Why the Industry Must Shift to Intelligent Engagement
A Conversation with Neelam Sandhu, CMO of Vonage
Last week on CPaaSAA Talk, I sat down with Neelam Sandhu, CMO of Vonage, for a conversation that felt refreshingly grounded.
This wasn’t a glossy AI showcase. It was a strategic discussion about what it takes to compete right now in communications — at the intersection of telco, cloud, APIs and enterprise transformation.
The timing was telling. Vonage had just come out of its Global Leadership Summit, with MWC around the corner. The tone wasn’t hype. It was clarity.
And that clarity matters — because our industry is at a turning point.
AI Is Becoming the Operating Layer
One of the strongest themes in our discussion was that AI is no longer a feature. It’s becoming foundational.
Neelam described AI not as a product category, but as something that runs through everything — APIs, contact center, engagement workflows. It enhances decision-making, routing, personalization, automation.
But here’s the key: AI only matters if it changes outcomes.
Enterprises are not asking for “AI-powered messaging.” They are asking how to reduce call times without hurting customer experience. How to increase conversion rates. How to lower cost-to-serve. How to improve fraud detection.
That is exactly the shift we at CPaaSAA describe as Intelligent Engagement.
Not more channels.
Not more APIs.
Not more dashboards.
But systems that use intelligence — AI, network data, workflow automation — to respond dynamically to customers, partners and employees in near real time.
When AI becomes the operating layer, communications moves from transport to orchestration. And orchestration is where value lives.
Bridging Enterprise Speed and Telco Scale
Another important theme was speed.
Enterprise buyers move fast. They expect iteration, measurable ROI, quarterly impact. Telcos, structurally, often move more slowly and operate on longer planning cycles.
Vonage sits at the intersection of those worlds. It carries developer DNA and enterprise expectations, while also leveraging deep network capabilities through Ericsson.
That position is powerful — but demanding.
To succeed, you must combine network-grade reliability with developer simplicity. You must innovate at software speed while operating at global scale.
This is not just a Vonage challenge. It is an industry challenge.
If CPaaS, telcos, CCaaS players and API ecosystems fail to match enterprise expectations for agility and outcomes, hyperscalers will fill that gap. The market will not wait.
Network APIs: From Technical Capability to Business Outcome
We also discussed Network APIs — an area full of promise.
Identity verification, authentication, quality on demand — these are powerful capabilities. But technical exposure alone is not enough.
The real question is: what business problem does it solve?
Neelam emphasized simplicity and real-world use cases. Developers don’t want complexity. Enterprises don’t want theory. They want solutions that reduce fraud, accelerate onboarding, improve trust.
This is precisely why the Intelligent Engagement narrative matters at an industry level.
If Network APIs are framed as technical building blocks, adoption will be slow. If they are framed as enablers of better customer journeys, stronger security, lower churn and higher revenue, adoption accelerates.
Language shapes markets.
Right now, too much of our industry still talks in acronyms. Enterprises think in outcomes.
We need to close that gap.
Moving From Channels to Intelligent Engagement
For years, the industry competed on reach and reliability. Then it competed on omnichannel. Now it competes on context.
The ability to combine:
– Network data
– APIs
– AI models
– Workflow automation
– Customer journey design
into something seamless and measurable is becoming the defining capability.
That is Intelligent Engagement.
It is not a marketing slogan. It is a necessary evolution.
If we continue to sell “CPaaS” as programmable messaging pipes, we cap our own growth. If we align as an ecosystem around delivering intelligent, outcome-driven engagement, we expand the total opportunity.
And this is where collective adoption matters.
No single vendor is large enough to redefine the narrative alone — not even the largest CPaaS players. Meanwhile, hyperscalers dominate the AI conversation globally.
If our industry does not articulate its own North Star — centered on outcomes, trust, compliance, orchestration and measurable value — we risk becoming a feature layer in someone else’s story.
AI Hype vs Measurable Value
Neelam was realistic about AI hype.
Every company claims intelligence. Buyers are becoming more skeptical. They want proof, not promises.
The separation over the next few years will not be between companies that “have AI” and those that don’t. It will be between those who embed AI meaningfully into workflows and those who use it as a marketing layer.
That is another reason why Intelligent Engagement matters.
It forces the conversation toward business impact: cost efficiency, revenue growth, CX improvement, fraud reduction, compliance strength.
It forces us to talk about what changes for the customer — not what changes in the product demo.
Why the Industry Must Align
The conversation with Neelam reinforced something important.
Vonage is positioning itself as a critical layer of the tech stack — between network and cloud, between infrastructure and application, between telco and enterprise IT. The layer that accelerates and multiplies value creation and enterprise adoption.
But this bridging role cannot sit with one company alone.
If CPaaS providers, telcos, API initiatives and AI innovators continue to operate in fragmented narratives, enterprises will see complexity.
If we align around Intelligent Engagement — and consistently communicate in terms of outcomes — enterprises will see clarity.
Clarity accelerates adoption.
Adoption accelerates growth.
Growth attracts investment.
That is how we move from a $30–70 billion market trajectory toward something much larger.
The Real Race
Conversations like this are exactly why CPaaSAA exists.
Not to amplify hype. But to challenge the industry to think bigger — and speak more clearly about outcomes.
Shortly before this Talk, I had the opportunity to speak at Vonage’s Global Leadership Summit in Dallas. On that stage, I challenged the team with something simple:
Don’t just adapt to the changing game.
Lead the change.
If AI is reshaping communications, then companies like Vonage — sitting at the crossroads of network, APIs, and enterprise engagement — have a responsibility to define what the next phase looks like.
Last week, Vonage CEO Niklas Heuveldop publicly accepted that challenge on LinkedIn.
That’s the kind of leadership this industry needs.
Because the next phase of CPaaS will not be won by incremental improvements. It will be won by those who articulate a clear North Star and align execution around measurable outcomes.
If we continue talking about APIs, channels and features, we limit ourselves.
If we collectively talk about Intelligent Engagement — about growth, efficiency, trust, and business impact — we expand the market for everyone.
The real race is not AI vs non-AI.
It’s fragmentation vs alignment.
Features vs outcomes.
Noise vs clarity.
And if we get that right together, this industry doesn’t just change.
It leads.
My lifetime in IT and telecoms has been dedicated to innovation, building bridges and creating change. From the early days of cloud communications to working with operators on innovations and business development, and currently emphasizing APIs, CPaaS/CX and AI, my journey has been one of continuous evolution.
As founding partner at CPaaS Acceleration Alliance and The Next Cloud I'm privileged to help global telcos and techcos thrive in a fast changing world - through events, community building, strategy and global business development. I thrive on challenges and change, strategizing in cloud communications, and bringing people together for mutual success. Travel and continuous learning are my passions.
I believe the global communications industry is pivoting to prioritize customer experience and impactful solutions over mere technology and platforms, and we can tackle societal challenges by merging the strengths of corporates and innovators within new ecosystems.
Comments are closed