ZiNG wants to shake up the Mobile IM space

The mobile Instant Messaging (IM) space already has a number of big players — think MXit, WhatsApp, Facebook chat… the list goes on. But at least one new player thinks it can make an impact by playing to the business world.

A company called Blazingchilli is looking to utilise the opportunities inherent in the mobile IM space to leverage its new enterprise level messaging platform — ZiNG.

The technology at the heart of ZiNG is called Multiple Group Messaging (MGM) and Blazingchilli claims that it offers “the most powerful tool available” for reaching consumers, particularly in emerging markets.

In a country like South Africa, for instance, the company claims that it eclipses “the reach of other platforms such as email and Facebook”.

The rationale behind this thinking is largely down to the fact that there are “50-55 million active SIM cards in South Africa, 4.7 times more households with a cell phone than a computer and 87% of working South African adults use a mobile phone”.

According to Blazingchilli, ZiNG “is a free chat and information sharing mobile application that offers users a quick and inexpensive way to keep in touch.”

The app reportedly features “instant and group messaging, live news and a content sharing environment” and is supported by all data-enabled mobile devices.

Blazingchilli claims that this means it is capable of “bridging the gulf between people with older entry-level feature phones to anyone with the latest smartphone devices”.

The developer claims that ZiNG also rewards users with points for “participating in surveys, viewing advertisements or participating in real-time votes”.

Mobile Strategy Director at Blazingchilli Brett Loubser claims that the new product “is set to transform group messaging” and that it will allow organisations “to communicate with groups of unlimited size”.

ZiNG’s initial launch saw it go live across 15 countries, predominantly in Africa.