Towards user-centric service platform Early adopter survey

Abstract:
Understanding consumer requirements is an essential part of designing customer services and predicting the rate of adoption by these customers. Specifying such requirements with accuracy is not a simple task especially in new service domains like home networking. Difficulties often arise from the complex mix of stakeholders; the lack of standard technical definitions and common understanding; and the confusion about what the technology can offer and the shape of the services built in it. The survey described in this paper is an attempt at gathering requirements from limited number of users from seven European countries. This is then followed by analysis and evaluation of the participants’ data to identify requirements that can be mapped into offerings and services. The study has its own direct value; however it can also be integrated into broader studies in home network such as definition of operator’s strategy, compilation of roadmap, etc. Results from the study reveal that 61% of the respondents have a home network and 51% have more than two computers at home. 82% of the respondents with more than two computers at home use WLAN and 94% of them are laptop owners. The survey also reveals that when asked about entertainment-services, more then half of the users rate “Hassle-free interconnectivity between music centre, TV, STB, PC, PDA and Mobile Phone” as “must have” service. Around 30% request “Access to TV programs and music from any home device” but less than 20 % think that other services such as access to family photos are of any importance. When asked about eLearning services, 50 % of the respondents thought that online courses for hobby/interest are a service that they like to have.