For the passed two years in helping operators and suppliers innovate around the concept of the Telco API, I’ve built a list of web / voice / telco 2.0 application developers that could benefit from the Telco API.  Currently the list is at about 800 companies, but it’s always under revision as there is significant churn, consolidation, and new companies being added.  The list is in no way a complete picture of the relevant application developer landscape, just a continuous work-in-progress.  Attached is a sample of the web / voice / telco 2.0 list which shows the companies alphabetically, and was in part developed with Ideas and Plans.  The Category and Rating sections are simply methods I use for selecting and prioritizing the list based upon specific customer needs.  I’ve learned through painful experience its critical to keep the categories and ratings simple to avoid the list becoming burdensome to use and manage.

Defining the categories:

• Context Based, services that use presence, location or other customer contextual information, for example location based services such as geo-tagging pictures;
• Business, services focused upon the business segment, for example business messaging;
• Social, services that create a community of users that share, for example mobile communities;
• Financial, services including mobile payments and banking, this was introduced because of several specific project needs;
• Entertainment, services that present content to customers, e.g. internet TV;
• Voice 2.0, services generally focused upon embedding voice/communications into everyday activities or using VoIP for cheap calling, for example voice to text; and
• Telco 2.0, services generally focused upon innovation within the service provider business model.

The categories can be combined, so for example you can search for applications that are both context based and business; or social and entertainment and voice 2.0.

Defining the ratings:

• Viable, objective criteria (funded, listed, profitable) and opinion (gut-feel on company and position in category) on the company’s viability;
• Cool, objective criteria (clear market segment) and opinion (gut-feel on application’s potential) on the application’s value to customers; and
• Telco Value, objective criteria on value proposition to an operator.

The ratings provide a simple method to prioritize potential lists of application developers.

As an example, say you want to find a list of the Voice 2.0 application providers, just select the Voice 2.0 category and a rather long list emerges:
Spinvox, Utterz, Angel.com, Funkycall, Call Genie, Gearon (Fidg’t), Backflip software, BlueNote Networks, Fring, Goog411, ifbyphone, Jaduka, Parus Interactive, Ringcentral, Rminder, Sitòfono, Snapvine, Evoice, Iotum, Phonetag (nee Simulscribe), Razz, Ribbit, Robocal, Sightspeed, Talkr, Tokiva, Vbuzzer, Youmail, Blabberize, Enablr, Evoca, Gabcast, Gaboogie (Lypp ), Springdoo, Trixbox, Truphone, V4s (Orb), Vapps, Cellity, Cubic Telecom / MAXroam, JAHJAH, Jaxtr, Saynow, Thinkingvoice, Voicequilt, Voicethread, Vopium, Voxbone, WaxMail, Yoomba, Challenger mobile, EQO, Gizmo5, Hullo, MobileMax, Morodo / MO-Call, Pheeder, PhoneGnome, TalkPlay, Tpad, TringMe, Truphone, Velophone, Vephone, Vyke, WiFiMobile, Yodio, Allfreecalls, Barablu, Blobber, Blogtalkradio, Ether, Gizmo, Mobivox, Resellular, Talkety, Talkster, Voipdiscount / Voipcheap, Yackpack, Zozoc, Callthefuture, Juvino, Talktrust (Numbr), Wizzl, Yeigo, and Phonefromhere.

Or say you want a list of mobile payment / banking application providers, just select the Financial category and review the list to give:
3Bill, Mfoundry, PayMate.In, Clairmail, Firethorn, Frontstream Payments, Obopay, C-Sam, gWallet, Monetise, More Magic Solutions, Paypal Mobile, Splashdata, Textpayme, Upaid, Valista, Zong, Ixaris, Mi-Pay, Payment One, Sermepa, Fe-Mobile, Paypoint, Payter, Icache, Paymate, and Kuscash.

As I mentioned at the start of this entry the web / voice / telco 2.0 list is a work in progress, if you see any gaps or errors please let me know, thanks.