The Symbiotic Relationship of CPaaS and B2B Cloud Service Marketplaces

There is no slowing down when it comes to the growth of Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS). The benefits of programmable, cloud-based voice, video, messaging, chat, and collaboration – along with security features like 2FA or OTP – are simply too obvious for businesses of any size to ignore. Add to that the ability to integrate CPaaS using emerging multi-service API marketplaces with services such as Microsoft Teams (using Direct Routing as a Service), or SIP trunking (yes, SIP trunking as a Service STaaS), or even other third-party Unified Communications services, then the possibilities really open up.

An early challenge in the evolution of CPaaS was how organizations could consume it – directly, through service providers, or from distributors was not immediately clear a decade ago when the vision for programmable, embedded real-time communications was still on whiteboards and roadmaps.

When many of the real-time communications (RTC) innovations, including SIP integration, WebRTC, and others, began to mature, developers became enthusiastic about ways to improve communications experiences by adding “instant” access to information, virtual assistants, or live experts with one click or swipe – CPaaS “became a thing.”

The struggle with commercialization.

As exciting and creative as that time was, innovators still struggled with commercialization. Even as we experienced the dramatic growth of cloud computing and the rapid rise of marketplaces where cloud services could be discovered, consumed, and scaled – there was no robust CPaaS as we know it today, and certainly no marketplaces like Azure or AWS making it easy to discover, procure and scale services.

Cloud computing was just that – spinning up Virtual Machines to provide more flexible, less expensive computing or to do basic work, like hosting websites and IP-PBX systems (the precursor to pure cloud voice).

Cloud storage also grew, and as more data was pumped into the cloud, more analytics to optimize that data took off, making the original “SaaS” platforms (for example, hubspot.com) ever more valuable.

The rise of cloud communications marketplaces.

Then we saw the development and rise of cloud communications marketplaces, in synch with the rise of the API economy. The real breakthroughs started flowing when large telcos, like AT&T, recognized opportunities to pair their infrastructure and quality of service with programmable, embedded voice, video, messaging, and social media offerings. AT&T was one of the first Tier One digital service providers to anticipate future demands and introduce the AT&T API Marketplace, for which Kandy had the honor to provide the underlying foundation.

Around the same time, we saw the inevitable reshaping of the RTC landscape and investments by forward-thinking entrepreneurs in creating an “e-commerce” experience – in the cloud – by way of API and service marketplaces, not necessarily focused on voice, video, and messaging, but on valuable “Telco APIs” which enabled developers to add presence, geospatial data, geofencing, and more to mobile applications. Today these early mapping APIs, for example, and personalization APIs continue to enrich the subscriber experience with increasingly intelligent and intuitive interactions.

The next big thing – is you.

If you’ve ever used your smartphone to find the nearest Starbucks, then were offered a coupon for a free pumpkin spice latte upgrade, you’ve been the beneficiary of APIs. If you opt-in to having your data securely stored so you bring “recommendations” with you on the run, you can get the best deals, the best access, and the best rewards.

If you’ve been at the airport and received a notification regarding flight status and are sent a text message about a flight delay – and instead of having to type, you can choose to talk to a live agent and can “click to connect” immediately, you’ve been the beneficiary of RTC APIs. You can thank creative user experience experts and developers for the convenient and pleasant experience – while those innovators are thanking the emerging online marketplaces that make CPaaS code and quality connectivity services available.

When the chocolate fell into the peanut butter, peanut butter cups were born. And when RTC code fell into the CPaaS and found its showcase in a cloud marketplace, programmable communications were born. And while the Kandy team didn’t intentionally name our business Kandy, it turned out we, along with so many global partners, created one sweet deal.

Service providers, want to learn more about Kandy's CPaaS and B2B Cloud Service Marketplaces? Submit your inquiry below under Contact Kandy and a member of our team will be glad to talk to you.