Cequens Keynote: Road to CPaaS enablement in the MEA Region Karim Zaki, TADSummit 2018
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Cequens Keynote: Road to CPaaS enablement in the MEA Region Karim Zaki, VP Products, Cequens The rapidly changing world of communication, the ubiquitous adoption of cloud technology, and the users and customers demand for flexibility and innovation has paved the way for CPaaS emergence. A leading CPaaS provider in the MEA region, Cequens has a wide portfolio of customers - from startups, banks, to large and other global CPaaS providers. It hasn't been easy though. Traversing the road of CPaaS in the region has been a bumpy one - with many hurdles ranging from resistance to change, turbulent events in the Middle East, regulations, and persuading businesses it's safe to go cloud. In his talk, Karim Zaki will tell the story of how a relatively young company has managed to become a serious player in the CPaaS industry, both on a global and regional scale. To date, Cequens has over 1000 customers and reached over 6 billion people through its platform -digitally transforming the region.
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Cequens Keynote: Road to CPaaS enablement in the MEA Region Karim Zaki, TADSummit 2018
- 1. A Journey from SMS AGGREGATOR to CPaaS PROVIDER in MEA Karim Zaki – VP, Products
- 2. SMARTER enterprise communication for SEAMLESS digital transformation Our award-winning communication platform, communication center, and solutions are designed to lower cost, improve security and compliance, increase operational efficiency, and increase customer engagement.
- 3. CEQUENS IN NUMBERS TRANSFORMING LIVES, ONE CONNECTION AT A TIME 2011 YEAR FOUNDED 6 GLOBAL OFFICES 180 PASSIONATE EMPLOYEES 1000+ HAPPY CUSTOMERS 6 Billion LIVES TOUCHED
- 4. 80% COVERAGE across MEA’s Operators Proprietary TECHNOLOGY & PLATFORM Growing portfolio of innovative PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS Winning, agile, and high- performance CULTURE PCI/DSS COMPLIANT, ISO CERTIFIED, and GSMA MEMBER Strong BRAND POSITIONING in MEA THE CEQUENS EDGE A COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER YOU CAN COUNT ON
- 5. A CHALLENGING VOYAGE ACROSS 8 YEARS OUR JOURNEY FROM SMS AGGREGATOR TO CPAAS PROVIDER SMS AGGREGATOR CEQUENS BIRTH 2011 JOINING CLOUD AND REGIONAL EXPANSION A TURNING POINT 2012 CLOUD VS ON-PREM SOLUTIONS INHERENT BARRIERS 2013 HIGHER USAGE, LOWER COSTS COMMUNICATION EFFICIENCIES 2014 OMNI-CHANNEL AND TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION FOR ENGAGEMENT 2015 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ENABLEMENT THE DIGITAL BUZZ 2016 CUSTOMIZATIONS VS TIME-TO-MARKET PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE 2017 CONVERSATIONAL EXPERIENCES THE FUTURE OF COMMUNICATION 2018
- 6. CEQUENS BIRTH A NEW SMS AGGREGATOR IN THE MARKET SMS positioned as the world’s most pervasive communication channel SMS Notifications became a pillar of customer experience SMS enforced by Central Banks in the GCC for transaction notifications 2011 SMPP is the only option for connectivity Lack of accessibility to reporting Need for ongoing support Need to reach the masses 1 2 3 4 Direct MNOs Connections10Total SMS Traffic78M SMS APIs Connect Portal Multiple Carrier Agreement
- 7. Cloud MigrationCentralization1 Regional Expansion2 Operational Costs3 A TURNING POINT JOINING CLOUD AND REGIONAL EXPANSION Geopolitical and economic volatility in the MEA region Decentralization guarantee required in business (Always On mode activated) Great emphasis on global offerings 2012 Availability, offered across all our SLAs99.96% Deals for our cloud-based Emergency Notification System50
- 8. INHERENT BARRIERS CLOUD VS ON-PREM SOLUTIONS Developers ecosystem and community in the region wasn’t large enough to fully utilize our platform Going cloud was not an option for many governments and banks in the region Deep-seated barriers were unavoidable 2013 Regulatory Barriers Corporate Compliance Legacy Systems 1 2 3 Decrease in SMS delivery failure80% Reduction in Churn Rate30% Hybrid Solutions On-Prem Solutions PCI/DSS Compliance
