How QuickBlox Builds Messenger Apps Faster, Cheaper And Safer: Q/A with CEO Nate McLeitch

👋 Welcome to another interview by Website Planet. Our interviewees analyze the current trends in their industry, how to solve its main challenges, and how to prepare for what is coming in the next few years.

In this interview we talked to Nate McLeitch, CEO of QuickBlox, to learn how they help their clients in healthcare build a custom messenger app with real-time chat & video APIs in just hours, and what they see in the future of AI-driven communication.

What problems are you solving for your customers and audience?

We are focused on solving the communication challenges that are faced by a large and diverse range of customers, from different industries such as healthcare, finance, e-commerce, education and many more. Our customers go from business owners, product managers and developers from smart startups or large businesses, those who have a key role in choosing and implementing the communication solutions.

Business owners are looking for high-quality communication tools that are reliable and that will help them improve their interactions with their customers and employees. They prioritize having seamless communication channels that help facilitate efficient collaboration and increase customer engagement.

On the other hand, developers need easy-to-use solutions that are quick to implement and customize. And product managers are focused on looking for affordable options with the flexibility to customize and rebrand communication platforms tailored to their brand requirements.

More in general, businesses are looking more and more for AI-driven communication tools, like chatbots, while also looking for the best way to use AI to automate tasks and increase efficiency, keeping their competitive edge.

The main roadblocks our customers face when achieving these goals are:

• Developers not having the best technical skills
• Budget constraints and limited timeframes for implementing communication solutions or even integrating AI

Off-the-shelf products can be a quick fix, but they usually don’t have the necessary features and personalization options that the business needs and their data security and compliance needs.

If the businesses don’t pay attention to these pain points, they might risk frustrating their customers due to lack of immediate access to support or unreliable communication channels. Unsecure communication channels can lead to data breaches and if they ignore the new AI technologies, they can end up in disadvantage compared to their competitors.

QuickBlox brings a better solution with its comprehensive suite of communication tools that can be very easily implemented, are highly customizable, AI-enhanced, secure and cost-effective for businesses. Our platforms offer robust SDKs, APIs and UI kits that let developers seamlessly integrate chat, video calling and other communication features into their websites and applications.

“QuickBlox chat has enhanced our platform and allowed us to facilitate better communication and caregivers and care coordinators.”

Robin Jerome, Principal Architect, BayShore HealthCare

We also have a ready-made white-label app, Q-Consultation, which can be customized and rebranded for various use cases. With features like chat-only or video calling, private virtual meeting rooms, and more, this pre-built solution significantly accelerates the deployment process for our customers, helping them save valuable time and resources.

To cover the emerging need for AI-driven communication tools, we have recently introduced SmartChat Assistant. Our customers seamlessly integrate customized AI assistants into their apps or websites within minutes, improving user experience and efficiency. These AI assistants can be trained on the company’s own knowledge base so that it can be use-case-specific and able to provide highly relevant responses.

What makes people eventually choose you over your competitors?

Our customers usually express their frustration with our competitors, due to their inability to provide ready solutions for their communication needs. They do not want to have to wait weeks or months to enjoy reliable communication channels. Our white-label-ready solutions speed up the whole development process, letting our customers have their communication solutions up and running in no time at all.

Organizations in the healthcare industry choose us because we provide solutions tailored to their specific needs. Many competitors fail to offer HIPAA-compliant solutions, which are legally required for safeguarding sensitive patient information.

Healthcare businesses demand more control over their data and also the need to have the option for on-premise hosting, which is usually overlooked by many of our competitors, but not by us.

Many CPaaS providers have yet to integrate AI functionality into their communication offerings. This limits the potential for businesses to exploit AI-driven solutions to improve customer engagement and streamline communication processes. At QuickBlox, we recognize the significance and importance of AI technology and have integrated innovative AI functionality into our platform, providing our customers with advanced capabilities to maintain a competitive edge.

Based on our customer’s feedback there are a lot of aspects of our services that stand out as particularly beneficial. For starters, our new AI solutions have generated a considerable buzz. The ability to custom-train AI assistants to become local experts in specific use cases is a powerful tool for businesses that are looking to improve their customer interactions and streamline communication processes. With an intuitive dashboard and low-code widget, our SmartChat Assistant is incredibly user-friendly and it doesn’t require extensive technical expertise to deploy effectively.

Secondly, the release of open-source code for the Q-Consultation solution, has gained a lot of interest across a wide range of industries from healthcare to recruitment agencies. We’ve recently integrated our SmartChat assistant into this solution, further enhancing its effectiveness and utility.

Lastly, our UI simplifies the process of building chat apps across various platforms, including iOS, Android, and web, allowing developers to create seamless communication experiences for their users. Additionally, our integration of AI features such as AI translate, rephrase, and answer assist improves the functionality of these UI kits, providing even greater value to our customers.

