I have commented about this same topic before… to some of you personally. Just wrote a little something over at the other site but thought I would paste it here directly:
… the entire mobile banking landscape will succeed only through partnerships. Banks partnering with other service providers… (but to what extreme? And at what cost to the customer?).
A very important partnership is the one between those that provide services to the banks… Enterprise software providers, mobile app developers, system integrators – the best way to break in and go deep in mobile with a bank will be based on your partnerships with others. This is especially true for startups in the mobile space – go out and seek partnerships with providers who already have entrenched relationships with the big banks.
Success for a lot of startups in this space will be dependent on their ability to forge partnerships and alliances as they tackle the big enterprise clients. The mobile ecosystem is no longer straightforward… it is a complex web of relationships, connections, networks and partnerships.
Leverage who you know to get in where you want to get in. Leverage the relationships that others already possess to get your foot in the door.
You can develop a little app and throw it up on any of the application stores… but to break into the enterprise market (especially in finance, healthcare and government) you need to have more than a fun or cute little mobile app. You need to have much, much more than a Twitter account and recent grad pushing out tweets… you need a mobile strategy.
