Put down the telephone – it’s time to think of Twilio

Terazo Team

If your memories of The Office are relatively intact, you might recall moments when Dunder Mifflin’s dedicated office workers are constantly on their telephones, communicating with clients, reporting numbers, faxing information, etc. The telephones in this fictional office were probably connected to a PBX or telephony network, a closed system of carriers and wiring. Moving, updating, or adding more equipment or lines can be expensive. In addition, voicemail systems can be complex, and no two systems are alike.

Imagine building on that system to add custom functionality, such as a call center or order processing. Think of all the extra equipment, servers, software, and a highly trained workforce needed to install, manage, and keep things running. The telecom network is an old network laden down with specialized protocols, wiring, and equipment connected to specific carriers. Dealing with such a network can be, and mostly is, a hassle. Instead of choosing this network to build your business’ communications platform, what if you chose a platform built on the Internet?

Twilio is a communications platform built on the Internet and available via the cloud. There is no hardware or wiring required. Development is simplified with APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), which securely exchange data and communications between your business systems and numerous services. Deploying Twilio is adaptable, flexible, and cost-effective.

Twilio is also an omnichannel platform. This means it covers not only phone but also SMS, chat, email, and Internet apps like WhatsApp. As a Platform as a Service (PaaS), Twilio bridges telephone carriers and the Internet. It is highly available, reliable, easy to deploy, requires no equipment buy-in, and is fully customizable. Developers can easily add and extend Twilio’s functionality to meet specific business needs.

Traditionally, building a business communications platform meant dealing with telecom networks. This involved hardware, proprietary systems, and limited flexibility. Telecom carriers operate in a complex world of languages, protocols, and equipment tied to the global telephone network. Twilio offers a cloud-based approach that removes these constraints and lets you build communications on the Internet instead of on closed telecom systems.

The difference is clear. A call center from a telecom provider might involve IVR (Interactive Voice Response) technology limited to specific carriers, costly hardware, and rigid plans. Customization can be slow and expensive. Twilio removes these barriers by enabling programmable voice, omnichannel communications, and seamless integration with tools such as Twilio Frontline for mobile chat and Twilio Segment for customer data insights.

With Twilio, you can go beyond phone calls. You can offer SMS, text, web, email, video, and chat, all built on Internet protocols. Your contact center, dashboard, and reports are accessible with a few clicks in a browser or on a smartphone. There is no infrastructure to maintain or specialized staff to hire. Twilio’s Super Network ensures optimal traffic routing and 99.995% uptime for its open APIs.

Telephony Network vs. Twilio Cloud Contact Center

Deployment: Carrier-based, costly, and slow vs. rapid cloud deployment with open APIs.
Infrastructure: Requires hardware, servers, facilities, and staff vs. no hardware buy-in.
Customization: Limited and expensive vs. Twilio Flex, a fully customizable web-based contact center.
Channels: Voice and SMS only vs. voice, SMS, text, chat, email, and web apps.
Pricing: Fixed plans with overage fees vs. usage-based pricing that adapts to demand.
Data: Siloed across systems vs. unified communications data with Twilio Segment.

With Twilio, your business can do more than manage phone menus. You can connect customers to video, email, marketing campaigns, financial services, and sales reporting. And with usage-based pricing, you can scale up or down without extra fees or surprises.

Twilio’s suite of products is more than a call center. It is a full communications platform. By building on Twilio’s cloud-based architecture, your business can improve customer engagement, streamline operations, and leave outdated telecom systems behind.

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