In an exclusive interview with Telecom review, Ahmed Hamdan, Co-founder and CEO of Unifonic, reflected on the challenges faced while establishing Unifonic, the cultivation of an innovation culture within the company, and the strategies employed to build trust among 5,000 businesses. Discover how Unifonic collaborates with industry partners and its upcoming goals and milestones.
Reflecting on your journey from discovering a gap in the market to co-founding Unifonic, what were the most challenging moments and how did you overcome them?
When we started back in 2006, it was a completely different environment and ecosystem. There was no established ecosystem, fundraising opportunities were scarce, and talented individuals were hesitant to work for startups. Additionally, the market had yet to be fully explored. As founders, we faced significant challenges; editors were tough on us, and our leadership team lacked previous experience. I personally began this journey straight out of college, making those early years particularly difficult. However, through perseverance and learning from our investments, mistakes, and failures, we have evolved into what we are today. We take pride in our progress and are excited to represent the future of customer experience.
How do you foresee an innovation culture within Unifonic?
Innovation is at the core of our operations. Over the past 17 years, we have evolved through various stages of our journey. We constantly strive to leverage code and software to drive change and revolutionize business operations. To achieve this, maintaining an open mindset and a commitment to innovation is essential. Failure is inevitable along the way, but it is through these failures that we uncover the true value that software can create. However, success is not guaranteed, especially in such a dynamic environment, as evidenced by recent events. Therefore, it is imperative to continuously think ahead and explore new approaches.
Unifonic has gained the trust of over 5,000 businesses. How did you build that trust in the market? What role did customer feedback play in shaping Unifonic’s offerings?
At the heart of our culture lies a set of core values that we expect everyone to embody. One of these values is customer obsession, which we refer to as ‘loving our customers.’ The key to success for any organization, particularly in the software enterprise suite, is the ability to align every decision with customer expectations, challenges, feedback, and potential opportunities. We are dedicated to listening to our customers, ensuring they perceive the value we deliver, and providing them with seamless experiences.
This customer-centric approach has become ingrained in our DNA and culture. While we operate as a global software product house, we prioritize understanding and respecting the unique cultural contexts of each market. This includes considerations such as language, compliance, team proximity, and local nuances. Whether we're collaborating with technical teams, product managers, project managers, sales enablement teams, or stakeholders, we are committed to fostering strong relationships and delivering tailored solutions that meet the specific needs of each market.
In the rapidly evolving field of cloud communications, how does Unifonic collaborate with industry partners, and what benefits do these collaborations bring to the company?
In the early days, we recognized the importance of operating within an ecosystem. We understood that for any company to thrive in this domain, collaboration with key players in the market is essential, particularly in recent years. As a result, we have intensified our partnerships with various stakeholders.
We collaborate closely with telecommunications operators, who provide crucial support and channels for our products and services in the region. Additionally, partnerships with social media platforms and over-the-top service providers enable us to effectively reach customers and consumers. Furthermore, we work with software integrators and other companies operating in customer experience and automation domains. The integration of data from various sources is imperative to provide customers with a holistic view, and these partnerships facilitate the seamless flow of information.
We take pride in our partnerships with leading companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, AWS, Google Cloud, and others in domains such as marketing and customer relationship management (CRM). Our ecosystem approach emphasizes the importance of these relationships, which are integral to the success of our business.
What are the key goals and milestones Unifonic aims to achieve in the next few years?
Reflecting on our journey with LEAP (this marks our third participation) and since our inception with LEAP, we have experienced substantial growth. Introducing innovative products to the market has been a key focus for us, and today, we are excited to unveil new offerings, which are particularly significant for Unifonic.
Over the next few years, the software enterprise sector is projected to experience notable growth, especially in the Saudi region. As Saudi emerges as a hub for innovation and technological talent in the region, we are keen to capitalize on this momentum. Our strategy entails continued investment in product development, particularly in leveraging conversation AI. Today's launch of two new products is just the beginning; we are committed to anticipating future needs and investing in acquisitions, such as the voice analytics and ISP acquisitions made almost two years ago.
Expanding our market reach is another focus area. While we initially operated primarily in Saudi Arabia, we now serve customers in approximately 40 markets worldwide. Our recent success in the US market, achieved through partnerships with leading software companies, is a testament to our global ambitions. Looking ahead, we will explore opportunities in diverse markets across Asia and Africa, aiming to further expand the value we offer to our customers.
