50 Years of Growth, Innovation and Leadership
A Frost & Sullivan Buyer’s Guide
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An Executive Brief Prepared for IntelePeer
Communications Platforms as a Service Buyer’s Guide Understanding the Diverse CPaaS Market is Key to Choosing the Right Partner
Frost & Sullivan
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 3
Market Definitions ............................................................................................ 3
Competitive Environment ................................................................................. 4
Transactional CPaaS ............................................................................................. 4
Enterprise-grade CPaaS ......................................................................................... 5
CPaaS as Part of Broader Telco Services Portfolios ................................................ 5
Service Provider Enablement Partners .................................................................... 6
Hybrid CPaaS Offerings ....................................................................................... 6
Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................... 7
Provider Spotlight ............................................................................................. 8
IntelePeer ............................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 10
Legal Disclaimer ............................................................................................... 11
About Frost & Sullivan ..................................................................................... 12
Communications Platforms as a Service Buyer’s Guide
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INTRODUCTIONCommunications Platforms as a Service (CPaaS) is arguably one of the more disruptive innovations to affect the business
communications market. These solutions represent a significant departure from the way businesses of any size have
become accustomed to purchasing and deploying communications and provide a powerful toolset to make business
applications richer and more tightly integrated into business workflows. Similar to other cloud-based services, most CPaaS
solutions offer businesses a compelling operating expense (OpEx) alternative to costly capital expenditures (CapEx) in the
appropriate communications and network infrastructure needed to securely support API-driven voice, video, and messaging
services. Also important, cloud-based CPaaS offerings are priced at published per-API call or per-minute rates, enabling
businesses to pay for the exact amount of services they consume. This is a particularly compelling value proposition for
organizations with varying levels of demand or seasonal spikes in business. The inherent scalability of cloud architectures also
benefits CPaaS, enabling businesses to consume as much or as little of a provider’s API-directed services as needed by their
application or work process.
Beyond flexible consumption pricing, CPaaS allows businesses to utilize communications in a new way. While business
PBX and unified communications focus on the value of a tightly integrated set of collaboration tools, CPaaS breaks down
voice, video and messaging services to simple but useful elements. With CPaaS, an organization only needs to consume the
specific communications element(s) it needs. For example, an organization decides that it wants to allow its customers to
communicate with its employees using SMS on business numbers. While its existing on-premises UC platform does not
support SMS messaging, the business can leverage a CPaaS provider to enable text messaging as an integration or overlay of
its existing communications tools. In this example, the business maintains the existing relationship with voice providers and
its preferred UC vendor, while leveraging a CPaaS to address a gap in customer interactions. Put another way, CPaaS, with its
API-driven architecture, affords businesses the opportunity to leverage voice, video, and messaging elements in a consumable
way. Going forward, CPaaS is not likely to entirely replace a business’s existing UC infrastructure or services, but rather
build on that foundation and make communications more effective and better integrated into critical workflows.
This buyer’s guide defines the CPaaS market as it stands today and provides an overview of the diverse competitive
environment of market participants. In addition, this study provides a look at select providers and the value proposition they
bring to the CPaaS market.
MARKET DEFINITIONSCommunications Platforms as a Service (CPaaS)
Frost & Sullivan defines CPaaS as any cloud-based platform that enables developers to programmatically embed voice, video,
chat and messaging services within their business or consumer applications. In nearly all cases, the embedded communications
and collaboration services leveraged through a CPaaS are a feature of the larger application and are rarely the primary focus of
the application. For example, consumer-focused ride-sharing applications require a means for driver and passenger to connect
with one another via short messaging service (SMS) or a voice call. CPaaS can be leveraged to deliver the communications
features of the application, enabling the developers to focus on the mission-critical aspects.
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COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENTWith this focus on enabling and/or embedding communications into business workflows, rather than delivering a full suite of
user-facing communications and collaboration tools, the CPaaS market is fairly unique in the broader enterprise communications
space. As a result, it is also unique in terms of the diversity of market participants and solution offerings. Unlike other segments
of the UC market, participation is not limited to a single type of provider or vendor. Small startups, traditional incumbent
and competitive telecommunications carriers, and even many UC vendors are developing CPaaS solutions and evolving their
value propositions around the new API economy. Frost & Sullivan has identified five distinct segments that characterize CPaaS
providers and their most common go-to-market approaches. This buyer’s guide includes competitive profiles of vendors in
each of the five categories.
