The State of CPaaS Tools in 2021 Explained in 40 Stats

Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) software enables users to add communications features to existing software platforms without the need to build backend infrastructures. That level of ease means that businesses can build custom-made platforms specifically tailor-made for their unique needs. The agility allowed by CPaaS tools opens up a door of opportunity for businesses.

This article will share statistics showing the ways in which the CPaaS space is growing and how it can benefit your business. We’ll cover the following sections:

• CPaaS Technology is Booming
• CPaaS has Changed Communication in the Era of COVID-19
• Leaders in the CPaaS Space 
• The CPaaS Software Market
• CPaaS FAQs

CPaaS Technology is Booming

Whether you realize it or not, CPaaS technology is everywhere. It powers some of today’s most innovative software and helps you to keep in touch with loved ones. Here are some statistics showing the increasing success of this software. 

Statistics: CPaaS is Key for Digital Transformation

Source:ARC Advisory Group

Digital transformation is the process of injecting digital processes into all aspects of your business. If you haven’t done that by now, your business will fall behind. With CPaaS technology’s highly-customizable capabilities, you can update your business in whichever way will fit your specific needs. The statistics below show how CPaaS will help you succeed in those areas. 

• SAP Digital Interconnect reported email is the preferred messaging channel by which consumers interact with their service providers, which is further followed by SMS, and voice. Also, it stated that over 92% of companies have a digital transformation strategy to improve customer experience. This clearly hints at the usage of an omnichannel approach, where the CPaaS deployment comes in. (Market Watch)

• 44% of companies have already started a digital-first approach to operations and customer engagement. (ClickZ)
• 94% of the people in the survey said that they are in the process of completing a digital transformation strategy. Another 71% said that they’ll be deploying more digital engagement tools in the next 2-3 years. (UC Today)
• 89% of executives believe that digitization will disrupt their business in the next year. (IMS Guide)
• 33% of marketers agree that improved understanding and engaging the right customers is most important to reaching their marketing goals in the next three years. (Think with Google)
• 67% of enterprises expect CPaaS to have an impact on their organization within the next three to five years. (Digitalist)
• 86% of respondents in a survey said that their organizations have different [digital] process strategies than they did five years ago. (UC Today).
• 52% of people in that study said that they believe they will be spending more in the next 24 months on digital engagement processes. (UC Today).

Statistics: CPaaS Encourages Innovation

The highly customizable nature of CPaaS tools easily gives way to innovation. APIs are a big part of this technology, and APIs are at the crux of technological advancement. The statistics below outline how CPaaS software encourages innovation.

• Connected devices are driving CPaaS opportunities: Many companies are now using CPaaS to strengthen their business with IoT and connected devices. There are set to be more than 75 billion connected devices by 2025. (ALE)
• Companies are helping to accelerate app development: Around 70% of companies in the CPaaS landscape are focusing more on enabling partners and supporting faster app development for the new landscape. (Apigee)
• Right now, the programmable web has thousands of APIs: In its database, the programmable web – a database of APIs, has around 23,000 options to choose from. (Programmable Web)
• US companies alone will spend around $3 billion on API management in the years ahead. (Forrester)
• APIs are a big part of the CPaaS experience: Around 85% of top-performing companies agree that using APIs is a strategic way to grow their companies. (Accenture)
• 70% of surveyed companies are also investing in new API-based strategies. (Apigee)
• CPaaS gives companies a competitive edge: CPaaS is a convenient way for companies to unlock new tools and features without replacing the communication stack. Apigee says that successful companies have four times more APIs in their business than low performers. (Apigee)
• The majority of companies today (70%) are focused on connecting/enabling partners and faster app development (Apigee)
• Roughly 85% of top-performing companies strongly agree that the use of APIs is strategic, and 70% are investing in developer programs (Apigee)
• As the conversation moves from SMS and phone calls to IP-based messaging, it is, therefore, representative of the CPaaS market shifts from CPaaS 1.0 to CPaaS 2.0. The CPaaS 1.0 platforms aimed at the addition of legacy communications like SMS text messaging and phone calls to applications through APIs. On the other hand, the CPaaS 2.0 overlooks technological leaps on building IP-based seamless communication experiences across video, voice, chat, file sharing, to name a few. (PR News Wire)

CPaaS has Changed Communication in the Era of COVID-19

CPaaS powers much of the technology that has become invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic. These statistics show how that has given way to huge growth in CPaaS, especially thanks to the rise of telemedicine platforms. 

