The Best CPaaS Providers in 2020

What is CPaaS?

A communications platform as a service (CPaaS) is a collection of backend services that run on cloud-based communication platform. It enables your IT staff to add customized communications functions like voice and SMS to applications. For example, if a business has an app that a customer uses to access their service, a CPaaS platform can be used by developers to add communications channels to the app. When you order an Uber ride, the app permits you to not only call the driver through the interface, but it also incorporates chat messaging. 

CPaaS provides a back-end communications platform with connectable application programming interfaces (APIs) so that your team develops front-end communications capabilities for your customers to use. As a result, developers spend less time building features in real-time, especially considering that providers grant tools to make adding APIs easy to modern apps. 

Cloud architecture powers CPaaS. Any communication feature that’s incorporated into an existing app is hosted on the cloud platform, so the infrastructure is managed from anywhere. This also cuts the cost of purchasing servers to manage the software – developers write and add code directly to the cloud.

CPaaS includes several types of channels for communication, including:

• Voice: This works just like a standard call. Virtual numbers are generated separately from the numbers used on the device housing the app.
• Push Messaging: Push messaging notifications pop up on the smart device independent of the application. 
• SMS: This allows the CPaaS software to send text messages to users of the application.
• Fax: Like traditional faxing, mobile app users scan items using their cameras and send them as online faxes. Online faxing is very secure for several industries.
• Web Chat: Live website chat is similar to SMS, but instead of the messages being sent through a local SMS program, the messages are delivered through a browser.
• Social Media Chat: CPaaS applications can also send text-based messages to users on the social platform of their choice.
• Email: When adding an email API to an existing application, email notifications can be sent to customers.
• Artificial intelligence (AI): When added to an application using a CPaaS platform, AI communicates directly with the user. This is done by either text or through voice.
• Chat Bots: Chat bots provide preset options for users to navigate. For example, in e-commerce, when an order hasn’t arrived, the chat bot gives users a list of options to either track, seek a refund, or reorder their product.
• Video: Video in CPaaS creates a face-to-face experience for customers that are communicating with a business. This is a form of web conferencing.

CPaaS Pricing Models:

CPaaS providers are offering several pricing models. These include:

• Pay-As-You-Go: This is the most flexible pricing model. Pay-as-you-go enables users to pay only for the services they use. This is the most agile model for businesses looking to scale upward or downward.
• Freemium: Freemium service providers are entirely free – up to a certain level. This is useful for smaller businesses that do not need extensive communications APIs for their applications. It’s also a smart choice for businesses looking to explore a specific service without commitment.
• Risk-Reward: Risk-reward depends on the fulfillment of certain preset key performance indicators (KPIs). Businesses using a provider with this type of pricing model will have to set performance goals that are agreed upon before a campaign starts.
• Volume-Based: This pricing model is based entirely on the volume of usage. The more you use, the lower the pricing. 
• Committed Use: Similarly to volume-based, a certain volume of usage will provide the business with a significant discount. The difference is that the business will have to commit to a specific level of use beforehand.
• Per User or Per Seat: Primarily, a provider charging per user or per seat will include a unified communications application that will have a pricing around $15 to $25 per user (seat), per month. This is also common for providers that serve contact centers, though the pricing schema for these is often in the $75 to $300 range (per seat).

What to Look for in a CPaaS Solution:

When on the market, it’s vital to seek out a vendor that delivers the right features so that your development team can hit the ground running. Here are some features to consider as you seek out a provider:

• Modules and Wrapper Incorporation: Modules are installable components that add quick and easy communications functionality to a platform – these include functions like authentication and sentiment analysis. Wrappers add configuration parameters to the application without the need to go too deep into the code.
• Visual Builders: Visual builders are for teams that may not have advanced development staff. Instead of being entirely code-based, a visual builder provides a graphical tool that non-technical users can use to add communications features. This also helps these users create workflows for developers.
• WebRTC SDKs: WebRTC software development kits (SDKs) simplify the process of making changes to the API of your application. Since CPaaS vendors use cloud-based architecture, your developers make changes from browsers, and the changes are saved across all involved instances. 
• Templates: Templates are a tool that significantly decreases development time because development staff builds from a preset design. There are third-party templates available, but it’s always better for the provider to create them and grant them to customers so that developers won’t have to maintain them.
• SMS and Voice Routing: Using home location register (HLR) information, service providers ascertain the permanent subscriber information for customers. This is important for businesses with multiple call centers that want to send their customers to the center that’s located nearest. 
• Analytics: This is useful for customers because the vendor provides information on usage, busy times, and call outcomes. Some vendors deliver fraud detection so that a database is formed that clearly labels fraudulent numbers/users.

What to Look for When Comparing Vendors:

Varying vendors offer different features, and some of these features are better for organizations in specific industries, while others may go unused. Here are some features to consider:

• Global Reach: Not every vendor supports the same features around the globe. For example, while your app may have calling ability overseas, it may not be able to send SMS messages to some territories. This isn’t always important for regional businesses, but it’s critical if you’re going to need to extend communications into foreign markets and reach customers on their preferred platform. Consider vendors with more reliable networks in various global territories.
• Provisioning of Local Numbers: Most CPaaS vendors provide virtual phone numbers that the application uses when contacting customers. These are independent of smartphone numbers and provide a channel of voice communication that is accessed by PSTN lines. These numbers can have vanity configurations, be toll-free, local, or international.
• Presence: This is particularly important for vendors that are providing UCaaS features. Presence information allows users to change their availability status through the application quickly. Statuses like “do not disturb (DND)” and “away” are two presence statuses to look for.
• Self-Service: Some providers like Twilio and Voxbone have dedicated self-service repositories of information for development staff. This makes it easier to troubleshoot and implement changes when there’s online documentation to help resolve issues.
• Enterprise-Grade Security: For a platform to have VoIP security for enterprise clients, information sent through the API will have to be encrypted. This means that the development staff will need an encryption key for all information sent. In addition, encryption and security measures will need to be in place for data as it’s at-rest as well as when it’s in transit through transport layer security (TLS).
• Compliance: Not every provider is compliant in sectors like financial services and healthcare, so it’s essential to understand what each vendor is offering. For example, for HIPAA compliance, you’ll need to sign a business associate agreement with the service before it’s allowed to send or receive patient information.
• Uptime: Providers use georedundancy to ensure that there are backup servers positioned around the globe to pick up the slack when servers go down. Vendors usually have at least a 99.9% uptime guarantee, but if you need stability, seek out ones that have at least 99.999% uptime SLAs.
• Technical Support: The most effective vendors will have a strong technical support department to help developers who run into roadblocks. This support staff should be available through multiple channels. 

The Bottom Line:

The number of CPaaS vendors entering the market is ever-increasing, so you can expect to find a vendor that’s going to provide your organization with the features it needs. This technology seamlessly blends application development with business communications, so you’re going to need an agile development team to incorporate the communications channels you need into your apps. 

Are you going to need reliable routing for both calls and SMS? Are you reaching foreign markets? What about compliance and enterprise security? How many channels are you planning to use to communicate with your customers? All of these are questions that you’ll need to answer before you select a vendor that will match your business. Many vendors have their own focuses, so it’s critical to perform a little due diligence before selecting one.