Choosing a CPaaS Provider | 5 Key Features to Consider

Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) delivers the reliability, security and global reach of legacy telecom in the language of web development and application design. High-fidelity, global internet communications are a reality today, but your CPaaS provider will also be responsible for steering your business through future changes in the cloud communications market.

The market for cloud communications is still young, so choosing a partner that can shape the market on your behalf positions your business for success in the future. Consider CPaaS partners with a culture of innovation that will be committed to your growth. They are your source of communications expertise who you’ll rely on to be at the forefront of technology needs.

What is a CPaaS Provider?

A CPaaS provider is a company that develops products to enable the addition of real-time communication features to applications. Most CPaaS providers also offer support services and documentation to help developers integrate communication features into their apps.

Types of CPaaS Solutions

The CPaaS solution you’ll need will be dependent on what feature you are integrating to your application. Some of the most popular solutions are:

• CPaaS SMS
  • Programmable SMS allows developers to build reliable messaging into applications quickly, enabling high deliverability and increased customer engagement.
• CPaaS Video
  • Video APIs allow developers to create programmable, customizable, and scalable video rooms. For a seamless experience, For the most reliable connectivity on a global purpose built network.
• CPaaS WebRTC
  • WebRTC (Web Real Time Communications) is a real-time communications protocol that enables browsers to communicate with each other and with other devices over SIP, enhancing the customer experience (CX).

5 Things to Consider when Choosing Your CPaaS Provider

When choosing a CPaaS provider, there are a couple of important things to consider beyond great documentation and support. At it's core, CPaaS is about communication, so you need a provider that is reliable and has a global reach. Here are our top 5 features to look out for when evaluating CPaaS providers:

1. Global, Private IP Network

CPaaS providers should have global coverage that is supported by internationally deployed points of presence. However, what’s more important is the network that connects them. Most providers traverse your packets over the public internet where they are susceptible to packet loss, lag and jitter.

Leading players have built private IP infrastructure that supports end-to-end encryption to resolve these issues. With a global backbone, providers offer increased reliability, quality and security. Packets are routed via private IP fiber, eliminating as many hops on the public internet as possible.

2. Networking

CPaaS bridges online technology to the future by building API-powered telecom service in the cloud and absorbing network operations into a software model. However, not all networks are built equally. Diversity, redundancy and resiliency in globally deployed infrastructure is key.

CPaaS players who take a cloud-agnostic approach means that they never rely too heavily on any one cloud provider, so customers rest easy knowing they are protected against network failure. In contrast, building on just one cloud provider increases the risk of network downtime. If you want to connect your cloud environment to your CPaaS provider at source, look for those that maintain direct interconnections with cloud providers.

3. Elastic SIP Trunking

Elastic SIP trunking allows you to scale your telephony using the power of the cloud. This introduces instant provisioning, a potentially global reach and the ability to scale your capacity on the fly. While most providers offer a SIP trunking solution, leading providers should be able to offer you low-latency calling with no packet loss on a private network.

Scaling your voice connectivity should be easy and automatic. Elastic providers scale your connections in real-time, to virtually unlimited capacity, avoiding the need to reach out directly via email or support. Moreover, ensure that you can easily provision your voice connectivity via API and through a user-interface.

4. Porting

Porting is a critical but an often underestimated function of a CPaaS platform. It can be an extremely painful process, potentially leading to missed calls during business hours and significant operational overhead that your team shouldn’t have to worry about.

When evaluating providers, check whether they have a dedicated porting team to handle your port requests. Facilities like bulk porting can speed up your internal processes. However, advanced features like portability checking, CSR validation and being able to schedule cutover times, are only available from providers with a carrier status and can reduce your overall port time by about 40%.

5. Numbers and Number Searching

Purchasing and provisioning numbers in dozens of countries typically involves multiple carrier agreements, complex routing and location-dependent regulations - none of which you want to worry about. You need to deal with a global carrier that can provide you with instant access to the numbers you need with the ability to search, purchase and provision via API or user-interface.

Access to number types, with full feature support, is a clear indicator of truly global telephony players. Providers should maintain an inventory of owned numbers so you can easily find and purchase the number type, features or patterns that you need to fit your use case.

Choosing the right CPaaS provider is a key step in accelerating your global voice connectivity. To learn more about CPaaS and global communications, read our free eBook.