Gartner predicts that the software market will reach US$1 billion by 2025 indicating that demand for software will continue. Among 1,526 participants to the Gartner Digital Markets’ 2023 SMB Tech Trends Survey revealed that 89% think technology is critical for achieving organisational goals, with 46% seeing technology as adding value to every part of the organisation.
Q29: How important is technology to achieving your organization’s goals?
Forrester VP and principal analyst, Liz Herbert, predicts that in 2023, the software industry will continue to grow and expand its share of overall tech market spending; challenges exist, however.
"Growth alone is no longer enough, as shifts in investment capital are forcing a new emphasis on managing profits and operational costs. Geopolitics will influence changes, as well, such as more local hosting options. And emerging trends in automation, industry clouds, and sustainability will take centre stage in the coming year," she continued.
At a media briefing organised by Freshworks' Sandie Overtveld, SVP and GM for APJ and MEA, revealed trends specific to Asia, and how as a business Freshworks is positioning itself to tackle the challenges and opportunities in the region's competitive market.
How is business software use changing in Asia? What is/are driving this change?
Sandie Overtveld: Customer demand for speedy services pushes businesses to update their innovation and development cycles. The traditional development time of one year is too long and can push people away to seek better competitors who can deliver the best services at the fastest time possible.
IDC forecasts that by 2025, 30% of Asia Pacific-based chief information officers (CIOs) will have successfully harnessed artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep automation to speed up their operations.
We are also seeing a convergence of people and technology to relate with customers on a personal level. Previously, markets with a high GDP were more likely to invest in technology to enhance their operations and solve problems, while those with a lower GDP were focused on people-centric processes.
"Today, organisations must meet customers in each stage of their journey, regardless of which platform they are communicating on. This is crucial in delivering the right services and converting more prospects into customers."
Sandie Overtveld
Freshworks is an in-the-cloud-only solution. Most SaaS applications come in one flavour. Is this the same for Freshworks?
Sandie Overtveld: Our solutions do come in one flavour that is delivered through a customisable and scalable platform, namely our Freshworks Neo software. It is designed to give support teams a unified data set to make smarter business decisions and delight customers.
Through crucial information like signups, popular products, and sales conversion rates, agents can be empowered to improve their customer experience and create meaningful conversations.
Freshworks Neo is also designed to support businesses in meeting their needs. With over 1,200 apps to choose from, businesses will be able to find the right solutions that fit the nature of their business and scale operations according to customer demands.
These come with native integration that enables seamless connection across apps, allowing teams to work together and harness context to drive better engagement.
How do you differentiate from other more established brands (Zoho, Zendesk, HubSpot, Oracle Service Cloud, ServiceNow)?
Sandie Overtveld: From the very beginning, our goal has always been based on one simple mantra: Happy employees create happy customers. By making intuitive and modern products that are simple for employees to use, we make their jobs of delighting customers easier. By empowering employees with the right tools, they will be able to meet key metrics while also drawing more customers to their front door.
We also go the extra mile in proactively working with organisations to achieve specific goals. To that end, we analyse the needs of both your business and customers and choose the best solutions at an affordable pricing plan with no hidden costs.
How do you address interoperability with other applications?
Sandie Overtveld: As previously mentioned, our Freshworks Neo platform is designed to connect both first-party and third-party apps to support businesses. The platform offers more than 1,200 apps from Freshworks Marketplace that can extend their functionalities and deliver the best experience.
For instance, integrations with the Freshworks software allow agents to view customer information without opening new tabs or leaving support apps. This leads to faster customer-minded conversations that make the recipient feel that the organisation cares about their needs.
We have also partnered with Meta to enhance conversational customer experience on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messaging, freeing support agents to focus on questions that require direct intervention or technical knowledge.
How do you address the desire for businesses to have custom processes uniquely tailored to the way they do business?
Sandie Overtveld: Freshworks Neo is designed to help organisations become flexible and more agile, which is essential in an ever-changing business landscape. As a customisable, end-to-end, AI-powered enterprise platform, Freshworks Neo offers a set of popular SaaS applications and use cases that can be integrated with the entire tech ecosystem. In cases where pre-established apps are inadequate, businesses can also harness a strong partner and developer network to build their own apps.
By unifying functions like security, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, businesses can perform faster and delight more customers. Furthermore, our single-vendor solution also helps businesses cut out unnecessary bloatware, which can otherwise lead to high operational costs and technologies becoming harder to utilise.
What business opportunities is/are Freshworks purposely willing to not address?
Sandie Overtveld: Freshworks focuses on delivering features that scale for all our customers. To that end, our focus is on improving our products that are horizontal and modular to suit every business need. Our off-the-shelf software is highly configurable and provides deep customisation through our marketplace apps and native integrations on offer.
I understand Freshworks is 100% channels driven in Asia. Is the approach to have multiple channels in a country or have an exclusive channel partner?
Sandie Overtveld: Depending on customer preferences and requirements, we support customers either through our direct sales teams or our partners. Our Global Partner Program has created an ecosystem that has empowered organisations to accelerate their business and also allowed us to grow our presence in the region.
Made up of four different programs, we offer the flexibility of choice that best fits every kind of business. The first is the Solution Partners Program which empowers organisations to grow their revenue streams by customising and providing Freshworks software. These solutions can either address specific challenges or assist in the development of other enterprise goals.
Secondly, the Technology Partners Program gives organisations the opportunity to address local or regional innovation challenges by integrating Freshworks' product suite with pre-established software. Partners under this program will be able to leverage our robust marketplace to sell their solutions and become major tech players in their communities.
Thirdly, we have a Startup Partner Program, which gives new or growing companies the resources to connect with customers effectively. Tools such as our customer relationship management (CRM) platform, helpdesk software, and messaging bots are made available to assist support agents in overseeing customer communication as well as their brand image. In fact, we have seen a particularly strong impact on this program among startups, enabling them to go head-to-head with bigger competitors.
Lastly, we offer an Affiliate Partner Program for organisations looking to market our products and earn recurring commissions for each new customer referred. Depending on which plan they choose, organisations can either help other businesses in enhancing their online retail operations or recommend specific products as a freelancer or individual marketers.
Furthermore, we are currently in the process of building new partnership frameworks for system integrators and joint businesses. These will provide more opportunities for organisations to adopt Freshworks' solutions and harness their benefits.
