CPaaS stands for communication platforms as a service. In short, this means that the communication system is hosted online in the cloud. There are a lot of benefits of switching to CPaaS, so let’s break down what it means.

Understanding “As a Service”

You might be more familiar with the term SaaS, software as a service, which is a way of saying that the product offered is cloud-based. Salesforce, Mailchimp, and Gmail are all examples of SaaS. Instead of using a physical product, the software is the service you’re getting.

Some products that once were delivered as a piece of hardware or CD-ROM software are now offered as SaaS. For instance, Adobe Photoshop was once a one-time purchase of hundreds of dollars. You would buy the CDs and access the software for life – so you were buying a license. Today, Adobe products are hosted on Adobe Creative Cloud. You pay a much lower rate per month to access a cloud download of their services. You’re now paying for access to the service for as long as you need it.

Benefits of CPaaS

There are many reasons why companies are switching from one-time purchases to monthly service offerings. Cloud-based platforms offer a number of benefits to both the provider and the user:

One Unified Solution: When software is available online, that means that it’s able to also talk to other software systems. You can integrate the service into other services that you use for a streamlined working experience. You’ll be able to set up automations between your CPaaS solution, billing software, sales portal, and more and work smarter.

Lower Costs: A user is more likely to try and continue using a product because the monthly cost is much easier to pay for than one large lump sum. When the cost is prohibitive, users might find ways to pirate or steal software access. When changed to a subscription model, the user only needs to pay as long as they need the software, and the provider can earn more business.

More Flexibility: Cloud-based products can be accessed on multiple devices, anywhere with an internet connection. If you switch computers, you probably won’t need to re-purchase the product or go through set up all over again. You just log in and are able to access the service where you last left off. Many CPaaS products are available to access on your mobile devices, too.

Upgrades and Updates: Because it’s cloud-hosted, the developer of the service can release patches, fixes, upgrades, and new features simply across all their customers. In the past, a user would have to buy the newest edition of a product to get the newest features; with SaaS and CPaaS, you can get the newest releases instantly within the platform without having to do a thing.

Vonix Flex is a CPaaS – it brigns together calling, texting, social media messaging, team chat and more into one simple platform. You can access it anytime, anywhere from any device giving you more flexibility into how you manage your business. If you’re looking for a unified communication system to simplify your customer communications, learn more about Flex.