TheOpenAnalyst

Vodafone never put much stock in open innovation, or tapping outsiders for ideas. It didn’t need to. The company, after all, had grown into the world’s biggest wireless telecom operator on its own. But with such interlopers as Google and Nokia starting to tromp on its turf, Vodafone became a convert. “We were a bit naive thinking everything could be done in-house,” says Chief Executive Vittorio Colao. Now “the only way to create a fertile environment for innovation is to have open platforms and leverage them.”

The clearest sign of Vodafone’s new philosophy can be found on a Web portal called betavine. The site allows anyone from hobbyists to software pros to create and test one another’s mobile applications, which can be downloaded on any wireless network, not just Vodafone’s. While developers retain intellectual property rights, the British giant gets insight into the latest trends and ensures that new apps are compatible with its network. Vodafone itself used betavine to enlist those enthusiasts to test a software add-on that enables mobile broadband customers to access the Internet via Linux.

Vodafone: Embracing Open Source with Open Arms – BusinessWeek

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