adds value to the application. Services offering added value are sometimes referred to as value-added services. See Chapter 5, section 5. Finally, the term 'middleware' is important to understand. When two people with different native languages use a third language, such as English, for communication, the English language becomes a kind of middleware. When going from vertical network architectures to a horizontal one, integrated with the media industry, a middleware layer becomes convenient and indeed necessary in order to mediate between applications and heterogeneous underlying networks. The following definition comes from the book GPRS and 3G Wireless Applications: 'Middleware is software (often denoted as a platform) that mediates between the net- work and the application and that enables seamless communication over heterogeneous networks'. Middleware provides a semi-manufactured functionality for adaptation to and opti- mization over different networks and even presentation to the user. Middleware decreases flexibility but shortens development time. It seems natural to also allocate service econ- omy features (efficient coding, user data and header compression etc.) to middleware rather than to added value. Service enablers and middleware are just the beginning of a service layer termi- nology situation that initially may be somewhat tricky to sort out for 'connectivity oriented' readers. End-User Needs and Demands 'People often ask how I know what people want. I tell them that the difficulty is to know what people don't know they want.' 2.1 OBJECTIVES The user is a key component in the flow shown in Figure 2.1. The main objective of this chapter is to efficiently integrate this component into the flow by means of an improved user understanding. This helps us improve business planning, product development, mar- keting and sales, and customer service. Telecom business actor basic part 1 Roles 2 End-user Chapter 2 Business plan segments Processes Identify Technical plans revenue oppor- tunities 4 Elaborate ser