Business & Technology
UK businesses adopt RCS & AI for customer messaging
Infobip has published research showing a sharp rise in the use of Rich Communication Services and AI-led customer communication in the UK, based on an analysis of 20 years of business-to-customer messaging data.
The study drew on 628 billion mobile interactions in 2025 and 3.8 trillion messages over the past two decades. It found that UK businesses are moving away from single-channel notifications towards conversations spread across messaging, email and voice.
One of the clearest shifts was in RCS, which recorded a 174% year-on-year increase in UK traffic. RCS penetration in the country has reached 70%, with adoption helped in part by concerns over fraud on other messaging channels.
Verified sender markers on RCS are becoming more important as businesses respond to the rise in smishing attacks. This puts greater emphasis on trusted, identifiable business messaging as companies try to reassure customers.
SMS still accounted for the largest share of global traffic in the dataset, making up 62% of activity. In the UK, SMS traffic grew 27%, indicating that businesses are adding newer channels rather than replacing older ones outright.
Channel Mix
The research also pointed to a steep decline in the use of just one communication method. Ten years ago, 73% of platform traffic involved a single channel, but by 2025 that figure had fallen to 2.3%.
Nearly 98% of interactions now take place across multiple channels. This suggests companies are increasingly combining services such as WhatsApp, RCS, email and voice within the same customer journey.
WhatsApp remained the most widely used messaging app in the UK in the study, reaching 85% penetration and recording fivefold year-on-year growth. Its scale makes it a central part of how many businesses now handle customer contact, from notifications to two-way exchanges.
The report also highlighted growing interest in agentic AI, describing it as a move beyond standard chatbots towards AI agents that can manage autonomous, goal-driven customer journeys across channels including WhatsApp, RCS and email.
The findings indicate that businesses are looking for systems that can handle more of the interaction flow without relying on a single channel or a fixed script. This reflects a wider change in customer service and marketing, where communication is becoming more continuous and conversational.
For companies operating in the UK, the data points to a market where customer engagement is increasingly shaped by reach, trust and flexibility. Richer formats such as RCS offer branded and verified interactions, while established services such as SMS continue to provide broad coverage.
The result is a communications environment that is more fragmented in channel terms but more integrated from the customer perspective. Rather than choosing one route to market, businesses are stitching together several forms of contact depending on context and user preference.
The report set out this broader direction before Infobip commented on the findings.
“Our 20-year dataset makes it clear that the age of single-channel engagement is over. The UK market has shifted towards a diverse ecosystem where brands orchestrate conversations across WhatsApp, RCS, Email, and Voice. In future, engagement will be omnichannel, conversational and increasingly powered by Agentic AI. Businesses understand the necessity to meet customers on the channels they use daily, creating conversational and personal experiences which build trust,” said James Stokes, Head of Enterprise for UK & Nordics at Infobip.
Business & Technology
Wipro & Rubrik launch enterprise resilience service
SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO
News Editor
Wipro and Rubrik have launched Enterprise Resilience as a Service, aimed at enterprises facing cyber and operational disruptions.
The service combines Rubrik’s cyber and data resilience platform with Wipro’s WINGS delivery platform, part of the Wipro Intelligence portfolio. It is designed to move resilience beyond conventional backup and disaster recovery into a continuous operating model spanning technology, operations, and business processes.
The launch reflects growing demand from large companies for recovery planning that covers not only data restoration but also business continuity, identity protection, and responses to attacks that affect multiple systems at once. It also comes as organisations adopt more artificial intelligence tools, adding new operational and governance risks to existing cyber security concerns.
Under the service, companies identify critical systems, define the level of disruption the business can tolerate, and set recovery priorities. Those assessments then shape system architecture, governance models, and recovery playbooks.
Rubrik’s role centres on the underlying resilience platform. The service includes immutable protection, rollback of AI-driven changes, rapid identification of clean recovery points, threat-aware recovery, and protection for critical identity systems.
Wipro’s WINGS platform is intended to automate recovery workflows and support continuous assessment of a company’s resilience posture. The approach is designed to shift resilience from an activity triggered by incidents or periodic reviews into an ongoing management process.
Business focus
Satish Yadavalli, Global Business Head – Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services at Wipro, outlined the company’s position on the service.
