ringEmail is striking the right tone with mobile service providers from Latin America to Taiwan, with the compelling premise of delivering any email to virtually any mobile phone. Developed by Clearhub ( www.clearhub.com ), the patent-pending, award-winning mobile push mail service is integrated with enterprise mail systems such as Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino to enable secure wireless access to emails, calendars, attachments, contacts, notes and tasks.

Clearhub was founded in 2003 under the Economic Development Board's start-up scheme SEEDS, and is privately held and headquartered in Singapore. Since its inception, the company has focused its efforts on innovation and R&D, said Managing Director Ms Michelle Chan.

Ms Chan: ODP has helped us to target a winning strategy to enter the market.

ringEmail, the company's unique pushlite solution, makes very efficient use of the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) spectrum, which makes it attractive for mobile operators to bundle ringEmail with their GPRS packages so that users do not have to worry about paying additional data charges when using the service. It is estimated that an average ringEmail user uses only about 5MB per month. The solution has minimal impact on battery life, said Ms Chan.

The ringEmail mobile push mail service was first launched in mid-2008 with Movistar, a mobile operator in Latin America on a SaaS model. The service is hosted in Singapore using the servers of Clearhub's Overseas Development Programme (ODP) partner IBM.

Introduced by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, ODP is a partnership-driven programme that serves as a key platform for Singapore's infocomm Local Enterprises (iLES) to team up with leading infocomm multinational corporations (MNCs) or major local enterprises with an established international presence. This is to enable the iLES to tap into overseas markets beyond Singapore.

Clearhub partnered IBM under ODP in mid-2008 to align its business and regional go-to-market strategy with that of the multinational corporation, said Ms Chan.

Besides using IBM hardware for its deployments – both the hosted and appliance models – Clearhub also teams up with the MNC in joint development efforts. For example, it worked closely with IBM to roll out support for Lotus Notes/Domino on ringEmail.

Significantly, Clearhub's close ties with IBM have also enabled it to tap on the regional reach of IBM's distribution networks and to benefit from joint-marketing efforts to expand their presence in overseas markets, said Ms Chan.

ringEmail is offered to mobile operators and service providers on a hosted Software-as-a-Service model and to global value-added distributors via an appliance model which delivers in-premise enterprise class push mail in an all-in-one appliance. The ringEmail Appliance is tailored for the enterprise environment, with the hardware sitting within the perimeter, addressing security concerns while allowing enterprise users to access a mobile push mail service on their current mobile phone.

Research from the Radicati Group projected that the demand for wireless push mail services grew from 4.2 million users in 2005 to 40 million last year. The upside potential remains tremendous, with this 40 million users making up less than 2 per cent of the global mobile market size.

Since the launch of ringEmail, Clearhub has chalked up wins with other mobile operators such as Vibo in Taiwan and Viettel and VinaPhone in Vietnam, to name a few.

Sharing the company's experiences with the ODP, Ms Chan said, "Every market is different with respect to culture and the way of doing business, and ODP has helped us to understand the market, know our customers and target a winning strategy to enter the market."

"It is important to be open and transparent with the IBM ODP officer, to let them know your business and your company's directions in terms of regional expansion plans, so that you can align both companies' strategies for a mutual win-win partnership."

Going forward, Clearhub's goal is to become the preferred partner of choice for mobile push mail services, with a compelling business model based on core revenue streams derived from the ringEmail service. It will also continue to engage with IBM regionally and tap into its network of value-added distributors to market the ringEmail Appliance to enterprise and government customers, said Ms Chan.

The strategy will enable the company to fully capitalise on the tremendous growth potential of the mobile messaging market as it rides out the economic downturn, she added.