Transactional CPaaS
Arguably the most visible in the market today, transactional CPaaS providers are leading the charge in embedding on-demand
voice, video and SMS services into mobile and business applications. As the name suggests, transactional CPaaS providers
have adopted a pure consumption business model by offering flat-rate published pricing for each API call to their service. A
consumption model enables an independent developer or development teams within an organization to quickly get started
with communications integration. Transactional CPaaS providers are particularly developer-focused, building developer
communities and online forums, as well as posting frequently asked questions (FAQ) and API documentation in support of
their CPaaS services. While some limited integrations to traditional UC platforms exist, most transactional CPaaS offerings
are delivered as standalone solutions.
Consumer-focused ride-sharing applications
require a means for driver and passenger
to connect with one another via short
messaging service (SMS) or a voice call.
CPaaS can be leveraged to deliver the
communications features of the application,
enabling the developers to focus on the
mission-critical aspects.
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Enterprise-grade CPaaS
Enterprise-grade CPaaS providers distinguish from their transactional competitors by focusing efforts on larger businesses and
systems integrators. Unlike independent developers and small businesses, enterprises often have more stringent requirements
and an expectation of large-scale deployments. For enterprises, service-level agreements (SLAs) that ensure the quality of
API-driven connections, pricing models reflective of large-scale engagements, and a higher level of customer support and
professional services represent important criteria in CPaaS provider selection. CPaaS providers that focus on this customer
profile have built out their own networks to ensure quality of service (QoS) can be maintained. This class of providers also
develops pricing models that are reflective of anticipated scale and staff larger professional services and care teams to offer
high-touch services as part of customer engagements.
CPaaS as Part of Broader Telco Services Portfolios
API-driven communications have not escaped the notice of more traditional telecommunications, video conferencing
and unified communications as a service (UCaaS) providers. With extensive investment in IP-based communications
infrastructure, incumbent and competitive carriers and hosted providers are well positioned to extend to businesses
the value of their existing services and the convenience of a single invoice for all customer communications services.
Established providers can offer an alternative business model and pricing structure to that of transaction-based CPaaS
providers. For example, voice-based service providers can charge customers for the additional voice and messaging usage,
rather than a per-call API fee. In this way, service providers can position CPaaS as a value-added service to existing and
new customers, rather than a separate solution. The ongoing challenge for established providers, however, will be to
continue to compete effectively against agile and disruptive startups that are not burdened by legacy telecommunications
assets. The upside for more diversified providers is that they can bundle and integrate CPaaS with other key offerings,
such as Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
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Unlike the pure cloud-based CPaaS
offerings, a hybrid CPaaS provides
access to a business’ existing resources,
such as telephony and video endpoints,
telecommunications services, and
phone numbers. It also protects the
investments a business has already made in
communications infrastructure.
Service Provider Enablement Partners
Communications services providers acknowledge a compelling opportunity to enter the CPaaS market, but the time to develop
in-house capabilities to create and manage API-driven solutions could present a major obstacle to success. While market-leading
and Tier-1 providers possess the resources to undertake a CPaaS project, there are many smaller and regional providers that
lack the required skill set and staffing. For providers facing these challenges, a number of vendors are developing cloud-based
CPaaS solutions that can serve as part of the service provider’s communications infrastructure. These enablement solutions allow
providers to more rapidly launch CPaaS offerings to their customers while sharing the risk with the CPaaS partner. Much like
transactional CPaaS providers, enabling technology vendors often structure pricing based on the volume of API calls, allowing the
communication service providers to ease into the CPaaS market at a lower upfront cost. These vendors not only eliminate most
infrastructure investment, but also foster and support the development community around their products. In essence, enabling
technology vendors bring an ecosystem of developers, consultants, and system integrators to the telecom service providers.
Hybrid CPaaS Offerings
Application integration between on-premises UC platforms, third-party and in-house business applications has been an ongoing
challenge for many businesses. This challenge has been complicated by the transition of business apps such as customer
relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource management (ERP) tools to the cloud. If not done correctly, PBX
or UC integration with these online platforms can expose on-premises business communications systems to security threats
and exploits. These and other factors have had a chilling effect on customers and, in the process, have limited many of the
productivity benefits and the workflow optimization that integrated solutions can provide.
To address the accelerating migration from on-premises UC platforms to cloud-based services, many competitors in this
market are developing hybrid solutions that can leverage a mix of cloud and on-premises UC applications and hardware. By
creating a secure link between on-premises platforms and cloud-based services, UC vendors are opening up their traditional
platforms to a full range of cloud services, including CPaaS. Unlike the pure cloud-based CPaaS offerings, a hybrid CPaaS
provides access to a business’s existing resources, such as telephony and video endpoints, telecommunications services, and
phone numbers. It also protects the investments a business has already made in communications infrastructure.
