How Infobip is helping businesses in Asia navigate digital transformation

Founded in 2006 in Pula, Croatia, Infobip has grown into a global leader in omnichannel communication solutions. Expanding into Latin America and the Asia-Pacific by 2015, the company achieved unicorn status in 2020 with a $200 million investment from One Equity Partners. The acquisition of OpenMarket and, more recently, Peerless Network in July 2022 further solidify Infobip’s position in the telecommunications industry.

In conversation with Adgully, Harsha Solanki, VP, GM – Asia, Infobip, speaks about the importance of leveraging cutting-edge communication technologies to drive business growth and customer engagement. She emphasizes on the need for businesses to adopt omnichannel strategies to stay competitive in today’s digital landscape, highlighting how Infobip’s innovative solutions can help companies effectively connect with their customers across multiple platforms. Harsha also underscores the significance of personalization and real-time interactions in enhancing customer experiences and fostering long-term loyalty.

What strategies have you implemented to expand its presence and influence across the diverse Asian market?

Infobip was founded in Croatia in 2006 by CEO Silvio Kutić, COO Roberto Kutić, and CTO Izabel Jelenić. Ever since then, the company has transformed immensely and grown to become Croatia’s first unicorn in 2020. Its innovative communications platform caters to diverse global needs, which is the reason behind its global success. With a presence across six continents and 70+ offices, and 3,500+ employees across the globe, Infobip’s revenue hit € 1.55 billion in 2022.

Managing a large geographical area presents a complex set of challenges. In expanding presence and influence across the diverse Asian market, I've found that empowering regional leadership has been crucial. My strategy revolves around recognizing that these leaders are closest to the people and businesses on the ground, possessing invaluable insights into local nuances and market dynamics.

I maintain regular syncs with our regional teams, not to micromanage but to stay informed of their initiatives and offer support when they encounter roadblocks. It allows me to leverage local expertise while providing the backing of our broader organizational resources. When regional leaders face challenges, we collaboratively brainstorm solutions, ensuring they feel supported without undermining their autonomy.

My leadership support extends beyond problem-solving. We’ve implemented a comprehensive approach that includes mentorship programs, facilitation of resources, and targeted training initiatives. This multifaceted strategy aims to cultivate a strong leadership pipeline within each region, encouraging talented individuals to step into more significant roles.

By building a culture of collaboration and open communication, we’ve created an environment where regional leaders feel empowered to take calculated risks and drive innovation tailored to their specific markets. It enhances adaptability to diverse Asian markets and strengthens our overall organizational resilience.

Ultimately, our strategy centers on the belief that empowered regional leadership is the key to navigating the complexities of the Asian market. By providing the right support and resources, we enable our local teams to drive growth and expand our influence in a way that respects and capitalizes on the unique characteristics of each region.

As a result, Infobip has been able to empower several businesses in the Asia region. For instance, Makro, a leading wholesale company in APAC, improved its eCoupon campaign management with Infobip's support. This initiative aimed to empower retail customers through the Thailand government’s savings scheme. By using our customer engagement solution, Moments, Makro initially achieved a significant increase in efficiency, sending coupons directly to customers via SMS and boosting conversion rates from 30% to 60%.

Adopting a personalized omnichannel approach that included both SMS and LINE, they experienced a remarkable 100% increase in the campaign’s conversion rate. Similarly, the Japanese ride-hailing service LINE TAXI utilized our number masking feature to enhance communication and ensure complete user data privacy. This collaboration increased the sense of safety for both drivers and passengers.

In 2023, Infobip continued to be profitable by adapting to evolving communication trends and enhancing customer experiences. The company analyzed over 473 billion digital communication interactions on its platform between businesses and consumers. This analysis revealed that conversational messaging channels are experiencing the fastest growth. Infobip recorded a 137% increase in mobile app messages compared to 2022, a 73% rise in social media messages, and a 63% increase in chat app messages. Conversational experiences are becoming more prevalent throughout the customer journey, whether for marketing, commerce, or support.

Looking ahead, Infobip is set to leverage emerging technologies like Generative AI and super apps to revolutionize business processes and customer engagement globally. With a focus on analytics-driven solutions, the company is committed to driving transformation and delivering value to its diverse clientele.

