Spotlight on: UIEvolution

The challenge with mobile applications remains that while every brand wants one, consumers are constantly using new platforms to communicate. Thus, applications are going beyond smart phones and tablets to connected TVs and automobiles, noted Chris Ruff, CEO of UIEvolution.
The 10-year-old Kirkland, Wash.-based company has deep roots in the mobile application space, working with top-tier brands and operators to create connected app experiences across multiple devices. UIEvolution recently introduced a service called UIEMagnify that is a cloud-based service that works in tandem with its User Experience Management Platform to make sure that applications run smoothly on the device side and on the network side of the connection.
Over-the-top content providers like Facebook and YouTube don’t necessarily optimize their content for use over the mobile network, Ruff said. UIEMagnify allows apps to connect to cloud services, like social-networking sites, music and video services, advertising networks, content management systems and payments services.
Media companies, as well as operators and device makers, all want to maximize their brands and the customers’ experiences when connecting with the brand, Ruff said. But apps are often “an inch deep and a mile wide” in part because new ways to connect develop constantly, with new devices over multiple platforms. “The top 100 apps on the iPhone are not like the top 100 apps on Android.”
Integrating the back-end services so the customer has a great experience regardless of the device and platform is as complicated as ever, Ruff said. A brand like ESPN wants its audience to interact with the sports brand regardless of their device. “We optimize the delivery of the user experience. We have to make sure the app works on everything. We do the hard work.”
The UIMagnify solution allows brands, media companies, operators and device manufacturers to integrate and manage their own APIs and cloud services throughout the lifecycle of that application.
RCR Wireless News talked to Ruff earlier this year at CTIA’s 2011 show. Below is an excerpt from the interview.