Doodle: "Partnerships revolve around integrating with web-based products"

Michael Näf, founder and CEO of popular meeting scheduling service Doodle, on industry partnerships and a new product to be launched in October.

Can you tell us more about Doodle and your latest broadband-powered initiatives?

Doodle is an online scheduling service saving more than ten million monthly international users precious time and nerves when trying to find a common date and time to bring a group of people together for business or leisure events.

Doodle integrates with a number of calendar systems like Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal to make the scheduling experience even more efficient.

One-on-one meetings can be set up swiftly using the MeetMe product that allows users to accept appointment requests via the Internet.

What partnership opportunities do you see from the broadband ecosystem?

We have strong ties already with a number of telcos in Europe. In general, our partnerships revolve around integrating with web-based products that offer calendars and contact lists, around integrating our premium products into apps marketplaces, or around joint marketing or sales efforts.

How is Doodle adapting its business strategy to meet new developments in the broadband industry?

We don’t have an explicit business strategy geared towards the broadband industry. But we work hard to provide a reliable service with a very high level of usability which adds real value to the users of the companies we partner with.

And we’re currently working on a new product to be launched in October and that will add value to many telcos and their customers.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the broadband industry in 2012?

I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll find out at the Broadband World Forum 2012.

Michael will be speaking at the Broadband World Forum event taking place in Amsterdam on 16-18 October. For more information and to register, please visit http://broadbandworldforum.com