- 9. COMMUNICATION EFFICIENCIES HIGHER USAGE, LOWER COSTS Communication needs growing massively, and operators charging a lot of money for cross-net termination A growing need to reduce costs and increase efficiencies without compromising quality Policies forcing some financial institutes to terminate directly to MNOs 2014 Cross-Net Charges1 Higher Usage 2 Quality of Delivery3 REDUCTION in Monthly Communication Cost savings for the largest bank in Saudi Arabia 22% Increase in CEQUENS Profitability8% TrueNorth
- 10. COMMUNICATION FOR ENGAGEMENT OMNI-CHANNEL AND TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION 60% mobile penetration and 39% smart phone penetration (238M) in the MENA region With the rise of social media, communication experiences were evolving and engagement became crucial One-way, one-channel communication became irrelevant and insufficient for businesses 2015 Two-Way Communication Omni-Channel Experiences Measuring Engagement 1 2 3 Launched SMS and Voice surveys50K Increase in our revenues from Non-SMS services10% Voice API Two-Way SMS API E-mail Integration Analytics
- 11. THE DIGITAL BUZZ DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ENABLEMENT Digital Transformation recognized as a key element of realizing full business potential Businesses were hesitant and resistant to such transformational changes There’s a growing need for business automation and social media engagement 2016 Social Media Engagement Business Automation Digitization Difficulties 1 2 3 To add any new integration point 3 to 4 Days For full implementation and integration with banking systems 21 Days Integration Platform
- 12. PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE CUSTOMIZATION VS TIME-TO-MARKET Endless communication use cases Rising need for customized experiences and contextual engagement 2017 High Demand for Customization1 Customer-Centric Experiences2 Time-to-Market3 Faster Time-to-Market per Initiative30% Reduction in our Internal Costs5% Workflow Studio
- 13. THE FUTURE OF COMMUNICATION CONVERSATIONAL EXPERIENCES Chat Apps overshadowing SMS and placing it in the backseat Customers are driving the need for more engagement using rich-media platforms Businesses unable to measure ROMI 2018 Need for Engagement Customer Experiences Measuring ROMI 1 2 3 ChatBot RCS CLIENTS5 3 BANKS AND 2 OPERATORS, requesting consultancy on which direction to follow Credit Agricole Bank Careem Ride-Sharing Provider RCS POCs RCS Partnership Google COMING NEXT WhatsApp for Business Apple Business Chat
- 14. CEQUENS PRODUCTS PORTFOLIO CLOUD COMMUNICATION PLATFORM (CPaaS) Connectivity Cloud Premium APIs tailored to simplify and enhance communication experiences Engagement Cloud Revolutionizing the future of communication with conversational experiences Verification Cloud Authentication solutions that are built to validate your users' identities COMMUNICATION CENTER SMS API Voice API Two-Way SMS API Number Discovery API Campaign Wizard Omni-Channel Chatbot Workflow Studio Verify OTP Fallback SMS Gateway Integration Platform TrueNorth
- 16. FACTS ABOUT CEQUENS PLATFORM PERFORMANCE CONNECTIVITY RELIABILITY FLEXIBILITY 45M DAILY API Calls 15M DAILY transactions 30M DAILY Delivery Reports 100 MILLISECONDS Transit Time 10+ BILLION Records of Big Data Database 350M+ MONTHLY Banking Transaction 900+ Route Alternative ADAPTIVE Smart Routing 100+ VPN Connection LICENCED PROVIDER By Local Regulatory 5 DATA CENTERS Route Alternative PCI/DSS Compliant FULLY-QUALIFIED Web-Penetration Test 99.96 UP-TIME Platform Availability 24x7 LIVE SUPPORT Technical & Operational 120+ MONTHLY Configuration Updates 6 CURRENCIES Supported REAL-TIME Number Diagnosis LIVE TRAFFIC Dashboards
Editor's Notes
- Cequens is a growth-driven startup that considers itself a result of the “Digital Era” and “Communication Age”. We believe that we have a crucial role and responsibility in transforming the way people communicate and enabling them to experience better, easier and more streamlined communication, especially within the region we serve. We work with some of the biggest names in the MEA region and empower them with carrier-grade connections, in addition to continuously-evolving customer engagement, communication, and authentication solutions that engage people and transform lives.
