Saudi Cloud Communications Provider unifonic Partners with WhatsApp

Voice over IP (VoIP) that many businesses and individuals take for granted, but in some parts of the world, the technology has a history as a battleground technology between governments and citizens. After the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, some countries, including Saudi Arabia, began using IP address-blocking to prevent citizens accessing 400,000 websites, including most Internet-based communication tools. In 2017, Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on VoIP calling in an effort to boost productivity and economic growth. Now, in 2020, the same countries that were hesitant in allowing citizenry access to global digital communications platforms are finding it absolutely necessary in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, the Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia based cloud communications company unifonic announced signed an agreement with Facebook messaging subsidiary WhatsApp. The resulting service is expected to offer timely and scalable solutions that address communication challenges between local and regional companies and their clients. The new service will use the WhatsApp business API to connect software platforms and allow companies to easily and seamlessly connect with their client base, which may be thousands and even millions of users.

Eng. Ahmed Hamdan, CEO and co-founder of unifonic, noted that the new service uses WhatsApp’s platform to enhance customer experiences and improve business performance, especially in light of the current situation imposed as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, where people are compelled to stay at home and resort to automated and digital communication methods as an alternative to visiting offices and service branches.

In announcing the partnership with WhatsApp, unifonic says it is seeking to provide the WhatsApp Business API service to various sectors, most notably e-commerce, retail, logistics, telecommunications, financial, insurance services, and travel and hospitality service sectors. The company is one of the organizations that has signed on to support the Kingdom’s development efforts through launching various services, contributions, and plans designed to augment the digital transformation journey under Saudi Vision 2030.