About:
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world’s largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third-largest provider of mobile telephone services in the U.S.
Idea and Implementation:
In 2009, AT&T launched The Innovation Pipeline (TIP), an online crowd-sourcing platform for its global workforce. One of the ideas that emerged from TIP was AT&T NumberSync. It was created by an employee to address the need for a backup emergency phone.
NumberSync allowed devices to link to the account devices such as a tablet, watch, or computer, or Alexa-enabled devices to send and receive messages or calls using the same phone number as the user’s main line. The main advantage is you don’t need to download any app, and the phone doesn’t need to be near or even turned on for NumberSync to work.
Results:
In 2015, when AT&T NumberSync was launched, the connected wearables were less in demand. With the launch of devices such as the Apple Watch 3 which included a built-in SIM, connected wearables are gaining traction. The demand for products with NumberSync on wearables is likely to rise.
Can you imagine a time when you could step out without your phone? What if you miss an important call? Applications like NumberSync give you the freedom to be connected to your smartphone while staying away from it. Ideas like this truly change lives.
Stories like where a guard at the Massachusetts Department of Correction came up with the idea to store inmate images digitally which saved the department $56,000 on film in the first year of installation alone. Or an employee’s idea at Toyota to use a radio station as part of its marketing strategy. Or a Microsoft employee’s idea to make events more sustainable.
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