“Where most resilience engagements start with technology, Wipro’s starts with the business use cases, and that distinction is what makes ERaaS stand out,” said Satish Yadavalli, Global Business Head – Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services at Wipro. “Together with Rubrik’s Zero Trust recovery capabilities, ERaaS will identify critical systems, map impact tolerances, and quickly establish recovery priorities. Leveraging our consulting capabilities, we will work closely with clients to translate these insights into resilience-by-design architectures, governance frameworks, and recovery playbooks.”
The companies are positioning the service as a consulting-led offering rather than a standalone software product. That suggests Wipro is seeking to tie cyber recovery more closely to broader transformation and risk programmes, while Rubrik extends its reach into larger enterprise accounts through service partners.
The partnership also highlights how cyber recovery has become a more prominent part of enterprise technology spending. Businesses have traditionally separated backup, disaster recovery, cyber security, and operational continuity into different teams and budgets. Vendors and services firms are now trying to bring those strands together as attacks become more disruptive and boards seek clearer accountability for recovery.
Recovery strategy
Rubrik described the joint service as part of a wider resilience agenda that treats recovery as a core operating requirement rather than an emergency measure.
“Together with Wipro, we are helping customers operationalize cyber recovery as a core part of a broader enterprise resilience strategy,” said Alok Agrawal, Chief Solutions Officer at Rubrik. “Moments of disruption are inevitable, which is why this joint offering is critical for safe, confident, agile recovery.”
Wipro employs more than 240,000 people across 65 countries and has been expanding its AI-related services through the Wipro Intelligence portfolio. Rubrik, which focuses on data protection and cyber resilience, has been building its position around securing and recovering data, identities, and workloads across cloud environments.
The launch adds to a crowded market for managed cyber resilience and recovery services, but the companies are drawing a distinction through continuous assessment and business-led design. In practice, customer uptake is likely to depend on whether enterprises are prepared to embed recovery planning more deeply into day-to-day operations rather than treat it as a compliance exercise or an insurance policy.
Rubrik’s platform in the new service also supports recovery of data, infrastructure, and identities while aiming to reduce downtime and business risk.
Business & Technology
Cotswolds pub and England’s oldest inn up for £950,000 sale
The Shaven Crown, believed to be among the oldest licensed inns in the country with a history of serving pints to patrons dating back to 1384, is up for sale to new owners.
The village pub in Shipton-under-Wychwood, between Burford and Chipping Norton, is currently closed and not trading, and has now been brought to the market by agent Colliers.
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Available freehold with vacant possession, the grade II listed property comprises eight guest bedrooms, a range of distinctive public trading areas, a commercial kitchen, a courtyard and gardens, customer parking, and spacious three-bedroom owners’ accommodation.
The pub is one of England’s oldest licenced inns, pouring pints since 1384 (Image: Colliers)
It’s most unique feature is the medieval Great Hall, a stunning space at the heart of the building that showcase it’s heritage with high ceilings, Cotswolds stone walls and open fireplace.
Peter Brunt, Director in the Hotels Agency team at Colliers, said: “The Shaven Crown is a truly special property and one that I know exceptionally well.
“I was fortunate to be involved in its sale in both 2013 and 2019 and then acted on the letting of the business in 2023.
“Over that time, I have come to appreciate not only the quality of the building itself, but also the affection in which it is held by guests, local residents and operators alike.
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“Having welcomed travellers for more than six centuries, The Shaven Crown has an extraordinary story behind it.
“We are pleased to have been entrusted once again with its sale and are confident that it will attract buyers who recognise both its commercial potential and its importance as one of the region’s most significant historic inns.”
The landmark hotel and pub was refurbished by previous owners Evelyn and Phil Roberts, who invested £600,000 after they bought the property in 2013 and before they sold it on in 2019.
Previous owners Evelyn and Phil Roberts (Image: Simon Williams)
Originally constructed as a hospice for the monks at nearby Bruern Abbey, the aptly named inn still has many of its original medieval features, including its Tudor door, cobbled floors and period features like mullioned windows.
As a hotel it reportedly once hosted Queen Elizabeth I and wartime fascist leader Oswald Mosley.
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The sales agent added that ‘substantial investment’ has been made to revamp the fabric of the property, like its roof and building infrastructure, to preserve its historic character while enabling its future use as a hospitality destination.
The Shaven Crown’s bar seats about 30, with beamed ceiling and fireplace, a snug for around five or six guests and a breakfast room seating 12 to 18 diners.
