By Vishwadeep Bajaj, Chief Executive Officer & Founder ValueFirst, a Twilio company
Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provides the world with unparalleled opportunities to enhance the conversational functionalities of their applications. CPaaS is seamless, affordable, quick, and provides an incredible reach. While the term CPaaS was coined recently, you must have experienced it. Whether it was an SMS OTP to help you complete an online transaction or a chatbot that helped you answer a query, CPaaS touches everyone.
The CPaaS Transformation Era
Use-cases of the CPaaS industry have traditionally been centered around integrations that allow enterprises generate SMS notifications. As the pandemic speeded up digital transformation, the CPaaS industry also saw a rapid upgrade. Moving beyond its traditional use-cases meant complex, real-time and interactive integrations. Integrations such as voice, email, chatbots, and video seamlessly integrate into marketing automation and contact center systems.
While next-generation integrations might sound fancy, we have already seen actual implementations and success under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CPaaS helping fight COVID-19
Just look at how a US-based CPaaS giant evolved itself during the pandemic. It has a vaccine distribution program that allows health care providers and agencies to use CPaaS and send notifications about vaccination, create health surveys, and more.
Another example is an India-based company which worked closely with the Government of Karnataka to set up a WhatsApp-based COVID-19 helpdesk. The chatbot would help people answer queries about the pandemic, request help, and solve multiple use-cases.
The world is all set to see a huge rise in the number and types of use cases in the coming year, as enterprises reimagine the way they work. There will be no limit to the types of use cases that can be created to help businesses and consumers streamline workflows and enhance their conversations.
The New Normal of BFSI
The new normal of financial services goes beyond the traditional offerings. Unlike in the past, just winning a consumer isn’t enough. It is now about knowing them well enough to be their best friend at every financial decision of theirs. While the industry has always embraced CPaaS, the pandemic saw them moving towards the over-the-top approach. Creating chatbots for their digital assets to cater to additional queries due to institutions being closed, using platforms such as WhatsApp to truly be available 24×7, upgrading to Google verified SMS to win trust, etc. were some of the key developments.
The money wallet transactions, as well as online payments, created a lot of volume due to contactless delivery during the COVID-19 times.
Retail is no longer a brick-and-mortar setup
Retail- The pandemic changed the retail industry, forcing unfortunate closures of physical stores and causing uncertainty about the future of the in-store experience. Retailers scrambled for a bit but then pivoted to effectively serve customers through new-age channels. Digital-first and omnichannel experiences have become a must-have for all players, small or big. The industry resorted to CPaaS be it for welcome email-based programs, smarter voice-based solutions for IVR and customer care, and traditional SMS programs.
A significant development for India
CPaaS is closely linked with digital transformation. While the concept has originated from the Western countries, India is all set to show significant growth owing to the CPaaS industry. India being one of the biggest mobile markets in the world with pervasive connectivity, the future looks bright.
Benefits such as extremely low overhead costs, negligible risk factor and increased ROI potential, make CPaaS the essential revolution for businesses in 2021 and beyond.
As we march ahead, CPaaS dialogues will move beyond developers and increasingly include business owners who respect APIs. Besides, the type of business customers will also change. It is such an exciting time to be in the CPaaS industry.
