Why is the Bitrix24 integration with Twilio so popular and what are the worthy alternatives?

Avivi developers started working with Twilio in 2014, exactly the same time as Bitrix24. Combining the capabilities of a powerful CRM system with a reliable communication service immediately became a good idea, so many Twilio users at that time would like to use this service in the new Bitrix24. On the other hand, when new Bitrix24 users were looking for a communication solution, they most often stopped at Twilio. However, in those days, integrations were mostly developed on a case-by-case basis, and even connecting to WhatsApp was only possible through this service. If you haven't caught these dark times, let's remind you why Bitrix24 users need services like Twilio and what advantages they provide.

Different goals and objectives

As of this writing, which is November 2024, Bitrix24 is a flexible and powerful business software that provides convenient tools and uses advanced technologies. A prominent place among them is CRM, designed to automate work with customers, increase repeat sales and ensure close communication. The last point is very important, because it is almost impossible to sell a product or service without communication with the buyer. Also, you need to constantly inform people about the status of their order, or stimulate their interest with marketing activity, send e-mails or call on important dates to emphasize the importance of the client to your company. And Bitrix24 envisages all these possibilities from a technical point of view, with the exception of an important detail: a communication intermediary that deals with such matters.

Communications is a separate type of commercial activity that requires large investments and constant development in a competitive environment. It is like an art form in the field of business and those who have mastered it provide high-quality services to clients. Of course, Bitrix24 has functionality for working with e-mail and even provides telephony services, including SIP, but for large projects these capacities are not enough. In addition, another big problem is highlighted — geographical representation in certain regions of the world and compliance with local laws and regulations. Thus, from the point of view of expediency, it is much better to enlist the support and partnership of services that are developing specifically in the direction of communications and qualitatively solve the problems that Bitrix24 authors have on the ground. One of the best examples is Twilio.

Benefits of Twilio

North American telecommunications company Twilio has been operating since 2008 and provides a wide range of services related to various types of digital communication between people. The first service was the ability to make phone calls over the Internet based on Twilio Voice, later SMS and other services were added. The decision that became key for the company was the abandonment of traditional management protocols inside the system in favor of its own developments, which stabilize work and provide the opportunity to exchange data with customers via Webhook.

Twilio deployed its services in the cloud and provided developers with extensive API capabilities to integrate with almost any platform, which immediately contributed to the growth of popularity. Bitrix24 also noticed this and gradually began to move closer to the company. However, the earliest integrations were done purely by developers, such as Avivi. Subsequently, there were ready-made integrations in Bitrix24.Market.

Today, the administrator of the Bitrix24 Portal can connect to Twilio. To do this, you need to have a Twilio account, an authentication code and a SID, which must be copied to the Bitrix24 dashboard. After connection and with the availability of the appropriate tariff plan, Bvtrvks24 users have the following options:

• Send SMS to customers directly from the CRM card;

• Send marketing mailings to clients;

• Exchange of messages through social networks and messengers;

• Receive and make phone calls with the ability to record and much more.

Separately, it should be noted that Twilio provides the service of renting a phone number for calling or sending SMS. This is important not only when you are developing a business in another country, but also in your own, because a rented number does not depend on a mobile operator or a physical SIM card.

Despite the ease of setup and use, using a telecommunications service provides another great advantage: the ability to use APIs to automate business processes. This is still the domain of developers, but it is worth implementing in your business. The fact is that the service and Bitrix24 constantly exchange a number of important data, such as the status of receiving a message, the number of open letters, client conversions using embedded links and much more. All this can be used in the architecture of business processes, when, for example, changing the SMS status to "read" will transfer the lead card to another stage.

Infobit perspective

Although we at Avivi have been working with Twilio for a long time, it would be unfair to hide other worthy examples from our blog readers. One of these is the Infobit communication service. The platform was launched not too long ago, so the work is based on "fresh" protocols, which significantly affects the speed of operation. The company offers an equally wide range of services and significantly simplifies work with some of them. For example, in Twilio mentioned above, a special subscription module is used for sending CMC, that is, the rental fee for the module and the cost of each short message are included in the final price. Infobit does not have such additional software, so the cost of SMS is significantly lower.

Infobit's list of integrations with social networks is identical and already has ready-made solutions for Facebook Messenger, and most importantly - for Telegram, which is gaining more and more popularity in the world. We have already devoted several articles of our blog to Telegram and evaluate it as a promising service with many unique features.

The lack of ready-made integration of Infobit and Bitrix24, apart from the application for sending SMS, firstly, can be considered a temporary phenomenon, and secondly, it is a kind of advantage, because a custom integration created purely for your business will work more efficiently and perform all the necessary you functions.

So if you need a high-quality setting of Bitrix24 interaction with Twilio or another communication service, contact the Avivi developers through the feedback form. We are always ready to provide extended consultation and offer the best option for the development of your business!