Five years ago, The Next Cloud was a small consulting firm with a big idea: that telcos and tech companies needed to come together in a new way. Not just to talk innovation—but to make it real. We believed programmable communications and APIs would become a game-changer. We saw the signs early. We planned to gather the early believers at MWC 2020.

Then the world paused.

Fast-forward to 2025, and this year’s Mobile World Congress felt like validation. What once was a niche vision is now a mainstream movement—and we were proud to see the CPaaS Acceleration Alliance, born from that vision, take center stage in the GSMA Open Gateway Zone.

This year, MWC wasn’t just a telco show. It was a tech show. And here are five takeaways that confirmed we’re on the right path:

1. From Telco to Techco

The tone was set early in the keynotes—Telstra, Telefónica and others aren’t just defending telco turf anymore. They’re embracing the techco future, leaning into value-added services, APIs, and ecosystems. The traditional model is giving way to innovation-led thinking.

2. Network APIs Took the Spotlight

In the GSMA Open Gateway Zone, the excitement was real. CPaaSAA Members Shabodi and Nabstract showed what’s possible when you open up the network—and suddenly, telco capabilities become building blocks for developers, startups, and enterprises. We’re not talking potential anymore. We’re talking traction.

3. AI Is the New Interface

We were proud to have Intel in our demo experience, showing how telcos can recapture some of the value lost to web and app platforms over the last two decades. AI is ushering in the “conversation economy,” where customer experience is shaped by intelligent, real-time interactions. The opportunity for telcos to lead is here—if they move fast.

4. CPaaS, CCaaS, and Vertical Solutions Are Converging

Our friends at Creo Solutions showed what happens when vertical thinking meets cloud communication. Enterprises don’t want tools—they want outcomes. And the winning platforms will be those that deeply understand industries like healthcare, logistics, finance, and energy. This convergence is real, and it’s where the next wave of CPaaS growth lives.

5. From Strategy to Execution

Finally, a message we heard loud and clear: partnerships are only valuable if they deliver results. That’s why we’re thrilled to work with Mach49, our venture builder partner from Silicon Valley, to show how telcos and innovators can actually build, fund, and scale new business lines together. Ideas are great—but execution is where the magic happens.

What’s Next for The Next Cloud?

The mission hasn’t changed since day one. We help companies in telecom and tech accelerate innovation and growth—not with buzzwords, but with real strategy, smart partnerships, and action plans that drive results.

Looking ahead, we’re doubling down on one of the most profound shifts in our industry: the rise of the conversational economy. As apps and websites give way to AI-driven, hyper-personalized interactions, we see a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity unfolding for telcos, CSPs, and cloud communications players. Conversations—powered by intelligence, context, and automation—are becoming the new interface. And The Next Cloud is right in the middle of that transformation.

The CPaaS Acceleration Alliance has now grown to over 100 members. With a solid team in place handling much of the day-to-day, there’s more room for The Next Cloud to lean into the frontier—working on innovation and go-to-market strategies with alliance members and trusted partners.

I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built in just a couple of years. We’re not watching the change—we’re part of it. Smack in the middle of one of the most exciting and fast-moving ecosystems in tech and telecom.

And we’re just getting started. In addition to our work with the Alliance, we’ll be adding new initiatives and advisory projects on the consultancy side, helping companies make bold moves in a market that rewards those who move first.

Let’s build the future—faster, smarter, and together.

Rob Kurver

Founder&CEO, The Next Cloud & Founding Partner, CPaaS Acceleration Alliance