CNBC has reported that the adoption of cross-app communication is gaining popularity. The new report highlights, as an example of this burgeoning popularity, how 60 percent of eligible users on Instagram have opted to combine messaging platforms to exchange messages with people on Facebook Messenger.
Looking at this area of technological development for Digital Journal is Gabriel Engel, CEO and Founder of communications omnichannel Rocket.Chat.
Engel builds on the picture of cross-app communication growing in usage, noting: “In recent research, Facebook found that 70 percent of Americans [sic] use three or more messaging apps, and a third of those users find it difficult to remember where certain conversation threads are.”
There is a huge array of messaging apps, beyond the most popular forms like WhatsApp. Many apps have morphed into broad platforms, providing services like status updates, chatbots, payments and conversational commerce (such as e-commerce via chat). Often such applications are delivered via centralised networks operated by a server.
Engel explains that the issue cuts across the corporate and everyday world: “This is an issue that both consumers and businesses alike are facing as the number of communication tools continues to proliferate. But, with the emergence of omnichannel communication platforms, businesses can streamline communications just as easily as consumers, bringing organization to something historically so chaotic.”
Omnichannel communications refer to a software development that aims to provide a singular experience for consumers across all channels. In other words, a unified communications portal.
An example is with Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to integrate the Facebook products Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. A technological challenge that Facebook is facing, which could plague other providers, is around the need for encryption.
In spelling out the advantages of this, Engel finds that :”In addition to being useful for day-to-day communication with peers, centralized, omnichannel platforms allow for substantial advancements in everyday business practices and can satisfy the needs for both team communication and client interactions.” The reason for this? Engel explains: “By eliminating the need to go between apps, customer service can improve drastically, and employees can better stay on top of deadlines.”
