Today, two major players in mobile analytics, Kontagent and PlayHaven, are merging to create one company “with the mission to transform the world’s data into valuable action,” as the press release reads. Kontagent and PlayHaven are used by a variety of mobile-focused businesses including established brands such as Warner Brothers and game publishers like Glu, Electronic Arts, SEGA, BigFish and Backflip, as well as thousands of indie app developers.

The combined solution is already live in more than 22,000 apps, with over 400 million monthly active users (MAU), tracking over 370 billion actions per month. The merger brings Kontagent’s analytics together with PlayHaven’s comprehensive acquisition, engagement, and monetization tools so that “mobile-focused businesses and app developers can leverage a single platform to understand users, predict meaningful behaviors and take action — impacting key business goals.”

Andy Yang, CEO of PlayHaven will become the CEO of the combined company. Josh Williams, CEO of Kontagent, will become Chief Technology Officer and serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors. “This is a massive game changer — not only for PlayHaven and Kontagent, but for our customers and the broader mobile industry,” said Andy Yang, CEO of PlayHaven. “Together, we are bridging the gap between insight and action in unprecedented fashion.”

Mobile analytics is a crowded area for startups, with dozens of firms competing to be added to developer apps and provide information and services. One the leaders in the market is Flurry, which just raised $12.5 million dollars (it’s raised a total of $62.5 million so far), which will no doubt help it expand its offerings. Flurry already works with 125,000 companies with over 400,000 apps using its service, tracking over 1.3 trillion actions per month. The merger of Kontagent and PlayHaven will create a firm better able to compete with Flurry and other firms.

The information game developers get from analytics is essential for optimizing the game design and its monetization. While data can be gathered about almost every aspect of a game, developers have to be careful not to ask for too much data — a flood of information being sent back can slow game play or choke servers. Massive amounts of data don’t necessarily help you,. Either, unless you know enough to ask the right questions. Kontagent and PlayHaven are focusing on the correct issue — helping developers ask the right questions and get useful answers that can drive decisions.

The [a]list daily spoke with PlayHaven CEO Andy Yang about the merger and the competitive picture in mobile analytics.

“The space is definitely getting more competitive, and what you’ll see is the winners start separating from the pack,” Yang said. “More importantly, our customers are demanding a better solution. They want an end-to-end solution that combines leading analytics with tools they can use to take action that make an impact on their businesses. Our combination is a clearly differentiated offering in the space.”

The mobile market continues to grow strongly, but growing faster than the market is important to long-term success. How does the merged company plan to grow your market share in analytics against a diverse array of competitors?

“That’s a great question,” replied Yang. “Growing faster than the market is a main goal of ours, and we think that we get there by providing the best product on the market and serving the most significant pain point, which is fragmentation with mobile service providers. We are creating an end-to-end solution that will help mobile businesses and app developers understand user behavior, decide what it means, and take immediate action.”

Other than sheer reach (in number of apps, MAUs, actions tracked per month), what’s the key reason a developer should choose one mobile analytics service over another? Why should they choose yours?

“Data in mobile is becoming a commodity. Data to customers isn’t valuable if you can’t do anything with it,” Yang pointed out. “Our combined company solves this problem for our customers by providing a solution to track, understand and act — closing the loop on getting from data to action. Developers should choose our combined solution because we better address their needs.”

There are dozens of mobile analytics firms right now offering a variety of services. Are we entering a period of consolidation? Will there be fewer mobile analytics firms in a year’s time?

“Definitely, you will start to see some consolidation,” Yang said. “Businesses are becoming less tolerant of fragmentation of service providers and are demanding a single solution to address their needs. Our customers tell us all the time that they want to tie Kontagent and PlayHaven together. We’re clearly addressing this need.”

One important aspect of the merger remains undecided —what to call the merged company.

“We are still determining the branding for the combined solution, and we’ll be sure to fill you in once we’ve decided on a combined name,” said Yang.