CPaaS Enablement Solutions for Service Providers

Communications service providers rely on CPaaS enablement solutions to help enterprises deploy valuable business applications.

Communications platform as a service (CPaaS) is a solution that enables software developers to add real-time communications features to their own applications without the need to build backend infrastructure and interfaces.

These real-time communications features can include:

• Voice
• Video
• Messaging
• Virtual Phone Numbers
• And More

CPaaS vendors offer a complete development framework for building real-time communications features so there is no need to create these independently. This typically includes software tools, standards-based application programming interfaces (APIs), sample code, and pre-built applications. CPaaS vendors also provide support and product documentation to help developers throughout the development process. Some companies also offer software development kits (SDKs) and libraries for building applications on different desktop and mobile platforms.

The CPaaS-Enabled Service Provider

A communications service provider (CSP) has traditionally provided only the transport technology on which application vendors deliver CPaaS. For example, an enterprise would engage with a CSP for their telephony needs and then a separate communications API company for the over-the-top (OTT) features in order to make CPaaS a reality for their business. However, more and more service providers are delivering the full CPaaS functionality in addition to telephony services. This is valuable to enterprises as they can work with a single vendor for an entire suite of functionality and tools, while the CSP can retain that revenue to provide newer technology options and better quality service to their enterprise customers.

Ensuring Reliable CPaaS

Service providers offer greater advantages to enterprises in terms of service and reliability over OTT, standalone CPaaS vendors. Because the CSP is responsible for the network they can ensure that the service level agreement (SLA) is met and assure network quality. The CPaaS vendor is dependent upon an outside, non-affiliated network provider and uptime is beyond their control. Because the CSP owns the phone numbers, they are in a position to offer greater flexibility in pricing as well as higher standards of support. With more account teams and account representatives to work with enterprises on their business growth objectives, enterprises can more quickly realize their goals. Standalone CPaaS vendors are merely offering access to an API – without the guidance on how to make the API work for an organization long-term.

CPaaS in Action

What are some of the ways that enterprises can benefit from CPaaS? Scheduling, making reservations, and messaging are just a few examples. With smartphones now ubiquitous, the average consumer is always seeking convenient ways to communicate.

Air Travel – According to research, the travel and tourism sector are only using SMS at 18.19% of its capacity. This means that around 13 million customers are willing to receive more text messages from travel-oriented businesses. When booking a flight, a customer might get a text message confirmation or a notification if there are changes to the itinerary. All of this happens in real time with the help of CPaaS enablement solutions as the travel company software communicates with the Telestax Restcomm SMS API and the appropriate message is generated. A few lines of code is all that it takes to effectively deliver the notification to the customer.

Hospitality – The hospitality industry uses CPaaS in a number of different ways. When a patron goes to a restaurant and is asked for a phone number at check-in, the patron’s experience with the restaurant can improve dramatically. For example, instead of being given a pager and remaining in the restaurant lobby, the customer is free to shop in neighboring stores, receiving a 10 minute alert when their table is ready. At the end of the visit, once the bill is paid, a receipt can be sent to the patron with a “thank you for visiting” message and a suggestion to return, gaining repeat business for the restaurant. Once CPaaS APIs are embedded into the point of sale (POS) system, restaurants and cafes can increase profits via upsells, cross marketing, and other sales strategies that can leverage SMS.

Ride Sharing – Ride sharing apps like Uber or Lyft use phone number masking that is powered by CPaaS. This feature allows parties to call each other without revealing their original phone numbers, providing riders with the convenience of real-time communications combined with user privacy. This functionality can be built within minutes using CPaaS by utilizing the Virtual Phone Numbers API along with the Telestax Initiate Phone Call API that developers can embed into any application.

Healthcare –  With video communication apps like Doctor on Demand, software developers use the video software development kit (SDK) to easily add 1-1 secure video communications between patients and doctors – without the need to build the video backend infrastructure. The Doctors on Demand approach to care is all about breaking down the walls of an office and supporting the patient’s health, wherever they are. Using programmable video is the only way to enable patients to be checked remotely 24×7 without ever leaving home. For research and patient outcomes, more and more organizations rely on the power of interactive voice response (IVR) to collect reliable data that can be used to direct patient care. IVR-based applications are another example of solutions that can be enabled with CPaaS.

As enterprises strive to reach customers and stakeholders via their preferred communication methods, CPaaS enablement becomes a key business differentiator for service providers. Contact sales@telestax.com to learn how to provide services like SMS, appointment scheduling, phone number masking, IVR, and more.