen CEO Tom Sheahan.
“That said, ours is very much a niche market: we specialise in corporate text messaging, with products which combine the best features of email and SMS messaging,” Mr Sheahan said.
Using Red Oxygen’s software, SMS messages can be sent to entire lists of people, for example in a large company, while recipient replies can be sent back to an email inbox. Features include message encryption, secure connections and long SMS, which allows messages of up to 765 characters.
Mr Sheahan said the company turned to Austrade in Moscow to help them navigate the challenges of breaking into the Russian market.
“Austrade helped us work with government regulatory bodies and provided local language assistance, which was invaluable. We couldn’t have done the deal without them,” Mr Sheahan said.
Austrade’s Moscow-based Senior Trade Commissioner Dan Tebbutt said it was no surprise that Red Oxygen had found success in Russia, a country with a rapidly growing telecommunications sector experiencing increasing demand for mobile business solutions.
“Russia now has more than 160 million mobile phones in use – with a penetration rate of 111%,” Mr Tebbutt said. “In Moscow, the penetration rate is 166%, implying that two-thirds of people have more than one mobile phone or communication device. Mobile phone ownership increased by 57 per cent in just over five years to 2007.
“If you switch on a television in Moscow right now, you are likely to see a TV commercial for the Beeline network promoting Red Oxygen’s technology,” Mr Tebbutt said.
“With a 65 per cent rise in two-way trade to $719 million in 2006, their success offers an excellent example of the diverse new range of Australian goods and services that are now finding customers in Russia,” Mr Tebbutt said.
In 2006-07, Austrade assisted 112 companies make deals in Russia worth $694 million. Twenty-one of these companies were new or irregular exporters.
Red Oxygen CEO Tom Sheahan and Austrade’s Senior Trade Commissioner to Moscow, Mr Dan Tebbutt, are available for media interviews.
ENDS
Media contactDavid Varga
Tel: 02 9390 2191
Mob: 0434 567 673
Email: david.varga@austrade.gov.au
For further news and information from the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) visit www.austrade.gov.au//mediacentre. |