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Evaluation Criteria
The specific capabilities that a particular provider can deliver are just one of the factors to consider when evaluating CPaaS
solutions. Additionally, the long-term financial viability of a CPaaS provider should be an important consideration. In line with
broader telecommunications market trends, the CPaaS market will likely experience a significant number of mergers and
acquisitions going forward. Consolidation will be driven by competitors seeking greater scale, market share and growth, as well
as traditional telecommunications service providers acquiring CPaaS players to gain quick access to the market.
Also important, an organization should get a clear understanding of the costs and charges of each CPaaS provider. For example,
some CPaaS providers charge a per-minute rate, while others bill in per-second increments, which could have a significant
impact on monthly costs, depending on the specific application or integration. Similarly, CPaaS providers charge varying
recurring fees for phone numbers, toll-free numbers or specialty services, such as direct connects to MPLS networks.
Finally, organizations should be clear that a prospective provider aligns closely with both their geographical reach and the
broader ecosystem. While a number of CPaaS providers offer international numbers or a global network, many are regionally
focused and only allowed to operate as a provider in their home country. Multi-national corporations or businesses that operate
virtually abroad will have to consider CPaaS providers that match their own theaters of operations. Similarly, businesses should
factor in the established partners and application integrations of a CPaaS provider, particularly in the growing integration
platform as a service (IPaaS) market. Existing partners and integrations can significantly speed up deployment times and ensure
compatibility between CPaaS solutions and business applications.
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PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT IntelePeer
Core Offerings Price Options Key Features/Capabilities Key Performance Metrics
Voice Services
Bundle and pay-per-use pricing
• Unlimited per user• Unlimited per port• PRI-style pricing• Usage
• Available via over the top (OTT), EPL, MPLS, and SD-WAN
• Unlimited US and Canadian calling (based on bundle)
• Global footprint• Emergency calling• Portal or API-based
provisioning and configuration
• 40% average cost-savings over traditional telecom carriers
• 99.999% platform uptime • Customer story: Fortune
1000 utilities company resolved reliability or capacity issues after switching to Atmosphere® Voice
Short Messaging Services (SMS)
Bundle and pay-per-use pricing:
• Unlimited per-user• Usage
• API-driven inbound and outbound SMS over business lines for toll-free and direct inward dialing (DID) numbers
• Global reach and footprint• Pre-packaged SMS integrations
available for leading UC&C and Workstream Collaboration applications
• 99.999% platform uptime • Customer story: Technology
service provider using Atmosphere® Messaging for Webex Teams has seen significant improvements in internal collaboration and increased engagement between customers and sales/customer experience teams
Applications Simple application license and/or usage
• Off-the-shelf voice and messaging applications for common line-of-business communication needs
• Campaign and notification applications
Customer story: Fortune 500 consumer services company leveraging end-to-end application with automation and analytics for 400,000 customer notifications per month
Automation Simple application licensing and usage
Build and deploy applications, bots, and scripts within the Atmosphere® Platform using packaged marketplace applications and easy-to-use tools
Customer story: Services firm implemented automation for its collections process and has seen 3% improvement in recovery on monthly collections
APIsAvailable with all Atmosphere® product offerings
APIs to leverage:• Voice• SMS• Provisioning• Integrations• Billing • Reporting and Analytics
• Industry-leading platform availability of 99.999% uptime
• Full lifecycle service management available via including number porting and billing
AnalyticsAvailable with all Atmosphere® product offerings
• Actionable insights into customer interactions across channels
• Real-time and batch data integrations available for third-party analytics platforms and business applications
• Customer story: One of the world’s largest franchise restaurants leverages analytics to standardize the customer communications experience, boost sales, and improve customer satisfaction globally
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Company Background
IntelePeer has delivered IP-based business communications services since 2003 and was an early pioneer in the enterprise
migration to SIP. IntelePeer offers multi-channel cloud business communications, including voice and messaging applications and
voice enablement services to enterprises, technology partners, and platform providers across its carrier-grade network. The
provider has steadily moved into the CPaaS market by delivering APIs, automation tools, scripting capabilities, and analytics for
each of its core offerings.
IntelePeer has also built brand recognition through partnerships it has forged, including being the first fully integrated media
partner for Cisco Webex Teams (formally Cisco Spark). IntelePeer additionally provides voice and SMS for other global UCaaS
platforms and services some of the largest organizations in the world through these strategic relationships.
Through its extensible platform, IntelePeer has made the transition from telecommunications vendor into a complete CPaaS
platform provider, serving mid-to-large enterprises both directly and through strategic technology partners with a highly
scalable voice and messaging portfolio and highly redundant network. As a result, IntelePeer has become a trusted provider
to medium and large enterprises, cloud application vendors and channel partners such as value-added resellers (VARs) and
system integrators (SIs).