- In less than a decade we’ve grown across the MEA region and helped more than 1,000 customers reach 6 billion consumers.
- Trusted by more than 1,000 happy customers, Cequens enjoys a strong brand positioning in the MEA region and is proud of its proprietary platform and growing portfolio of products and solutions. Moreover, we have 80% of the MEA region covered and our platform is PCI/DSS compliant.
- Our journey spans 8 years that were insightful, eventful, and successful. Throughout this journey we learned about our region, its markets, and growing needs. We’ve faced many challenges that disabled our customers from realizing their full potential and witnessed the barriers that complicated their move towards digital transformation. And we’ve come up with a comprehensive suite of products and solutions to overcome these challenges. This is the Cequens story. Allow me to take you on this journey that showcases our transition from an SMS Aggregator in 2011, to where we are today: a leading communication solutions provider in the MEA region.
- Marketing Insights: SMS is known as the world’s most used communication channel. It’s universal, it’s private, it’s simple, and it’s definitely inescapable. In the year 2011 the demand for SMS in the enterprise world was massive, based on its crucial role in business communication. P2P SMS was dying. The Future of SMS was all in A2P messaging, and SMS Notifications became the standard in customer experiences. Cequens was established to fulfill that need and bridge the gap between enterprises and MNOs. Challenges: However, the operators in the region lacked expertise in anything beyond providing connectivity. Enterprises needed to reach the masses, have accurate reports and find on-ground, round-the-clock support. Response: At Cequens we closed agreements with multiple carriers in the region to expand our coverage and reach and offered SMS APIs and our Connect Portal for reporting. Impact: We were successful in positioning ourselves as a growing player in the market and managed to close the first year with an annual SMS traffic of 78M and 10 MNOs direct connectivity agreements
- Market Insights: The Arab Spring in 2011 served as a turning point for governments and enterprises in the MEA region. There was great emphasis on everything digital, and due to the geopolitical and economic instability in the region, Going Cloud was no longer a luxury, but a necessity for every business in every industry. I remember by that time it was the first time for us to receive RFPs with specific requirements about the uptime and availability. Moreover, going cloud allows enterprises and developers to add communication capabilities to enterprise systems and mobile apps without needing to build either the network infrastructure or the supporting interfaces. Challenges: Cloud technologies not only made it safer and easier for businesses to operate, but it also guaranteed to overcome the challenges we faced by that time, decentralization and enabled regional expansion at lower operational costs. Response: So, we moved to the cloud. Impact: Now that our solutions were also cloud-based, we were able to offer 99.96% platform uptime & acquired 50 new cloud “notification emergency” system deals with existing & new clients. This is when we first introduced our Cloud-First approach.
- Market Insights: Despite the benefits of going cloud, many institutions (such as governments and banks) were unable to embrace it due to internal compliance issues and regulations set by local authorities. They were keen on catching up with the fast-changing roles of digital systems, and our products and solutions were great for them, but it just wasn’t an option for many of our customers in the region. Challenges: On top of the regulatory and compliance barriers many businesses had legacy systems that were not “fit” for cloud technologies. Response: As an agile and flexible company, we jumped right in to it and found a perfect fix for these challenges and, hence, started adjusting our offerings to provide on-prem and hybrid solutions in addition to our cloud offering. Impact: The result? We were able to decrease the SMS failure by 80%, and that was due to the fact that many of our customers didn’t have queuing mechanisms at their side which resulted in dropping a lot of messages on the way. We also witnessed a 30% reduction in our churn rate, a number we weren’t even expecting.
- Market Insights: Now in 2014, operators in some countries were charging a lot of money for SMSs. And with the high usage of SMSs in the business world, companies were facing extreme charges for cross-net termination, Challenges: with ongoing pressures to reduce costs and increase efficiencies yet still terminate through the MNOs directly. Response: At Cequens we were able to create a brilliant solution that could save millions of dollars for companies consume billions of transactions. Moreover, we were able to improve the quality of delivery. Impact: TrueNorth was first implemented with several clients, including one of the largest banks in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region. Not only were we able to reduce our clients’ overall bill by 22% in one year, but we also grew our profitability by 8%.