It’s accommodation offers guests easy access to the Cotswolds, to favoured destinations such as Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and The Slaughters, while Oxford, Cheltenham, Stratford-upon-Avon and Cirencester are all within comfortable travelling distance.
Business & Technology
UK homebuyers face unexpected costs in 95% of moves
PEXA has published research showing that 95% of recent UK homebuyers faced unexpected costs when moving home, highlighting growing uncertainty in the buying process.
The survey covered 1,050 UK homeowners who had moved in the previous 12 months and was supplemented by analysis of 34,207 homebuyer transactions. It found that 83% of respondents described the process as stressful, while the share reporting unexpected costs rose sharply from 62% in 2025 to 95%.
Just under two-thirds of those who faced extra charges said the costs were significant, and nearly half believed they could have been avoided.
The data suggests buyers are concerned not only about the size of the bill, but also about when costs emerge and how little visibility they have over the transaction. Respondents said they expected the period from offer acceptance to moving in to take around four months, but broader market data cited by PEXA indicates the full journey often lasts seven to eight months.
Cost pressure
Unexpected costs stood out even though many buyers said they understood the fees charged by the professionals involved in a transaction. The research found that 85% said conveyancer fees were transparent, compared with 79% for estate agent fees and 69% for mortgage broker fees.
The gap between fee transparency and overall surprise points to a wider structural problem. Costs may be visible in isolation, but buyers still face a process in which delays, repeated checks and fragmented communication can create extra expense as a purchase unfolds.
The study comes as the Government pushes ahead with its Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap, intended to improve how information moves across property transactions. Industry groups have increasingly focused on reducing duplication, improving access to verified information and cutting the uncertainty that can build as a sale progresses.
PEXA, which began in Australia and now operates in the UK, has been expanding its role in the British market. The group launched a refinancing product in the UK before introducing its sale and purchase offering.
Industry response
Krystle Kocik outlined the company’s view of the findings.
“Buying a home should be exciting, yet too many people are left dealing with unexpected costs and a lack of visibility over what’s happening and when. Our research suggests that improving certainty, not just speed, should be the defining objective of the next generation of UK property transactions, and will benefit estate agents, mortgage brokers, lenders and conveyancers. Achieving this certainty depends not only on better information, but on ensuring trusted property data, verified identities, the secure movement of funds and the transfer of legal ownership are connected throughout the transaction. As government and industry work together to modernise the process, we see a significant opportunity to remove surprises and give consumers more confidence in what is likely the biggest financial commitment of their lives,” said Krystle Kocik, UK co-CEO of PEXA.
Other industry bodies said the figures reflect concerns already being raised across the market.
“This report reinforces what our mortgage lender members are already telling us: uncertainty, not speed, is the real barrier to confidence, and better upfront information, reusable verified data and clearer visibility across the transaction are what will shift that. UK Finance is working with government, regulators and industry to ensure this momentum translates into a genuinely more connected homebuying experience, and this report is a helpful contribution to the discussion,” said Alison Verlander, director of mortgages at UK Finance.
Conveyancers, who remain central to property transactions, also pointed to pressure for clearer communication alongside legal due diligence.
“Conveyancers are central to helping people navigate one of life’s most important decisions, ensuring that the property they are buying is right for them and that there are no hidden problems. This research shows consumers continue to value professional expertise, while also expecting clearer communication, greater transparency and a more predictable experience. A modern conveyancing profession will combine legal expertise with efficient digital processes to deliver better outcomes for consumers,” said Stephen Ward, director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licenced Conveyancers.
The debate over reform also extends to the use of data and digital identity across the property chain. Supporters argue that if buyers, sellers, lenders and legal representatives can rely on information that is verified once and shared securely, repeated requests and late-stage surprises could be reduced.
“This research reinforces that consumers are ready for a property market built around trusted, shareable data rather than repeated requests for the same information. As Smart Data, digital identity and trust frameworks become more widely adopted, buyers will benefit from greater certainty, fewer surprises and increased confidence throughout the home-moving journey,” said Maria Harris, chair of the Open Property Data Association.
“Consumers are asking for a homebuying process that is more connected, transparent and trustworthy. Government, regulators and industry are working together to enable trusted information to move safely between organisations, reducing friction while improving consumer outcomes. Success will be measured not simply by how digital the process becomes, but by how much certainty, confidence and efficiency it delivers for everyone involved,” said Leon Ifayemi, director of coalitions and research at the Centre for Finance, Innovation & Technology.
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