Sales Model
IntelePeer’s sales approach is completely driven by channel and strategic partners. Telecommunications resellers can leverage
IntelePeer’s Atmosphere® Communications Platform to quickly deliver ready-to-use communications applications as well
as PSTN voice and SIP trunking for their customers through on-premises, cloud, and hybrid UC deployments. VARs and SIs
leverage the CPaaS capabilities of the Atmosphere® Communications Platform to incorporate voice and messaging services
within their solutions. Finally, IntelePeer engages directly with strategic partners, including Cisco and other UC and contact
center vendors, to tightly integrate IntelePeer services as a key component of the partner’s end-user applications and services.
This sales approach is particularly differentiated in the emerging CPaaS market. While many market competitors engage
and sell primarily to developers, IntelePeer is focused on the enterprise and partnering with executive and senior-level
decision makers to solve business challenges with its communications platform. Ultimately, IntelePeer’s approach leverages its
history as an enterprise-focused provider of telecommunications services and builds on strengths as an innovative and agile
communications platform vendor.
Portfolio Description and Analysis
IntelePeer’s complete portfolio of cloud communications, messaging, applications, automation, and analytics is powered by the
provider’s internally developed Atmosphere® Communications Platform and the strength of its well-developed network. By
deploying in a number of key data center locations, the provider delivers high availability and performance through geographic
diversity. This diversity also affords IntelePeer the close proximity to partners’ Ethernet connections and MPLS links, allowing
it to deliver voice services in whatever manner the customer chooses. IntelePeer’s network has global reach, including global
origination and termination of voice and messaging.
IntelePeer’s Atmosphere® Communications Platform allows users to consume product offerings in multiple ways with the
flexibility to mix and match services. Customers using Unified Communications & Collaboration applications can add IntelePeer
voice and messaging as an all-inclusive bundle, further extending the capabilities of popular team collaboration tools. The
IntelePeer platform supports consumption of services through APIs, putting it in competition with pure-play CPaaS providers.
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Customers may choose between unlimited plans or pay-per-use APIs to build and host their own applications, and provision
and manage voice and messaging services alongside other established services. IntelePeer is one of few providers in the
communications market today offering pre-built integrations, ready-to-use applications and APIs to partners and customers.
IntelePeer also offers pre-packaged applications and tools for channel partners and customers to build and deploy
communications-enabled applications and automated processes in or on the Atmosphere® Communications Platform.
Customers also can access analytics across the Atmosphere® platform and IntelePeer network, such as call and messaging
reporting, sales and location performance, call flow tracking, and more. IntelePeer is rapidly delivering additional analytics and
automation capabilities to customers and partners, building on top of the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI), including
sentiment analysis, tonality, machine learning, and predictive analytics.
Strengths Concerns
IntelePeer has a history as a trusted provider of voice services, which will translate into a trusted CPaaS partner for its channel.
IntelePeer’s channel sales approach hinders brand recognition among many end customers.
IntelePeer’s ability to interconnect with customers’ networks to deliver its voice and messaging services is a key differentiator to purely over-the-top CPaaS providers.
While IntelePeer has built a large partner ecosystem, its developer ecosystem is new and will need to grow rapidly in 2018.
With its Atmosphere® Communications Platform, IntelePeer controls its own innovation and product roadmaps, enabling quick innovation to respond to a rapidly evolving CPaaS market.
CONCLUSIONCommunications platforms-as-a-service offerings can extend an organization’s capabilities to interact with customers,
suppliers, partners and employees in new and exciting ways, many of which were not possible using their existing
communications infrastructure. Many forward-thinking businesses are forgoing new infrastructure investments and
leveraging CPaaS to enable in-app communications, streamline and automate internal business processes, and move forward
on their digital transformation journeys. However, care must be taken to understand the benefits of CPaaS, how it can fit
into the organization, and ultimately selecting providers that can deliver CPaaS as a strategic asset for better internal and
external communications for your organization.
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LEGAL DISCLAIMERQuantitative market information is based primarily on interviews and therefore is subject to fluctuation. Frost & Sullivan is not
responsible for incorrect information supplied to us by manufacturers or users.
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Communications Platforms as a Service Buyer’s Guide
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ABOUT INTELEPEER IntelePeer delivers ready to use, cloud-based, multi-channel business communications you can build on with voice and
messaging applications via multiple connection options, backed by an award-winning support team and disaster avoidance
solutions. Partners and companies of any size can leverage our innovative solutions to create more effective customer
interactions and improve business processes. We believe business communications are meant for more than just simple
interactions. It’s time to move beyond basic communications! Visit www.intelepeer.com to learn more.
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participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the Global 1000, emerging
businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave
of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best
practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?
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