Why 'Superapps' Are Key to the Future of OTT Business Messaging

February 2023

Telecoms & Connectivity

Elisha Sudlow-Poole

Senior Research Analyst

There is evolving dialogue for A2P communications, as brand interactions are moving away from one-way messaging over a single channel to using two-way interactions via conversational messaging facilitated by OTT messaging apps.

Leading OTT messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Messenger are rapidly evolving their mobile messaging applications to include new voice and video communications. For example, in September 2022, WhatsApp announced the release of new voice and video calling features, The Click Links feature, which will allow users to invite up to 32 people to a group call.

However, Juniper Research notes, in its latest research, that whilst messaging apps such as WhatsApp are investing in improving the capabilities of existing services, there has been no overt effort from WhatsApp to integrate existing apps into its ecosystem. Instead, WhatsApp is developing its own capabilities in-house. 

This development of features does not only further dilute revenue opportunities for operators, through the cannibalisation of operator-led traffic such as SMS and RCS, but the progress in these voice and video capabilities over the past year highlights OTT players’ ambition to evolve their communications apps into rich media platforms that offer social networks and other rich media services. However, Juniper Research urges these apps to continue to prioritise messaging as its own independent channel as the evolution and integration of other services onto these apps intensifies.

Additionally, CPaaS platforms must be able to support value-added services such as CDPs, financial services, marketing and advertising campaigns, and integrated APIs to provide an end-to-end digital experience directly within an OTT messaging interface. 

Further to this discussion, Juniper Research urges CPaaS platforms to ensure that they refine their partnerships, channel support and value-added services to ensure that they are able to be an integral part to the super app ecosystem. This must be done through increasing partnerships with brands and enterprises that use OTT platforms and are anticipated to be embedded within the super app ecosystem. Moreover, CPaaS platforms already provide a single point of contact between brands, end users and OTT platforms. Therefore, as the complexity of this ecosystem increases, the reliance on CPaaS platforms will naturally increase.
 

Related Reading

 
Our complimentary whitepaper, Evolving the Conversation with OTT Business Messaging, investigates the use of OTT business messaging across a range of use cases including CPaaS, conversational commerce, and omnichannel communications, as well as highlights the factors influencing the future development of the OTT business messaging market.
 
“A new study by Juniper Research has found that global OTT (Over the Top) business messaging traffic will rise from 93 billion in 2023, to 254 billion by 2027. This growth of 172% will be driven by increased availability of open OTT messaging APIs and competitive pricing models; creating a viable rich media alternative to established operator-led channels, such as SMS.”
 

“Juniper Research’s latest OTT (Over the Top) Business Messaging research offers a comprehensive insight into this evolving market, including regional and vertical analyses which outline future opportunities within the OTT business messaging space. This report provides tailored recommendations for CPaaS (Communications Platforms-as-a-Service) vendors and CSPs (Communication Service Providers), as well as 5-year forecasts for key market segments coupled with strategic analysis. It also includes a Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard, featuring an in-depth evaluation of 19 OTT business messaging vendors using a combination of quantitative and qualitative scoring criteria.”