UCaaS Specialist Nextiva Buys Thrio To Prioritize CX Portfolio

The ‘strategic move’ will increase the UCaaS and collaboration provider's focus on AI-powered contact center, according to the companies.

Nextiva, a provider of cloud-based business unified communications, is expanding its customer experience portfolio with the acquisition of Thrio, a contact center software company.

Thrio, based in Calabasas, California, specializes in AI-based cloud contact center software. Nextiva CEO Tomas Gorny said that the deal isn't "just another acquisition," but rather a strategic move to make customer experience technologies more accessible to more businesses.

"This strategic move not only holds promise to delight our customers and ‘future proof’ them against an ever-changing technology landscape, but also underscores the alignment of vision between Nextiva and Thrio. The shared commitment to a common goal reinforces the consistent vision Nextiva has upheld for over 15 years of democratizing access to CX technologies," Gorny said in a statement on the deal.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Joining the Nextiva family will accelerate our shared mission on a global scale. Together, we are putting an end to the CX technology gap between small and large companies." Edwin Margulies, CEO of Thrio, said in a statement.

The acquisition marks Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Nextiva's second deal in less than a year. The company in 2023 bought Simplify360, an AI-based customer experience platform based in India.

Nextiva at the end of 2022 brought in Olen Scott, a longtime channel leader, to head up channel efforts in a move that signified the company’ dedication to becoming more channel-centric and focused on partner success, the company told CRN at the time. After Scott's appointment, the company in 2023 added four new channel leaders to its team to focus on developing and growing Nextiva’s partner channel and bring to life some of the company's strategic initiatives under Scott, such as driving demand around the company’s multi-site, distributed enterprise customer segment, according to Nextiva.

Scott, head of channels for Nextiva, said that many conversations now revolve around customer experience as solution providers have evolved well beyond helping their clients pick the right vendor for dial tone network services.

“Trusted Advisors are helping companies transform their businesses and the ways in which they connect meaningfully with their customers and other stakeholders. Our acquisition of Thrio, combined with the amazing tech stack added last year with the Simplify360 acquisition, positions Nextiva to lead this charge for partners. We bring full omnichannel communication solutions with integrated AI into a single platform,” he said in an email to CRN on the Thrio acquisition and the opportunities it will open up for Nextiva partners.