Despite the many beneficial aspects of our product offering, one hesitation that potential customers may have is related to our subscription-based business model. Some individuals may be hesitant to commit to a subscription, fearing the long-term financial commitment or the uncertainty about the value they will receive.

To address these, we make it easy to cancel your subscription at any point, without any hassle or penalty. We also offer a range of subscription plans to cater to all budgets. Additionally, we offer a three-month free trial period for our software, to allow potential customers to fully test our solution and experience its benefits firsthand before making any financial commitment.

“What I like best about QuickBlox is their reliability and performance – I’ve rarely experienced any issues with their solutions, whether I’m using their video or voice SDK, or their chat API.”

Itay Shechter, Co-founder, Vanywhere.

What is the current techstack you use to run your online business?

At QuickBlox, we employ a cutting-edge tech stack to power our online business and deliver seamless communication solutions to our customers. Our tech stack comprises a combination of scalable and reliable technologies that enable us to provide robust services while ensuring efficiency and performance.

For backend development, we rely on languages such as Python and Node.js, which offer flexibility and scalability for building and managing our infrastructure. We leverage cloud computing services, particularly from providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), to host our applications and manage data storage effectively.

In terms of databases, we utilize both relational and non-relational databases such as PostgreSQL and MongoDB. This allows us to store and retrieve data efficiently, ensuring optimal performance for our platform.

For real-time communication and messaging functionalities, we utilize WebSockets and protocols like XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol). These technologies enable us to facilitate instant messaging, video calling, and other communication features seamlessly.

On the frontend, we prioritize user experience and performance. We utilize modern JavaScript frameworks such as React.js and Angular.js to build responsive and interactive user interfaces. Additionally, we implement HTML5 and CSS3 to ensure cross-browser compatibility and smooth user interactions.

Furthermore, we employ DevOps practices and tools such as Docker and Kubernetes for containerization and orchestration, allowing us to automate deployment processes and ensure scalability and reliability of our services.

Since you started, what helped you grow and retain your audience?

We’ve learned that the key to success lies in meticulous tracking and measurement of our efforts. This data-driven approach allows us to make informed decisions, whether it’s doubling down on successful tactics, tweaking strategies for optimization, or even abandoning ineffective approaches altogether.

The main thing has been always to try and figure out how to drive traffic to our website which has been a trial and error process. Of course we’ve done all the usual things, social media, SEM, and SEO etc. with varying levels of success. We’ve collaborated with multiple marketing agencies and experimented with various ad campaigns. Throughout it all, we’ve had to constantly monitor, adapt, and be willing to pivot strategies when necessary.

A particular challenge we face is that we are trying to reach both a developer audience as well as business leaders, which means we often have to adopt a two-pronged approach in our marketing tactics and messaging. Gaining a presence on developer forums such as Hashnode and Product Hunt has been useful. While at the same time, we have been working with a great PR agency that has been helping to enhance our brand reputation with business leaders

What’s in the roadmap for your future?

In terms of our future roadmap, QuickBlox is excited to continue building on the momentum we’ve gained, particularly within the healthcare sector. Over the past four years, we’ve seen a significant increase in healthcare customers, now comprising at least 40% of our customer base. Moving forward, we aim to capitalize on this trend by further expanding our offerings and services tailored to the healthcare industry.

A recent milestone in this direction is the release of our HIPAA-compliant AI Assistant. This innovative solution is one of the few HIPAA-compliant chatbots available on the market. We’re proud to announce that we’ve received a business associate agreement from OpenAI and our other AI partners, underscoring the reliability and trustworthiness of our AI solutions.

Looking ahead, we’re keen on continuing to innovate in the realm of AI-driven communications. Our goal is to further enhance the capabilities of our SmartChat Assistant and explore new avenues for leveraging AI technology to improve communication across various industries.

Additionally, we recognize the importance of strategic partnerships in driving growth and expansion. We’re actively seeking affiliate partners who can help promote and sell our products, extending our reach to new markets and customer segments.

Furthermore, while we’ve made significant progress through bootstrapping, we see the potential for accelerated growth with additional funding. Securing investment would enable us to scale our operations, accelerate product development, and capitalize on emerging opportunities in the market.

What do you see in the future of your industry?

A prominent trend that we anticipate is the continued rise of AI-driven solutions. As AI technology advances, there will be unprecedented opportunities to enhance communication, automate processes, and deliver personalized experiences. For example, In 2022, 53% of global IT companies reported accelerated AI adoption over the previous two years. AI- powered chatbots are revolutionizing customer service and optimizing communication strategies which led businesses to transform how they interact with their audience.

However, with this advancement comes the pressing need to address issues surrounding security and regulation. So it’s important to prioritize ethical AI development, with a focus on transparency, accountability, and inclusivity, and strike a balance between innovation and ethical considerations.