The News: Vonage announced the launch of Vonage AI Acceleration Suite, a portfolio of AI-capable, low-code/no-code programmable components that are designed to speed and simplify the development of applications that deliver smarter solutions to drive business productivity and better experiences and engagements. Read the Vonage Press Release here.
Enterprise Connect 2023: Vonage Gets Speedier and Smarter with Launch of Vonage AI Acceleration Suite
Analyst Take: Vonage shrewdly syncs and capitalizes on the growing demand across organizations and developers to use AI capabilities that can bolster business outcomes and the overall user experience through the introduction of Vonage AI Acceleration Suite. Integrating Vonage Communications APIs for voice, video, SMS and messaging, the AI Acceleration Suite targets allowing businesses and developers to swiftly deploy augmented, omnichannel customer journeys that use the power of AI and customer data to incorporate intelligence and automation into their customer experience applications.
The Vonage AI Acceleration Suite consists of:
- AI Studio: Originally launched in September 2022, AI Studio is a low-code/no-code solution that enables smart customer conversations in multiple languages, using AI-powered natural-language understanding (NLU) and machine learning (ML) capabilities. Vonage AI Studio targets both developers and non-developers in supporting their cultivation and deployment of customer engagement experiences. Recent updates include native Salesforce integration aimed at providing a holistic view of customers’ history and preferences.
- Proactive Connect: Unveiled in March 2023, Vonage Proactive Connect targets enabling two-way, one-to-one, personalized omnichannel conversations at scale to manage intelligent omnichannel communications and scalable AI-driven campaigns from a single destination.
- Meetings API: Also announced in March 2023, Vonage Meetings API is developed to deliver global, customizable video conferencing capabilities including adding real-time interactive video meetings into Web apps with only a few lines of code needed.
I see Vonage’s AI Acceleration Suite meeting fast-growing demand across business customers to investigate how AI can improve their overall performance. New AI technologies have been arriving regularly recently, fueled by powerful new AI innovations, and improved large language models, it was only a matter of time before they would converge with search and generative AI to create ever more useful capabilities. Tech titans Microsoft and Google have fueled heightened ecosystem-wide interest, especially around generative AI, where they are throwing off their gloves and going toe-to-toe in a contest to be the perceived driver of AI’s future in search and other applications.
As such, I see that the Vonage AI Acceleration Suite launch is exceptionally well-timed touting features such as delivering smart customer conversations in multiple languages, incorporating NLU and ML capabilities using AI, as well as enabling two-way, one-to-one, personalized omnichannel conversations at scale. From my perspective, Vonage is riding the ascent of a new community of non-developers or “citizen developers,” who are powering the demand to rapidly create applications with ease, augmenting existing applications with real-time communications and improved digital experiences.
From my view, the new suite strengthens parent company Ericsson’s ability to advance the way 5G network capabilities are exposed, consumed, and monetized since it uses low-code/no-code to streamline modern application development, motivating Vonage’s 1M+ registered developers to explore greater 5G service innovation potentialities. I expect that demand for modern application innovation will swiftly expand as enhanced digital engagement becomes integral to enabling stakeholders (customer, agent, workforce) to specifically fulfill the requirements of each use case.
Plus, Vonage AI Acceleration suite validates Ericsson’s strategic commitment to increase R&D across Vonage’s UCaaS and CCaaS portfolio assets, with the goal of aiding current mobile operator customers to sell through their own brands. Ericsson will also complement existing communications offerings to small and medium sized companies with the Vonage UCaaS and CCaaS solutions bolstering Ericsson’s offerings to both CSPs and enterprises.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
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Image Credit: Vonage
Author Information
Ron is an experienced, customer-focused research expert and analyst, with over 20 years of experience in the digital and IT transformation markets, working with businesses to drive consistent revenue and sales growth.
Ron holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from University of Nevada — Las Vegas and a Bachelor of Arts in political science/government from William and Mary.
