Xiamists
To find out more about Qualcomm's plans for software and services we spoke to Colm Healy (pictured below), VP of Qualcomm's EMEA Services and GM of Xiam Technologies.
Healy joined Qualcomm in March 2008, when Qualcomm bought his start-up wireless content targeting solutions company Xiam for $32 million. Not only was Healy kept on to head-up the acquired unit - as is customary, he was also given a senior role in the broader company.
We asked Healy why he had started Xiam. "I had been working in mobile content for a while and realised that discoverability was a problem," he said. Even two years ago, the amount of content available for mobile devices was at such a level that it was difficult for users to find what they wanted in timely fashion, so Qualcomm snapped-up Healy's company to incorporate Xiam's proposition into its own. "They allowed us to remain as an independent operating unit," he said.
Xiam is essentially a set of algorithms that uses information derived from the websites you visit to make recommendations. The point of this is to assist ‘discovery'. "There's already bewildering choice and people need help finding what they want," said Healy. "Additionally, attention spans are even shorter on mobile, with sessions typically lasting 15-20 minutes."
We commented that this sounds a bit like Phorm, the infamous activity tracking technology currently under investigation by the EC. Healy stressed that this technology is designed to offer recommendations to end users and it's based on the information you provide to sites when you use them, rather than tracking your general activity.
