As the New Year arrives and people around the world prepare to tackle January in full force, vendors of all shapes and sizes in the communication industry have begun to air their predictions for the year ahead. Twilio, one of the leading communication vendors recently shared predictions from two of their business executives.
Devang Sachdev, Twilio’s director of Product Marketing and Solutions, has introduced his thoughts on the role that technology and AI will play in the customer experience conversation. On the other hand, Chief Trust and Security Officer Nils Puhlmann shared with us his thoughts on how 2019 will be the year that consumers place more attention on working with companies who lead the way in data privacy and protection.
Here are the insights we got from Twilio’s leaders.
Technology and AI in 2019
According to Devang Sachdev, 2019 is set to be the year of the “application platform,” providing developers with a new way to access enterprise software. Application platforms provide agility and flexibility to the modern developer crowd, giving them the tools to benefit from a low-cost and scalable solution for innovation. Sachdev expects an influx of new ideas from developers in 2019, starting in the contact centre.
Devang also believes that businesses will start to become more visible on tools like Apple iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger in 2019. According to Twilio, these platforms will give brands a different way to engage their customers in rich conversations through a variety of formats.
Speaking of customer experience, Sachdev went on to say that customer service agents will be playing a more strategic role this year, thanks to the support of machine learning applications. With new and disruptive technology in the marketplace, agents won’t need to rely on following scripts with customer interactions. As AI and machine learning enter the contact centre, customer service agents will be able to access more authentic and intelligent conversations with their customers. Human agents and AI systems will become the dream-team for CX, according to Twilio.
Security and Privacy in the New Year
Nils Puhlmann focused his attention and expertise on the security and privacy conversations that are sure to emerge this year. According to Puhlmann, as tech innovation accelerates, security and privacy may be overlooked. Some businesses are sacrificing safety for the sake of speed in things like driverless cars and artificial intelligence or IoT. However, it’s impossible to ignore security for long.
Twilio feels that businesses everywhere will begin to recognise the dangers of poor security this year and look for ways to manage their risks more effectively. While every company has vulnerabilities, there are always strategies that organisations can access to keep threats to a minimum.
Nils also believes that consumers in 2019 will begin to show more respect and loyalty towards companies that take a leadership approach to data security and privacy. As data emerges as the most important asset a business can have, customers will pride themselves on working with businesses that properly care for and account for their information.
