CXTech Week 46 2020 News and Analysis

The purpose of this CXTech Week 46 2020 newsletter is to highlight, with commentary, some of the news stories in CXTech this week. What is CXTech?  The C stands for Connectivity, Communications, Collaboration, Conversation, Customer; X for Experience because that’s what matters; and Tech because the focus is enablers.

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Infobip buys Openmarket from Amdocs for $300M

Infobip started in 2006 as a start-up from Vodnjan in Istria, Croatia. Today, it employs more than 2,100 people globally and operates through 67 offices primarily as a messaging aggregator / business messaging provider. Though as we’ve discussed in CXTech Week 25 2020, it’s expanding their communications services with conversations: omnichannel cloud contact centre solution with automation and a chatbot building platform.

It’s a consolidation move, they were direct competitors. Others in this space include Sinch (which has been on an M&A spree this year including Wavy and SDI) and MessageBird which also recently raised a boatload of cash like Infobip ($200M), CXTech Week 41.

The company works with mobile operators; messaging application companies; the world’s largest chat applications such as WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram; banks; e-commerce companies; social networks, and technology companies. With more than 300,000 clients including globally known brands such as Virgin Megastore, Fear, Uber, Zendesk, and Burger King.

Infobip Announces New Partnership Program

Reaching the mid-market, as well as SMB is expensive. Channel partners are important, as we see with Filipe Leitão (8X8) TADSummit presentation, as well as Twilio’s increasing focus on channel partners. Infobip is following suit in the hopes of taking a bigger piece of the North American business.

Kaleyra missed on EPS, Quarterly Revenue up 9%

Quarterly revenue was up 9% yoy to $38M. Not the 50%, 70%, 355% we see from some. But more typical of many in the programmable communications space, that have a more enterprise centric than web centric customer base. Most of their revenue comes from messaging in Italy and India.

Sangoma Revenue up 25%

Solid results from Sangoma given its customer base, first quarter of fiscal 2021, sales were $35.03 million, 25% higher than in the same quarter last year, and EBITDA was a record $6.73 million, up 83% year over year. 

RingCentral Revenue up 30%

Revenue of $304M up 30% from the same period last year, which beat the estimate of $287M.

BT Expands RingCentral Partnership across UCaaS and CCaaS

But there are alternatives to RingCentral, as presented by João Camarate, CTO and Founder, GoContact at TADSummit EMEA Americas keynote.

Agora continues to be talked up

I’ve discussed previously my concerns on Agora, CXTech Week 27. Also Communication Cloud Service Provider Ronglian Raises $125 Million. Another China based programmable communications provider. I know the fashion is to hold Chinese tech investments, to not is seen as a serious hole in an investment portfolio. I’m not a Chinese Telecom market expert, I know most of the players and roughly how the deals / relationships work, however, it’s looking a little inflated at the moment.

Winners of TADHack South Africa, Xplorer, blog about their experiences and hack

Nice review from Naomi Skie, Carol Khoza and Christine Bismwa of their hack, Xplorer, and experiences with TADHack Global 2020.

TADSummit EMEA Americas Week 2

We’ve not completed the week yet, the TADSummit sessions have been amazing, with excellent feedback and discussions in the comments sections of ther weblogs. Thank you to all the presenters and our sponsors: Automat BerlinGoContactRadisys, and Sangoma for making TADSummit EMEA Americas 2020 possible.

Programmable Telecoms inside a Telco by Jesus Cruz Manjavacas

Innovator Interview: Simon Woodhead, CEO Simwood

The Future of Conversational Messaging Isn’t Social, It’s Digital, Paul Sweeney

Innovator Interview: Erlend Prestgard, Working Group Two

CPaaS is dead, Long live CPaaS, Filipe Leitão, 8X8

Innovator Interview: Amandine Le Pape and Matthew Hodgson, The Matrix.org Foundation and Element

LivingAds®: RTC Advertising Switchboard

Keynote: Helping Carriers Win More Enterprise Business in a post-COVID-19 World, João Camarate Silva.

With more coming on Friday, next week, the week after that, and possibly Monday 30th. Just depends how late some people deliver their presentations 😉

2020 in Review through the CXTech Newsletter

Perhaps a little early for a ‘year-in-review’. I thought it was interesting to highlight how the pandemic impacted the fortunes of some companies, the volume of M&A this year, and give a view on 2021 and beyond as I’m seeing people getting all wrapped up in the BABS hype, rather than focusing on the human condition.

People, Gossip, and Frivolous Stuff

Congratulations to Miguel Monforte Nicolas who is now Head of Telecom at OXIO.

Well done to Kevin Chatow who is now Head Of Product Management, Collaboration Solutions at Jabra.

John Purcell is now Chief Product Officer at DoiT International

Eugen Mikoczy is now Cloud Advisory Lead in Client Innovation Center Slovakia at IBM.

Tricia Balfe is now Chief Executive Officer at XMLdation, who bought her start-up Nomos Software in 2016.

Oliver Brason is now Business Development Manager at TelcoSwitch

IST Campus of The Technical Taguspark celebrates its 20th anniversary. They’ve hosted TADHack over many years, it’s a world-class facility. Thank you Prof Teresa Vazão for making it possible.

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