US firms go head-to-head in Australia’s digital mail market
Two of the major players in the fledgling US digital mail market are taking their rivalry overseas, to go head-to-head in Australia. Pitney Bowes, the Connecticut-based mail technology giant, revealed today that it has been selected to provide its Volly platform as the basis for the forthcoming Digital MailBox service being launched by Australia Post later this year.
The contract signed earlier this month pitches Volly directly against the private-sector consortium Digital Post Australia, which is led by California-based firm Zumbox and also expects to go live by the end of 2012.
The Australian project will be the first use for the Volly technology by a postal service and outside the US market.
Volly President Chuck Cordray, who is celebrating his one-year anniversary as a Pitney Bowes employee today, said the Australian market offers a big potential potential for digital mail.
Very high broadband penetration rates among Australia’s 10m households, as well as very high mobile adoption rates, mean consumers are ready for the technology, he suggested.
He said: “Outside the Nordic countries, it’s among the highest in digital penetration, so in terms of a market that’s ready to seize on an innovation like the secure digital mail service that we’re jointly bringing to the market, Australia is incredibly well primed to be a successful market.”
Agreement
“The Volly platform allows plugins for local customisation that allows us to build a product that’s very focused on our individual markets.”
Volly’s agreement with Australia Post will cover licensing the technology, setting up the technology and maintaining it alongside the Post itself, as well as for Volly to work on a series of projects for the Post around technology.
When the service goes live, mailers will be able to send mail either digitally or in physical form, with consumers opting in to the service.
Australia Post managing director Ahmed Fahour said the service would be available later this year, responding to the increasing demand from consumers for digital communications.
He said: “Australians are demanding more options for how to do business with the companies they use, including Australia Post.”
Advantages
Cordray said the well-respected Australia Post brand, the postal service’s marketing prowess and understanding for consumers would be key advantages for the Digital MailBox project compared to its private sector rival.
Australia Post is actually currently engaged in a lawsuit against the Digital Post Australia consortium regarding the similarity of its brand name to that of the postal service. A judge this afternoon refused a request to ban the private sector group from using the name before a full trial can be held, potentially next month.
As far as the technology goes, Cordray said the Volly platform had the advantage of the nine-decade history of Pitney Bowes in the mail industry, and how to bring together the physical and digital elements of the mailstream.
Volly President Chuck Cordray says Australia Post’s strengths as a post represent key advantages for its digital mail service
“With our long history of secure communications, working with mailers to access their content, we think it offers something that is unique, in understanding how the mailstream works and the integration between physical and digital,” he said.
Cordray said the Volly platform offers a wide range of methods for mailers to integrate with the digitial mail service without disrupting their existing mailstreams.
Volly in two markets
Pitney Bowes is still on track to launch its own digital mail service, branded as Volly, in the United States in the second half of 2012, Cordray said today.
He told Post&Parcel that there were some “interesting options to explore” regarding possible linkages between the US Volly service and Australia Post’s Digital MailBox service, in terms of allowing US mailers access to Australian consumers and vice versa.
But, he said that idea was not a priority within the initial agreement with the Post, which was focused very much on their respective domestic markets.
Cordray said there would be a “very different look and feel” between the two services based on the Volly core, with Australia Post planning to customise its platform to the specific needs of the Australian market.
He said: “The Volly platform allows plugins for local customisation, and Australia Post will be focusing heavily on those customisations that go beyond the Volly core. The customisations for the US market will be different in many regards, but that allows both of us to take advantage of that core platform and build a product that’s very focused on our individual markets.”