- Market Insights: Soon enough, communication experiences were evolving at exponential rates, thanks to the rise of social media and online communities. Mobile usage was on the rise, with 60% mobile penetration and around 40% smart phone penetration, represented in more than 200M active subscribers, in the MENA region alone. Challenges: One-way communication and one-channel communication became irrelevant and insufficient for businesses, who were now required to engage with their customers in a more efficient and streamlined manner. Response: As a response we introduced new communication channels, such as Voice, Two-Way SMS, and Email integration, in addition to Analytics that could help businesses better measure their engagement. This is when we first introduced our Mobile-First approach. Impact: In that year alone we launched more than 50,000 SMS and Voice surveys, resulting in a 10% increase in our revenues from none SMS services. This helped preparing us for our movement towards a Digital Transformation Enablement.
- Market Insights: While it was very clear that Digital Transformation was a key element of realizing full business potential by 2016, many businesses were hesitant and resistant to this transformational change. They found it hard to envision how the entire value chain and business model might change. Challenges: There was an ever growing need for business automation and social media engagement, and still, there were many digitization challenges faced by enterprises in the region. Response: At Cequens we managed to overcome these challenges by designing and developing our Integration Platform. Now businesses could connect their legacy systems to our platform and enjoy the benefits of digitized communication without the risks or uncertainties involved. Impact: We managed to reduce the time for implementation and full integration to 21 days for full banking systems integration and the impact was huge; that also facilitate adding any new integration point in 3 to 4 days.
- Market Insights: Customization has been a buzz word in the communication world, especially recently. Not only were customers demanding customization but also they were demanding personalized communication experience. Brands could either adopt customer-centric communication or risk losing the opportunity to communicate with their customers altogether. Specially that we are in the era of customers being in the front seat and driving the change. Challenges: Enterprises had high demand for customization, requesting customer-centric experience and challenging time-to-market. Response: At Cequens we introduced our Workflow Studio as a solution to the growing need for customized communication experiences. First we used it internally by our operations team to facilitate customers customization requests and later we launched with some of our customers. Impact: As a result we are now empowered to offer customer-centric communications 30% faster than previous, which also reflected a 5% cost reduction for Cequens. Testimonial: This is one of the testimonials we received from our customer related to a workflow automation regarding SMS fallback on voice
- Market Insights: For this year we have seen a change in the communication industry dynamics towards empowering the customer, and today’s customers are pushing to have rich media channels become the official communication channels with brands. Challenge: The growing needs of millennial customers are pressuring providing rich media messages for more engagement and better customer experience while enterprises are happy with this direction as they will have more insights about measuring the engagement and their ROMI. Response: At Cequens, starting 2018 we started working on our Chatbot platform and we have taken active steps towards RCS. Impact: We’ve enrolled in Google’s EAP for RCS business messaging, and will be the first to introduce it in the MEA region once operators are ready. We’ve also built 2 RCS POCS for Credit Agricole Bank and Careem Ride Sharing. To date, we’ve received 5 requests from banks and operators to offer consultancy on which direction to follow. Coming Next: As we believe it is still uncertain whether RCS Business Messaging or WhatsApp for Business will be taking over. We will be working on adding both WhatsApp for business and Apple Business chat support to our platform.
- Throughout our journey we learned a lot about the market and it’s growing needs. Through market insights and research we came to one main realization: we could come up with products and solutions to overcome individual challenges. But to fully embrace digital transformation, we need a comprehensive communication platform that is Cloud First – Mobile first – AI First Consolidating all communication needs within one platform allows effective communication and efficient cost utilization; it also offers our customers peace of mind when it comes to administrative, financial, and legal matters.
- This shows an overview on how our different products and solutions work together in one ecosystem to facilitate Digital Transformation Enablement.
- Those are some facts about Cequens Communication Platform. Our platform handles billions of transactions each year, provider more than 900 routes, multiple channels, hosted in 5 data centers, with up-time 99.96%.