The Weather is Changing, it’s Time for Another New Project

The Weather is Changing, it’s Time for Another New Project

Out of nowhere, the weather feels different. There’s something in the air that signals another moment of change. Just like summer’s immediate farewell, ideas start awakening in my head. It’s time to start a new project.

This is how it feels at Ubiquo when we decide to launch a new initiative. It’s hard to identify exactly what triggers the birth of a new product, but it certainly has to do with the conviction that there’s an important problem we can solve.

Every day I see so many things that could be done better. I see opportunities here and there. Most of the time I just let them pass by. But every once in a while, something captures my attention and captivates me. I start sleeping less and my mind goes into overdrive.

The first moment everything changed

I remember back in 2010 I fell in love with Twitter. At the same time, I was getting started at Ubiquo (Interactua Móvil back then) and was learning a lot about text messaging. That year was pivotal in my career and in the company’s history. The weather felt different.

The questions came like a torrential waterfall: What if we could enhance text alert services with real-time Twitter information? Would it be possible for users without data plans to stay up-to-date just like the few who have data (2G or if they’re really lucky, 3G)? What if…?

Months later, it turned out the answer to many of these questions was YES. MultiAlertas was born and we soon launched it with two of the country’s largest carriers. We crossed 100,000 subscribers and the rest is history.

MultiAlertas opened doors for us to launch other products that were born in a similar way: A change in weather, a few questions. Some observation that takes hold of your attention, something you simply can’t stop thinking about.

The evolution continues

That’s how ChatMovil Claro and MultiChatTigo soon arrived, services that answered these questions:
• If we can send SMS alerts from Twitter, could we make someone with only access to text messaging chat with someone on MSN, Yahoo, or ICQ?
• Could these people send their credentials via SMS and log into these services? Would they appear online?
• If they managed to log in, could they have multiple simultaneous conversations? Could this be an unlimited service?

The answer was a resounding yes to everything. And then, if we could already interact in “real time” between internet and SMS, could we deliver real-time sports results to cell phones?

That’s how Deportes x Celular was born. A service that reached over 600,000 subscribers and operated in several countries. Its function: read a paid RSS feed with real-time sports results and instantly send notifications of goals or score changes.

Challenges? Tons. This was the first time we had to deal with heavy queue management to guarantee delivery of millions of messages in real time. Nobody wants to find out about a goal hours after the game ended (this happened to us several times).

The present with Reach and a bit of what´s coming

Text messaging remains relevant today. We’re a strong regional player in this space, particularly in the banking sector. All the learnings from the SMS products we’ve built have uniquely positioned us to serve the enterprise segment throughout Central America.

Technology kept marching forward. The weather changed again (this time due to a global pandemic). Our response: create a new business unit at Ubiquo. Reach is born.

The questions that wouldn’t let us sleep:
• Would it be possible to systematize all these sales that are being made “out of emergency” through WhatsApp?
• Could we work with card processors to integrate payments with WhatsApp?
• Could we eliminate the need for customers to notify merchants they’ve already paid?
• Could existing e-commerce catalogs be integrated with WhatsApp?

And once again, it turns out “yes” was the answer to everything! We started competing in a more dynamic and competitive market than messaging. We entered the world of social networks and electronic payment methods. This new universe is proving to be a movie-like adventure.

The more we understand, the more experience we develop. With more experience, we identify subtleties. Small areas for improvement that can make all the difference. There are important opportunities to solve new problems.

In recent years we’ve met clients, partners, business associates, and providers who have greatly enriched our understanding of the Conversational Commerce ecosystem. We’re now much better at understanding the world of digital payments. We’ve had the opportunity to see the world through users’ eyes in markets far away from Central America.

Something in the weather is changing again.

In short, today I write this post to tell you that Reach continues on its path. I also want to give you a heads up that there’s a new project that has been born behind t he scenes. This new project will directly enrich Reach. Reach will undoubtedly enrich the new project.

Stay tuned to our blog and X to be the first to find out when our new project is ready for the spotlight. Soon we’ll be ready to start telling you what we’re up to and how we’ll once again solve a problem many didn’t even know they had.