UCWeb Inc., an Alibaba-group company, is a leading provider of mobile internet software and services. The company?s flagship product, UC Browser claims to have 500 million users in more than 150 countries. UC Browser commands a significant following in India. UCWeb recently launched the beta version of its UC Browser for PCs in international markets with an India version which is designed with a pre-loaded UC Cricket add-on. UC Browser also signed Yuvraj Singh as a special cricket product consultant and brand ambassador to engage existing users and reach out to potential users.
In an interview with tele.net.in, Kenny Ye, managing director, UCWeb India talks about growing business opportunities for the company in India and key technology trends in the mobile led browsing space.
Edited excerpts?
What differentiates India?s internet market from other international markets?
India?s impressive growth rate of internet penetration coupled with large offline users presents a tremendous opportunity to bring new internet users online. According to Internet and Mobile Association of India IAMAI survey (2013), about 69 per cent people in India cited lack of awareness of the internet as a reason for not being online.
In a developing nation like India, mobile internet is often the only means available for accessing the internet, especially in remote or rural areas. Many users are skipping PCs/fixed line connections and instead using their mobile phones to get online. Mobile internet connections exceed fixed-broadband connections by three to one. Expansion of mobile network coverage, higher mobile internet adoption, shrinking mobile device and data costs, a growing middle class, and increasing utility of the internet are key contributors. India is a ?mobile-first? country. There are many examples of young children, working-age adults with limited digital experience, and the elderly rapidly adopting internet technologies when they are affordable and have a well-designed user interface.
The non-internet user population in India is overwhelmingly rural and a high proportion is illiterate and female. This is starkly different from the population that has embraced the internet so far – predominantly urban, higher income and literate. Removing the internet barriers for the uninitiated would entail tackling – lack of digital and language literacy; lack of internet coverage and rural infrastructure; low income along with poor purchasing power and, most importantly, lack of awareness of the internet and its relevance.
As per a 2015 KPMG report, India?s mobile application developer community of a little over two million is expected to increase to three million by 2017, making it largest base of mobile application developers in the world.
What is the level of customisation and distinct features offered by UCWeb browser to Indian users?
UC Browser is unique in many ways. We were the first mobile browser to introduce cloud computing technology back in the year 2004. With more people accessing internet on their mobile phones, we have developed an easy-to-use navigation. Features such as speed mode, background download, download manager and multiple add-ons distinguish UC Browser from other products in the market. We have also customised our browser and added features to suit the needs of an Indian user. In regions with low connectivity our data compression feature is of great help. We also have offline video and reading features available for people who are want to save data charge and have sporadic internet connection.
We have been working closely with Facebook to provide faster access to Facebook than any other player. Our tests show that UC Browser is 30 per cent to 65 per cent faster than its competitors in terms of time consumed to load Facebook pages. Also, UC Browser users are able to receive real-time Facebook notifications on the browser. This is the first time Facebook has teamed up with a mobile browser to allow real-time notifications outside of its native app.
Further, we have teamed up with local content service providers to provide numerous Bollywood movies with copyrights to Indian users. Additionally, users can also check their PNR status directly from UC Browser.
What is the company?s user base in the country and going forward how does it plans to grow the same?
We are the No 1 mobile browser in India with 46.7 per cent market share, as of the end of April 2015, as per StatCounter. As of April 2015, UC Browser commanded a worldwide market share of 13.69 per cent market share worldwide, according to StatCounter, becoming the fourth most popular mobile browser after Chrome, Safari and Android Browser. UC Browser is also the leading mobile browser in China with over 65 per cent of the market share and has witnessed strong growth in many other countries. UCWeb also boasts of the number one spot in Pakistan (29.1 per cent), and the number two spot in Indonesia (19.8 per cent), Nigeria (13.1 per cent), and Bangladesh (18.5 per cent). The company has also seen rapid growth in Russia and Brazil over the last few quarters. In 2014, we registered 500 million users from all over the world and reached 100 million global daily active users (DAU) in December 2014. We are currently among the fastest mobile browsers available and enjoy dominant market share in China and India.
Currently our focus is to enhance our user base across the globe. Our success and adoption rate in India has been quick and very encouraging so far. Going forward, we want to continue focusing on localisation of the product, drive deeper content and service integration and add more features that cater to our consumers? need. We also want to amplify and drive user growth in tier-II and III cities.
What are the challenges faced by the company in getting on board new users and retaining existing ones?
We are trying to aid the mobile internet penetration through data compression technology, data saving and faster browsing experience. UC Browser leverages cloud technology to compress web pages and therefore speed up web page loading to users. This process is a perfect remedy for network problems and greatly improves the overall mobile browsing experience, thus helping in providing a powerful tool for accessing mobile e-commerce websites.
We believe that the success of a product like ours depends on the user experience. Our existing users are our ambassadors who would either recommend or thrash the product in their review/feedback. Word of mouth has worked very well for us in the past and we intend to continue doing that. That said, we have adopted the following strategy for understanding our user base to reach them better:
? We engage through local events with users and encourage them to share feedback with our team personally
? Social media and online channels: Facebook, Twitter, UCWeb forum act as our ears to listen to the needs of user community
What are the three big emerging technology trends in the Indian mobile browsing space and the mobile application industry?
Businesses that make mobile a central part of their strategy will benefit from the opportunity to engage the new constantly-connected consumer. Mobile apps will become core part of IT infrastructure of companies. Making mobile ads a part of an integrated marketing strategy will drive greater consumer engagement. In a recent Nielson survey ? smart-phone owners in India are least likely to be annoyed with mobile ads. They are also more comfortable providing personal information if the ad is tailored to their interest. Mobile ads are noticed by 96 per cent of smartphone users. Smartphones are also a critical component of traditional advertising as 85 per cent have performed a search on their smart-phone after seeing an offline ad (Google?s Our Mobile Planet Report).
Innovative mobile Internet services such as identity-based mobile payment, location-based navigation, space-based security monitoring and sharing-based social networking services stand to bring more business value to all involved. Also, as wireless technology evolves, the ?Internet of Things? will transform lives and economies. Also, mass e-commerce in India is likely to follow the same path as China, and here too messaging platform such as WhatsApp will become the de facto connection and communication platform.