What innovative solutions have you offered to enhance customer engagement and communication for your clients?

Customer engagement and communication trends are rapidly evolving with technological advancements, consumer behaviours, and expectations. As businesses navigate the evolving global landscape, Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) has emerged as a crucial tool for seamlessly integrating and managing diverse communication channels.

Infobip has evolved from focusing solely on SMS to becoming an omnichannel provider, offering a wide range of communication channels accessible through simple APIs. Our expansion now includes Google RCS, Apple Business Chat, various chat apps, voice, video, and email. In addition, we've introduced advanced solutions such as customer data platforms, conversational marketing and support tools, and platforms for building chatbots. Our platforms have been enhanced to meet the advanced automation needs of major B2B2C companies like Microsoft.

It’s not just a specific channel that’s gaining traction; it’s the way communication is happening. The focus is now shifting from merely adopting these channels to refining the entire conversational journey from start to finish. We’ve observed the emergence of comprehensive end-to-end platforms that allow customers to seamlessly navigate various stages of purchase within a single conversational thread on a chat app or Rich Communications Services (RCS) messaging platform. This includes actions such as clicking on an Instagram advertisement, obtaining product information, initiating a purchase, completing payment, receiving delivery updates, and even participating in satisfaction surveys. Cloud infrastructure, conversational chat apps, and Generative AI have been crucial in enabling this transition, enhancing customer experiences, and integrating disparate interactions into a cohesive flow.

Infobip’s AI-powered chatbot platform is transforming customer experiences across industries. Unlike traditional chatbots, our conversational AI leverages natural language processing (NLP) to engage in human-like conversations and handle complex tasks, redirecting queries to human agents when necessary. The applications of AI chatbots are diverse. At Infobip, our chatbot building platform, Answers, empowers businesses to scale customer service, enhance efficiencies, and cross-sell through our smart virtual assistant deployed on customers' preferred channels. Answers efficiently handle high-volume queries, freeing up agents to address complex issues. Additionally, it supports marketing and sales by addressing product or pricing inquiries and enabling customers to browse, schedule deliveries, and make payments, all within their preferred communication channel.

For example, in India, during Ganesh Chaturthi, we collaborated with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to develop a chatbot on the WhatsApp Business platform to streamline communication between Mumbaikars and the administration. Similarly, taking advantage of India’s high WhatsApp penetration, Infobip partnered with the Karnataka government to boost citizen engagement at the grassroots level. Niva Bupa, a leading health insurance provider in India, leveraged our services and achieved a 75% return on investment (ROI) and a 31% delivery rate for RCS Business Messages. In a global-first initiative in India, we developed an AI-powered chatbot for Uber, allowing users to order rides via WhatsApp and creating a seamless booking experience. This “WhatsApp to Ride” feature is now available for Uber riders across Delhi-NCR, one of Uber’s top cities worldwide by volume.

What are the biggest challenges that you face as a leader in the tech industry, and how do you overcome them?

As a tech industry leader, I grapple with several challenges. Keeping pace with rapid technological evolution demands dedicated time for continuous self-learning through short courses and maintaining an active network of industry peers for collaborative problem-solving.

Additionally, the fierce competition in our sector necessitates a strong customer focus, a culture of innovation, and clear differentiation of our offerings. Managing customer expectations in this fast-paced environment calls for transparent communication, customer involvement in development processes, and consistent delivery of promises.

Lastly, managing remote teams requires a strategic approach that comprises effective communication tools, result-oriented management, and virtual team-building efforts to maintain company culture.

By addressing these challenges head-on through varied methods and constant adaptation, I navigate the complex tech landscape more effectively, driving innovation and maintaining a competitive edge in this dynamic industry.

How is Infobip helping businesses in Asia navigate digital transformation, especially in the wake of rapid technological advancements?

The evolution of the B2C (business-to-consumer) experience has been remarkable over the years. As technology advances, customer expectations for their interactions with brands have also changed. Today, customers demand fast, personalized, and human-like engagement when dealing with businesses. This shift has led us from one-way communication to personalized one-on-one interactions.

