Airtel rolls out cloud-based communications platform for biz; tunes into US$ 1 billion market

Bharti Airtel entered the rapidly-growing cloud communications market with the launch of business-centric ‘Airtel IQ' which is a cloud-based omni-channel communications platform and aims to enable brands to deepen engagement with customers through timely and secure communication. The move is a game changer for the fast-evolving Indian enterprise communication segment, said the company statement.

The Indian cloud communications market, estimated at US$ 1 billion, is seen growing nearly 20% annually.

Airtel IQ aims to eliminate the need for multiple communication platforms for different channels, and already companies including Swiggy, Justdial, Urban Company, Havells, Dr Lal Path Labs and Rapido have signed up as customers for Airtel IQ in the beta phase.

The platform which is commercially available now, runs on a pay-as-you-go model and the costs for enterprises would depend on the consumption levels.

The company statement also said that with just a small code, businesses can embed communication services such as voice, SMS, IVR in their applications and digital properties across desktop and mobile, all through a unified platform.

Mr. Ajay Chitkara, director and CEO – Airtel Business said that the new platform is expected to translate into 30-40% cost reduction for enterprises as compared to traditional models.

Airtel expects large call centre ecosystem, e-commerce and internet companies, start-ups, banks and those into manufacturing and distribution to be early adopters of the platform, given their need for omni-channel communications.

Citing an example, Airtel said, for a customer ordering food through an online platform and calling the delivery agent to find out the status of her order, the entire communication is conducted seamlessly and securely over Airtel IQ. The communication is encrypted and all mobile/telephone numbers are masked.

Airtel IQ has been fully developed by Airtel's in-house engineering teams.

The Airtel statement also said that natively integrated into telco grade infrastructure and architected by top digital talent, Airtel IQ is robust, secure, cost-efficient and intuitive.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.