Things move pretty fast in the communications world, especially in an age where digital platforms make so many things possible. Companies can truly unify their communications and look to providers to do all the heavy lifting. Voice over IP is continuing to gain traction, even as VoIP monitoring in other countries is limiting accessibility. Still, the opportunities continue to emerge and the lines between certain capabilities continue to blur.
One example is that of unified communications as a service (UCaaS), the application, and communications platform as a service (CPaaS), the platform. According to a recent UC Strategies piece, the line of distinction between the two services is no longer clear. Both industries have experienced significant growth over the last several years and one of the initial goals of unified communications has always been enabling business processes.
The overlap is much more pronounced in the contact center space as custom integrations is a common focus and VoIP monitoring is a must. For example, the Home Depot uses a custom created contact center that is based on Twilio technology; BroadSoft (News - Alert) acquired Transera, which is a contact center completely based on APIs; LiveOps partnered with Twilio and Google in an effort to create a solution for the contact center that relies on agents using Chromebooks.
There is a definite pattern that has emerged in launch and acquisition activities. UC and UCaaS companies are launching or acquiring CPaaS companies. A clear example is Vonage’s announcement that it intends to acquire Nexmo. Avaya (News - Alert) launched Zang and Vidyo launched a video oriented platform as a service. GENBAND launched Kandy, a CPaaS service mostly available through GENBAND partners.
SAP (News - Alert) is relying on Kandy for communications as part of its Hybris solutions. A digital transformation suite of products, SAP Hybris complements the B2C and B2B commerce component popular with SAP customers. With this integration, the customer’s website gets the integration of a “contact us” dialog that enables voice, chat or video interaction with an agent. The solution also enables agents to share their screens and see what is in the customer’s e-cart.
The same is happening across the industry where key integrations are taking the customer experience to the next level. This will evolve from an anomaly of blurred lines into an expectation of a level of service that truly engages the customer and the agent in a single experience. Those unable to keep the pace will find little market share available to them. As a result, we should expect to see continued integrations with powerful outcomes.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi