The number of enterprises adopting a be-your-own-carrier (BYOC) model into their communication strategies has increased with the evolution of the cloud telecom market. This BYOC model is defined differently by industry players, but at its core, the model provides enterprises or third-party software developers with direct access to public carrier-level services to design custom communications offerings into existing services.
Adoption of BYOC models are appealing because they offer increased flexibility and allow enterprises to innovate further to address the unique needs of their business and customers. As a response, cloud-communication providers are tailoring services for enterprise customers by offering BYOC solutions that deliver greater transparency and allow the business to take control of their telecom resources.
Automation and access to telecom resources
The API Economy and resulting uptick in adoption of telecom APIs, have made enterprises more accustomed to having the ability to automate their existing services with communication interactions (i.e. having added intelligence through contextual interactions in business processes and having better command of phone numbers and call records, etc.).
The BYOC model is an effective solution because it provides the enterprise with programmatic access to carrier-grade telephony resources through a partnership with a cloud-based communication provider, and it also gives the business and/or third-party developer the control and flexibility to design and deploy services that meet the needs of their customers, recognizing that this varies.
As a result, BYOC adoption is creating new ways for enterprises to differentiate products and services by incorporating communication capabilities (i.e. masked phone numbers to maintain privacy of contract workers including Uber and Rover, as well as emergency services that provide dynamic location tracking of a phone number). This ability to innovate and customize offerings through API integration creates opportunities for enterprises to meet the changing needs of their existing customers and grow their customer base.
Flexibility to scale offerings
Customers’ changing preferences are also making BYOC models more attractive for enterprises because the company can make changes without investing in new equipment or engaging with a new service provider. For example, if data shows customers prefer texting vs. calling when communicating with a company, the business can adjust offerings to match that change in preference and engagement.
Through the flexibility of cloud services and APIs, BYOC solutions enable businesses to build their own models of service instead of force-fitting into a one-size-fits-all offering. In this context, operating under a BYOC model lets businesses respond to customer demands without changing core services or strategy.
With new opportunities to tailor customer support, scale networks and manage call volumes, BYOC models will continue to transform enterprise communications.
Businesses considering a BYOC approach and CSPs considering offering BYOC-flexible solutions need to first consider their customer’s engagement preferences and how these might change over time. Solutions encompassing a variety of telecom APIs create the most attractive BYOC models because they are customizable, and developers can easily scale services to stay ahead of customer demands and remain competitive as the industry evolves.
Enterprise product decision makers or developers interested in learning more about telecom APIs before going all in on a BYOC model should visit Flowroute’s API & Docs resource and review the blog post, “Checklist for Evaluating API Providers” to better understand API features and help make adoption of BYOC smooth and efficient.
