Alterian, one of the leading database marketing software platform providers, is now eyeing mobile as a growth opportunity.

The British company's analytics-based software helps marketers such as General Motors, AstraZeneca, HSBC, Limited Too, AEGON, Avis, World Wrestling Entertainment, Dell and Princess Cruises as well as Amnesty International. Mobile Marketer's Mickey Alam Khan talks to Joe Stanhope, Chicago-based vice president of platform strategy, about Alterian's mobile plans. The interview:

What's Alterian's take on mobile?
Mobile is an important channel, and will continue to grow in relevance to marketers.

Mobile devices are becoming the center of the consumer electronics universe due to their numerous applications, growing capacity for functionality, improved bandwidth and performance of mobile networks and high penetration with users.

Also, from a marketing perspective, the mobile device is highly personal, belongs typically to a single known person and moves alongside its owner.

In developing countries, mobile devices will be the primary method for contacting consumers, because in these markets computers, landlines and even standardized postal mailing addresses may never achieve ubiquity.

What are the company's plans for mobile?
Alterian sees opportunity in mobile marketing and we are expanding our capabilities accordingly.

We have seen consistent demand for mobile messaging in the U.K. and Europe, particularly for SMS.
SMS is frequently considered a bolt-on to email marketing, although Alterian considers it to be a distinct channel.

Inquiries for mobile messaging have seen an uptick in the U.S. and we are starting to see our first serious client interest in the past few weeks.

Alterian's support for SMS messaging in the U.K. launched in June and is set to formally launch this winter in the U.S.

Alterian has expertise in database marketing online and via mail. Can those skills translate to mobile?
Mobile messaging is simply another addressable channel in the marketing mix, the fundamentals of direct marketing still apply, and the channel supports tracking and interaction similar to existing channels such as email and direct mail.

Alterian's Integrated Marketing Platform is a great fit for driving mobile messaging due to its existing strength in analytics, campaign management, dynamic message execution and content management.

Does mobile have a role to play in database marketing?
Mobile is a pivot point between database and interactive marketing because it has elements of direct marketing from a messaging standpoint, but the response and interaction elements are very similar to, if not identical to Web sites and online advertising and search marketing.

What services do you have in mind for mobile?
There is a current appetite for basic services such as SMS messages, and we would like to elevate the state of the art for SMS by adding our dynamic personalization and analytics capabilities to SMS delivery.

Moving forward, we see opportunities to enhance mobile marketing with our content management capabilities, integrated campaign management and supporting true multichannel execution online and offline from a single platform.

You formed a partnership in mobile recently, didn't you?
Earlier in 2008, Alterian completed a partnership with Sybase 365, a leading mobile aggregator, to support mobile messaging initiatives. This provides Alterian with access to over 3 billion mobile subscribers across over 700 operators around the world.

Have you signed up a client for your mobile offerings or convinced an existing client to add mobile to the mix?
This offering is very new for Alterian, but there has been tremendous interest and we are already having advanced discussions with several clients and partners.

The offering has had appeal both to existing and prospective clients and partners.

You are a British company, but have extensive operations here. What are you plans for the States in terms of mobile?
Our offering is supported globally, although acceptance of mobile messaging is definitely more established in the U.K. and EU.

You see value for mobile even in this economy?
In a difficult economy, relevance becomes even more critical. So reaching customers at the right time, with the right offer and in the right place will be of the utmost importance.

The companies I am talking to see mobile as a piece of the relevance puzzle and consider it a great way to serve customers faster and better.