Cloud Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) is a technology solution that provides the APIs, software development kits, integrated development environments, and the sample code, organizations need to seamlessly introduce new communication channels into their customer journeys.
Depending on the provider, these solutions can offer flexibility and scalability, allowing organizations of any size to unify their customer experience, servicing customers on their preferred channels while balancing complex operational demands and supporting live agents.
With forward-thinking organizations embracing the technology to future-proof their customer engagement strategies, it’s no surprise that the global CPaaS market is one of the fast-growing technology sectors. Gartner estimates that 95 percent of enterprise organizations will use CPaaS by 2026.
Sharing more, Jay Patel, VP & GM of Webex CPaaS Solutions, said:
“Investing in CPaaS is a powerful way for businesses to integrate direct, real-time communication channels to enhance their customer journeys. Many of these channels are already being used by consumers, so it makes sense for businesses to communicate where their customers already are.”
The opportunities for CX improvement with CPaaS are almost limitless. Companies that adopt it can focus on multiple use cases for strategic opportunities that differentiate their customer experience.
CPaaS Drives Tangible Business Benefits & ROI
CPaaS solutions enable businesses to integrate customized communications capabilities including voice, video, and messaging, into applications, business processes or services. For instance, integrations with CRM and supply chain information ensure that agents always have access to contextual information so they can better serve customers.
So what are the business benefits of CPaaS?
- Cost efficiency – with no infrastructure overheads, hardware installation, and maintenance costs, CPaaS platforms are time and cost-efficient. Serviced entirely by the vendor and provided as a purchasable service, the cloud-based environment is fully customizable enabling you to pay for only the features that you use.
- Faster deployment – integrated tools, pre-built configurations, APIs, and advanced capabilities that cater to a wide range of business users, can expedite deployment and reduce the dependency on IT. Customer journeys can be built in a matter of hours rather than weeks. CPaaS is also fully scalable providing you with the flexibility to deploy services as you grow.
- Improved CX – when combined with technology like AI, CPaaS can deliver market-leading customer experiences, an important brand differentiator. By adding SMS, video and voice capabilities, businesses can enable their customers to interact with them, in real-time on any channel they want.
- Automation – CPaaS enables the intelligent automation of customer interactions including system-triggered journeys, end-to-end automation, and chatbot-enabled self-service which can improve operational efficiencies and therefore reduce costs for businesses.
“Leading companies need tools to innovate their CX but also to provide tangible business benefits,” adds Patel. “A recent study we did with Forrester analyzed the business benefits that customers have seen by deploying CPaaS solutions and the results revealed that they experienced up to a 330% return on investment.”
Case Study Example: Walgreens Pioneers Rich Communications Services (RCS)
With 9,000 stores, Walgreens is one of the largest pharmacy firms in the US. They recently implemented a new way to communicate with customers using RCS, enabled by CPaaS technology.
RCS is an SMS upgrade, offering a messaging channel featuring videos, branding, payment processing, rich cards, and carousels.
Walgreens used RCS to improve customer engagement for its RX refill prescription program. Its goal was to improve refill rates, decrease abandoned prescriptions, and improve customer health benefits and retention.
It achieved all these aims, and the company was subsequently awarded an innovation award for its “Best Use of Technology” category in the US Customer Experience Awards 2022 alongside its partner Webex.
Webex: A Leader in CPaaS
Webex offers a fully programmable, easy-to-use enterprise CPaaS solution, Webex Connect, a platform to manage all customer interactions in one place and designed to help enterprises lower costs, reduce complexity, and accelerate IT roadmaps.
Some of the largest global organizations use the platform’s out-of-the-box tools and controls to differentiate and enhance customer experiences.
“Digital touchpoints are proliferating. Today, with smartphones, there are many different communication channels: SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, and more,” said Patel. “That’s where companies can engage with customers, achieve digital transformation, deliver a better CX, and reduce costs.”
The platform’s low-code, visual workflow builder reduces IT departments’ need to rely on software developers to create customer journeys from scratch. Patel adds:
“We provide a lot of the standard building blocks. That way, you can adopt a low code or sometimes no-code approach. You don’t need to write unique code for every journey. Developers construct the experience rather than code it.”
Webex Connect allows businesses to manage the entire end-to-end customer journey: pre-customer contact, during and after customer contact. It can be used across different teams within an organization including IT, operations, marketing, and customer service and support.
“Webex Connect helps an organization proactively communicate with customers, with personalized two-way interactions orchestrated seamlessly across the entire customer journey, reducing the load on customer service teams and building customer loyalty,” Patel stated.
To learn more about how Webex Connect powers mission-critical interactions and access the latest CPaaS thought leadership, click here.
