Would love to see Indian OTT platforms allocating more funds for crowdtesting: Mark Granot

In an interaction with exchange4media, Mark Granot VP & GM, Applause Israel, says that its crowdtesting solution not only allows companies to select testers in their target markets but also test on any number of real devices, generating unbiased feedback on the streaming quality and whether the ads are relevant from a language, location, and personalization standpoint.

Applause’s crowdtesting solutions aid OTT providers to recognise the reason behind losing customers and the pain points faced by their customers. 

Excerpts:

Tell us about Applause's crowd testing solutions, and how have OTT platforms benefited from them?
Applause helps OTT platforms deliver a best-in-class streaming experience across any number of devices - be it mobile, desktop, connected devices, firesticks and other such platforms. Real viewers are mobilized to test streams on every combination of devices, operating systems, and networks. It delivers quality on each channel, to ensure a seamless viewing experience.
 
How does your crowdtesting solution work and do you tweak it from market to market or is the same solution being deployed across all global markets?
Crowdtesting is not a one-size-fits-all approach. The requirement for each customer from geography to geography varies. Applause connects the right testers as per this requirement, be it demographic, geography, device, and other such factors, that are critical and will enable the companies to get end-user feedback and finally take the product, release or feature to market.
 
What role does technology play in determining the success or failure of an OTT platform?
Technology plays an integral part in every industry today. Increasingly OTT platforms are becoming tech-first companies, to deliver a seamless viewing experience to their consumers. Content and Technology are the two main pillars of the OTT industry today.
 
What do consumers want from their OTT service providers, and how have the demands changed in the last few years?
OTT platforms give consumers the ability to watch on the go, at their convenience. Appointment viewing is now a concept of the past. Consumers want to be in control of what content they wish to consume when they want to consume, the variety of genres and language to watch from and shuttle between free and paid use cases as per their preference. OTT is becoming their primary source of entertainment. Every member of the family need not sit and watch shows on the television governed by the family's choice. Each individual can watch the content of their choosing on the device of their preference. The Pandemic has sped up the process and overhauled the content viewing experience for the whole world.
 
How would you rate home-grown Indian OTT platforms when it comes to tech adoption?
There are some amazing platforms in India, with great content. The original, quality content is the key to their growing subscription. In terms of technology, a lot more is to be desired. The focus should be on making the user experience seamless, not just for the urban crowd with easy access to Wi-Fi, but also for a rural setting with a 2G connection on a lesser-known mobile device.
 
Are Indian OTT platforms allocating enough resources for tech to provide a seamless viewing experience to viewers?
We would love to see Indian OTT platforms allocating more funds for crowd testing. This will definitely help them create an amazing experience for their viewers and increase stickiness to the platform. They would be equipped to tackle topical, seasonal as well as weekend loads effectively, with feedback from end-users directly.
 
How important is India as a market for Applause and how many clients do you have here?
India is one of our strategic markets given the growth in digital penetration and size of the market. We have clients across industries such as OTT, Fintech, E-commerce, Gaming, social media, EdTech and Retail. We are growing with an increased focus on digital-first brands and also brands that are focused on growing the market.

India being a diverse market, do you plan to test out new solutions in the country?
The Testing community is already at 100,000 in India and growing, giving real data and reports. The diversity of India creates great opportunities for Applause. India offers the multiple environments the end-users are in, from language, connectivity, devices, locations and more. We are able to connect products to a diverse range of testers at the very local level.

What is Applause's future growth plan for India?
At Applause, we strive to deliver a comprehensive platform to empower the world’s greatest companies. We plan to continue empowering the next generation brands like Uber and Google to deliver exceptional digital experiences for their users.