Ribbit to carriers: B-Y-O-N, bring your own network

Ribbit went live with its Web/telephony application development platform Monday after an extended beta and added a twist, offering any enterprise or service provider the ability to use the hosted service on its own network.

Ribbit’s platform makes it easy for developers to build Flash-based Web applications that integrate telephony features, such as click-to-call or Web-integrated visual voicemail. It began its life reselling network access from a handful of carrier wholesalers and then earlier this fall was acquired by BT, seemingly tying its network strategy there.

“[But] what if you already own a network? If that’s the case, you can still use the Ribbit platform to build communications into your business processes, leveraging your underlying carrier network,” Ted Griggs, Ribbit chief executive officer, said in an interview.

That model implies several styles of partnerships and development approaches for Ribbit. In some cases, service providers may want to establish their own relationship with the software company and offer platform-development-as-a-service to their customers over their networks. In other cases, network relationships – including in behind-the-firewall enterprise scenarios – may be more about simple transport options. The Ribbit platform can connect to the network in two ways: via MPLS links or a SIP interconnection, Griggs said. “We can work directly with carriers or with carrier partners,” he said.

Ribbit did not announce specific carrier partnerships at this time but said it has integrated the Ribbit platform with two widely used telco softswitch/app platform vendors: BroadSoft and Sylantro. Those two companies already provide tools and capabilities for building Web-integrated communications apps on their platforms. The Ribbit deal will open up their environments to Ribbit’s own 7500-member-strong development community to further drive telecom app development, Griggs said. Today, Ribbit’s tools are more focused on client development – though more server-focused APIs are coming soon – making a partnership with softswitch/server players like Broadsoft and Sylantro a good fit.