As a global CPaaS provider with a presence in over 200 countries, we have a unique advantage in gaining insights into customer behaviour in each market. Our 43 data centers and over 9,700 connections (including 800+ direct operator connections) give us a competitive edge. This enables us to identify the most effective applications for brands across industries, facilitating exceptional customer experiences.

Across Asia, brands in retail, digital commerce, financial services, and telecommunications are using their customers’ preferred channels to meet expectations and gain a competitive advantage. Our platform and cloud infrastructure allow businesses to process large volumes of communications and digital interactions quickly, maintaining low latency and top-tier delivery rates.

What emerging trends in communication technology do you believe will significantly impact businesses in Asia over the next five years?

It is an exciting time in the world of customer experience (CX) as new technologies mature to a point where they can offer real value to both consumers and businesses without the risk of reputational damage. AI will play an increasingly significant role in interactions between brands and their customers, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It should be used for tasks where it excels as part of a broader ecosystem of people, data, and tools, always keeping the end consumer in focus. Technology alone is no longer a differentiator; what truly matters is the experience companies can provide by using that technology.

Take mobile phone security, for example. Passcodes were a major step forward initially. Then, fingerprint recognition offered more security and speed but had drawbacks. Facial recognition improved on this, allowing users to unlock their phones with a glance. Each advancement provided better security and a simpler user experience.

Looking ahead, the next stage in the evolution of conversational experiences will involve consolidating technology and services to simplify life for users. Instead of having multiple apps for communication, recreation, and retail, we will see the rise of super apps that do it all. This trend is already visible with WhatsApp, which has expanded its messaging, voice, and video call services to support end-to-end retail journeys within the app – from discovery to purchase and support.

AI will play a dual role in this process: creating more engaging and human-like interfaces and, in the background, using increasingly sophisticated and integrated large language models to provide personalized experiences for every user. Generative AI is also an emerging technology that will be instrumental in redefining customer engagement with its deployment in the end-to-end customer journey.

How are you integrating sustainability and corporate social responsibility into the company’s business model?

At Infobip, we are committed to empowering people, being customer-centric, learning through experience, and, above all, having a deep passion for technology and innovation. Simultaneously, we strongly believe in being mindful while doing business by caring for our people, communities, and the environment. We recognize our responsibility to reduce our potential negative impact on the environment and to make a positive and meaningful contribution to the communities we serve.

Even though it is challenging to incorporate ESG principles into our business strategy and day-to-day work, we perceive it as our responsibility. In our everyday work life, we have adopted sustainable practices like waste collection and reduction of the same in our offices, conserving energy, recycling, environment-friendly travel, etc. That’s not all. At the larger level, Infobip, in addition to energy-efficient grade A+ campuses, has installed solar panels on the Vodnjan campus to generate more renewable energy. The company is planning similar upgrades to other campuses. Infobip regularly assesses its carbon footprint and is developing a roadmap to reduce its emissions.

Globally, Infobip has invested over €570,000 in communities and donated over 150 laptops and other office equipment. There is also BipUp Teams’ onsite volunteering program, which empowers employees to make positive local impacts. Infobip also introduced a global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiative, resulting in a new DE&I Policy and global training on preventing harassment, discrimination, and unconscious bias. Additionally, the company conducted a double-materiality assessment to identify the most significant economic, environmental, and social issues for its business and stakeholders. The top three topics of interest were community engagement and investment, business ethics and compliance, and data protection and privacy.

Our clients and prospective clients consistently request insights into our ESG practices and achievements, motivating us to become even more effective and impactful. We are now finalizing the ESG strategy and setting a roadmap with targets and goals we plan to achieve in the coming years.

As a female leader in the tech industry, what advice do you have for aspiring women looking to advance their careers in this field?

One piece of advice I consistently offer to budding professionals across all industries is to see challenges as opportunities rather than roadblocks. This perspective has been a cornerstone of my professional and personal life, serving as my strength. The tech industry is a high-pressure job, and patience is essential for survival and growth. Additionally, staying self-motivated is crucial to effectively manage the pressures inherent in this field.