Asked recently if there was an update of the old SDP landscape weblog entry, I was shocked at how out of date it had become.  The categories needed updating, lots of companies had come and gone.  The 2012 SDP landscape can be downloaded here, and is also shown at the end of this entry, though its best to download than read in the Slideshare widget.

The types of SDP are broken down into:

• IPTV: platforms that deliver video content and services to STBs (Set Top Boxes) or connected devices, e.g. tablets.
• Mobile content / app store: platforms that deliver applications and content, e.g. videos, games, music, ring tones, wall papers, etc. to customers’ mobile phones.
• Messaging: SDP focused upon messaging services, e.g. USSD services or premium messaging services.
• Converged voice / SIP app server / SCIM: SDP focused on voice applications.
• Business: SDP focused on business services and integrating into business processes.
• Cloud services broker: Aggregators of cloud services, this does overlap the Business category so likely these two categories will soon merge.
• Real-time charging: SDP component that enables real-time charging for services.
• 3rd Party / APIs: SDP that enable 3rd parties, the operator and its partners to re-use services and network capabilities.
• Service creation /management: SDP component focused on the operational processes for creating and managing services
• Converged / Unified SDP: An SDP created specifically to unify all the previous categories into a consistent framework.  Features include being standards based, unified policy management, and extensive pre-integration.

I’ve tried to capture most of the IPTV and real-time charging providers in the landscape, as they are also consolidating into a converged / unified services domain framework, as discussed in the Services Domain report.  The Cloud Service Provider (CSB) category and the business SDP could be extend into many more enterprise focused technology providers, I’ve tried to keep it focused on those selling in / through telcos.  If I’ve missed any please let me know.