• CPaaS grew 33% YOY due to COVID (Capacity Media)
• With the outbreak of COVID-19, the Vonage Video Trends reflected that APAC had recorded the highest increase in Vonage video minutes in April over March 2020. With 83% of consumers across China preferred video chat to communicate with businesses and service providers before the COVID-19 outbreak, the market potential for CPaaS providers is set to rise amidst so many businesses permanently working remotely. (Mordor Intelligence) 
• 66% of businesses admit they felt the pandemic exposed weaknesses in their digital strategy. (Soprano Design)
• 84% of virtual [health] care users were first-time users during the pandemic and were very satisfied. (No Jitter)
• 42% of US adults confirmed that they preferred telehealth services during the COVID-19 crisis. (SimForm)
• Research suggests that around 61% of doctors find telehealth a promising platform for healthcare services. (Healthcare IT News)

Leaders in the CPaaS Space 

With the exponential growth of CPaaS, leaders in the space have set themselves apart from the pack. Twilio and Vonage are among the most notable leaders in the space. Here are some statistics on those platforms and other CPaaS leaders.

• The CPaaS segment is entering a new stage of explosive growth led by industry leaders Twilio and Vonage (formerly Nexmo) (IDC)
• Vonage acquired Nexmo in 2016 and used it to build its CPaaS business, generating around $215 million in 2018. (Gartner)
• In early 2019, 8×8 Inc. acquired Wavecell for entry into the Singaporean market along with a widespread presence in Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Similarly, in September 2019, Twilio announced its successful expansion into the Japanese market with new partnerships with seven consulting partners and opened two Japanese offices in Yotsuya. (PR News Wire)
• Twilio noted that revenue from Flex was up 184% in the first half of 2020. In other words, Flex is growing more than three times faster than Twilio’s core business. (Nasdaq)
• For 2020, RingCentral expects revenues between $1.164 billion and $1.167 billion, rising from the previous guidance of $1.135-$1.143 billion and indicating year-over-year growth of 29% (Nasdaq)
• CPaaS provider MessageBird raised $200 million in Series C funding in a round led by Silicon Valley’s Spark Capital in 2020. (Tech Crunch)

The CPaaS Software Market

As CPaaS technology is used to power increasingly useful and relevant software platforms and applications, the market value of the technology has begun to rise exponentially. Here are some stats showing CPaaS growth. 

• CPaaS demand is growing: In 2016 the CPaaS market was already worth $2 billion. As we head towards 2022, IDC predicts that this value will increase to $10.9 billion. (IDC)
• US companies want to spend more on APIs: Forrester tells us that US companies alone will spend around $3 billion on API management in the years ahead. (Forrester)
• The latest research study from Juniper Research has revealed that the total value of the CPaaS market will reach $25 billion by 2025 – rising from $7 billion in 2020 (Juniper Research)
• As per statistics, regardless of enabling modern capabilities, more than 95% of the CPaaS revenue will be attributable to SMS in 2020. This is due to the omnipresence of SMS marketing among mobile subscribers. However, by the end of 2025, the SMS trend is projected to drop to 70% of the total revenue. (Talk CMO)
• Alternative digital media messaging solutions are gaining more traction in the CPaaS market space. In its essence, the RCS business messaging is expected to be the second-highest source for the CPaaS revenue within the next five years. It is estimated to be accounting for 15% of the worldwide revenue by 2025. (Talk CMO) 
• A new study found that RCS (Rich Communication Services) business messaging traffic will reach 415 billion messages by 2025; rising from 160 million messages in 2020. This represents a growth of 2,500%. It predicts that this substantial growth will be driven by the increasing popularity of CPaaS amongst brands and enterprises. (Yahoo)
• The CPaaS segment is entering a new stage of explosive growth led by industry leaders Twilio and Vonage (formerly Nexmo) (IDC)
• The Communications Platform as a Service market revenue was 3858 Million USD in 2019 and will reach 25773 Million USD in 2025, with a CAGR of 37.23% during 2020-2025. (WFMJ) 
• Spending on CPaaS services — including voice, video and text messaging — is expected to grow exponentially over the next four years. In 2019, global CPaaS market revenue reached $4.26 billion and is estimated to reach $17.71 billion by 2024, according to IDC data. (Searched Unified Communications) 
• The Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) Market was valued at USD 4.54 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 26.03 billion by 2026 and register a CAGR of 34.3% during the forecast period (2021 – 2026). (Mordor Intelligence) 

Conclusion: CPaaS Software Changes the Way We Communicate

The world has been digital-focused for a long time. The COVID-19 pandemic has only cemented the need to make sure your business stays in line with those digital trends. Implementing CPaaS software is the best way to do this, as it will benefit both you and your customers. If you’re ready to make the switch, take a look at our list of the best CPaaS providers.