CF20: 2025's 20 Top CPaaS Providers You Should KnowCF20: 2025's 20 Top CPaaS Providers You Should Know

CPaaS providers will see continued rapid market growth through the next several years with increasing demand for communications tools across industries.

CPaaS is a cloud-based delivery model that focuses on improving communication channels. It allows companies to add various communication features to their existing business applications.

Our latest CF20 focuses on CPaaS providers. Analysts shared their views on what it takes to succeed with the technology. It includes an updated list and fresh views on changes in the CPaaS market.

According to Future Market Insights, The global CPaaS market should surge from $12.3 billion in 2024 to $121 billion by 2034.

B2C Market Big Opportunity For CPaaS Providers

Roy Illsley, chief analyst of IT operations at Omdia, which shares a parent company with Channel Futures (Informa TechTarget), said the big opportunity for the market is to break into the business-to-consumer (B2C) market with the technology and help customers develop new services that can be monetized.

“The B2B market has changed and workers are now fairly evenly split into a hybrid worker (two to three days in an office), tethered worker (100% in a single office location), or mobile, and this will be the main driver of the growth,” he said.

Related:CF20: 2024's 20 Top CPaaS Providers You Should Know

Omdia's Roy Illsley

Verticalization of the solutions and how the platforms support them will be key in the months ahead, Illsley said. An example would be remote health care apps that can help with reducing the need for in-person visits.

The most effective CPaaS solution has the ability to support communication across a lot of devices, and the simplicity of the user interface (UI) and customer experience, he said.

“We all [in our roles] use multiple different platforms for meetings, and the way they work with headsets, speakers, microphones, cameras, etc., is all different,” Illsley said. “With the advent of the AI era, the next question will be, how do AI assistants and virtual agents work with the platforms?”

Customer Experience Digitization to Fuel Future Growth

Raul Castanon, unified communications and collaboration (UCC) analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said 451 Research’s CPaaS Market Monitor and Forecast projects this market will continue to grow, compounded annually, at 15% through 2028.

“Market growth spiked with the pandemic, growing nearly 50% in 2020 and 2021, then slowed down,” he said. “However, we see this market growing over the next five years, fueled by ongoing digitization of the customer experience.”

Key trends in CPaaS in 2025 include network APIs, rich communication services (RCS) and generative AI, Castanon said.

S&P Global Market Intelligence's Raul Castanon

“Network APIs complement and expand the capabilities afforded by CPaaS, enabling developers to address much more complex use cases,” he said. “If network operators are successful with them, they will mark the next stage for CPaaS. Launched at Mobile World Congress in 2023, the GSMA Open Gateway initiative and the Camara Project have revived interest in the commercial rollout of network APIs across the telecom industry. These initiatives gained traction in 2024, and have been embraced by numerous technology vendors and leading global network operators.”

In September, Ericsson launched a joint venture in partnership with global telecom operators to support the rollout of network APIs, Castanon said. And in November, Nokia announced the acquisition of the technology assets and R&D unit of online API platform Rapid. These milestones underline that the commercial rollout of network APIs is making strides, and signal that 2025 could be a pivotal year.

“Apple iOS 18 introduced RCS support in the iPhone, enhancing the messaging experience with features such as high-quality media sharing, group chats, location sharing and improved security,” he said. “This will position network operators to compete more effectively with platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. This represents an important opportunity that could further fuel growth for the CPaaS market.”

And like other technology sectors, expect generative AI to have a significant impact on the CPaaS market, fueling growth by enabling interactive conversational customer engagement, Castanon said.

CPaaS Market Facing ‘More Nuanced’ Reality

Craig Le Clair, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, said the CPaaS market, once buoyed by pandemic-era demand, is now facing a more nuanced reality.

“While the pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work and digital communication, the post-pandemic landscape presents a new set of challenges,” he said. “Increased competition, consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, and the emergence of new technologies are reshaping the industry.”

Forrester's Craig Le Clair

Revenue from channel APIs will continue to increase, especially with the potential of RCS and over the top (OTT) technologies, Le Clair said.

“Engagement revenue will rise through investments in adjacent features like customer data platform (CDP) and campaign  support,” he said. “Infrastructure revenue will grow as network APIs expand and deepen their value. Finally, advancements in low-code and generative AI will simplify integration for partners.”

We’ve compiled a list, in the slideshow above, in no particular order, of 20 top CPaaS providers. It’s based on analysts’ feedback and recent news reports. The list is by no means complete. It includes a mix of well-known providers as well as lesser-known suppliers making strides in CPaaS.