https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2017/03/30/can-amazon-conn…
Twilio, in the scheme of things, is presently cheap. Using the term in its common parlance. Based upon 2018 revenues (which is what such companies are valued on, if one wants to so invest), Twilio is cheap. Lets make no mistake about that (and I don’t want to hear from traditional fundamental valuation skeptics. This is not GE, this is growth investing in nascent companies who are creating and redefining the way things are done in the world).
Of late there has been grumblings that AWS with their new call center app, will disrupt Twilio. Defenders of Twilio respond that Twilio is a partner with AWS on this new call center product. And sure enough they are. I have no doubt that Twilio does things that AWS does not, and that Twilio will bring value add to the service.
The problem is, is that after you read what AWS is doing with their call center offering, you get the feeling that for most solutions, you won’t need more than plugging in your CRM software (such as ZEN or CRM) and off you go.
And we know this product works well. It is the same service that Amazon has used internally for years for its internal call center customer service needs. If there is one thing we know about Aazon, and no one would deny, is that Amazon knows customer service, perhaps as well as any company that has ever existed. So we know this product worked to satisfy all of Amazon’s internal needs.
I have little expertise, or insight into why one would choose TWLO over AWS if one needed a call center. I do know that TWLO provides an awesome product, so awesome, that some companies, even though they already have a large traditional infrastructure for their call center, will still use TWLO on top of it to provide more flexibility and features.
So, it seems to me, that serious businesses that are at least somewhat large (the above example was from that bed and breakfast app…you know what I am talking about) will probably choose Twilio.
But myself, as a small business, if I needed a call center, given what I read in the above link, I do not know why I would need more functionality and ease of use (as it is said to be quite easy to use and implement - some say even easier than Twilio) than what Amazon itself had need for.
Worth digging into more. It may explain why Twilio shares are cheap at present, this fear and doubt. It is not this repeated rationalization that “Twilio is pricey and therefore why the shares do not respond to good news,” but the more rational, stepping back and exploring the competitive environment. And the competition is not the other API companies, but AWS as an example. Robust, tested, simple to use, less expensive.
How much Twilio do you need as a partner if you are using AWS call center?
And I am sure many here will tell me, if you have to think that much, maybe you are thinking too much.
Tinker