Today’s companies are evolving at an incredible rate. Ever since the pandemic accelerated digital transformation by up to 7 years for a multitude of brands, we’ve seen an increase in demand for tools which allow companies to adapt to sudden changes in an agile landscape.
CPaaS solutions, or “Communication Platforms as a Service” have earned a reputation as the go-to solution for many companies in search of flexible applications for communication, CX, and workflow automation. Unfortunately, these environments have often been reserved largely for big companies with access to a multitude of developers and technical skills.
Now, companies like IntelePeer are introducing a new model of the “CPaaS” landscape, designed to bring low-code and no-code functionality to the workplace. With IntelePeer, companies can access the functionality they need to transform their communication ecosystem, without any coding knowledge.
I spoke to new CMO for IntelePeer, Brian Gilman at Enterprise Connect 2022, to learn more about how the company is making workflow automation accessible to non-coders.
Rapid Transition into the CPaaS Market
CMO Brian Gilman has only recently joined the IntelePeer company as part of the brand’s effort to change its long-standing position as a simple “SIP” provider into a flexible CPaaS vendor. IntelePeer is rapidly moving from an environment where it didn’t have a lot of room for differentiation or innovation, into a space where it hopes to set itself apart from the crowd with a specific focus on composable code-free experiences.
“We’re in the middle of a rapid transition into the CPaaS market, and my focus right now is on highlighting our relevance in this space, which has previously been dominated by a handful of well-known brands”
According to Brian, while IntelePeer now identifies itself as a “CPaaS” company, its approach to this landscape is far different to what most companies are used to. Where other CPaaS solutions have been developer-focused and led, relying heavily on the use of coding and technical expertise, IntelePeer is concentrating on CPaaS from a no-code and low-code perspective.
“Our smart flows and innovative CPaaS technology allow non-developers to get involved in the process of building everything from IVRs to workflow automation tools with practically no insider knowledge. You can design an application in a couple of minutes, rather than every innovation taking weeks. Our focus is on targeting companies without the budget or developer knowledge of high-end enterprises and bigger brands.”
The Evolution of SIP Trunking
The transformation from SIP trunking provider into CPaaS vendor is quite an unusual and challenging one. According to Brian, his focus right now is on helping to really “redefine” IntelePeer as a solution for companies in search of a new level of flexibility and agility. He wants to concentrate on showing organisations how they can innovate with things like workflow automation, without needing a strong investment in coding.
“While other CPaaS companies focus on serving the developer market, our market is really anyone. We’re using this no-code and low-code ecosystem to give tools for innovation to people who haven’t had the opportunity to create before”
While IntelePeer has been in the communications market for a few years now, it’s only recently begun to make this transition from SIP provider into the CPaaS space. However, Brian believes a heritage in the SIP communication landscape is valuable for the company. It means they can support partners and vendors who are looking for ways to make communication tools even more valuable, through easy tools for two-factor authentication, virtual assistants, and IVR.
Channel Opportunity
Ever since it started life as a SIP trunking provider, IntelePeer has had a strong focus on working hand-in-hand with partners. This is something the company wants to continue investing in going forward. “We’re still very partner-friendly, but we’re also taking more direct-to-market approaches too. We think it’s important to have a significant mix of options.”
I asked Brian how channel partners are responding to the evolving world of CPaaS, and he noted for a lot of partners, it’s a very new environment to deal with. In the past, a lot of partners have avoided CPaaS completely due to the complexity of having to think about coding and programming. IntelePeer is helping to solve this problem by removing the coding from the equation.
“The channel already sells cloud PBX and contact centre solutions really well. With low-code and no-code CPaaS solutions, they can bolt on additional functionalities to make this environment even more successful. This might include advanced voice automation, or IVRs.”
The Future is Flexible
IntelePeer is focusing on rapid growth for the years ahead. According to Brian, the company is in a position right now to start making significant and aggressive movements in the CPaaS space.
“I’ve been involved in the pure CPaaS space before, and I think the ability to have conversations with companies outside of that focused developer space is very important. It means we can broaden the conversations we have and reach a much wider audience. We already have companies who have deployed hundreds of smart flows in their environments because of how quick and simple they are.”
Looking ahead, IntelePeer wants to continue targeting “line of business” solutions. According to Brian, the focus is on impacting the day-to-day workflow, and thinking about how they can make company operations more efficient on an end-to-end level.
For IntelePeer, the future is less about offering a toolbox full of specific solutions to companies, and more about leading consumers to the solutions they really need. “Often, companies don’t really know the full scale of what they need until they begin exploring what we can offer. Our focus right now is on helping to guide our customers towards the solutions they really want.”
