Once you know which channels to use when, how CPaaS can be leveraged specifically for your industry, and how you can set it up, the only thing left is to actually pick a CPaaS provider. But, there are so many of them out there that comparing and choosing might get a bit overwhelming. This checklist offers some qualities to look for when selecting the perfect CPaaS provider:
a. Network redundancy and failover mechanisms to ensure high availability
You’re entrusting every customer interaction to your CPaaS provider, so it’s crucial that they have a reliable and strong failover mechanism. Customer experience is an “always-on” element now, so any downtime can lead to huge repercussions. Good CPaaS providers like BICS score high in this regard as they automatically switch to a standby database in the rare event of downtime. This ensures that you are always available to your customers and that no data is lost under any circumstances.
b. Network capacity and scalability to support high volumes of communication traffic
Let’s suppose you announce a sale on your retail eCommerce website and people flock to it like it’s Black Friday. Would your CPaaS provider be able to support the surge? Your CPaaS provider should be able to help you handle massive volumes of customer engagement in one go to keep things running smoothly on the customer front.
c. Latency, jitter, and other network performance metrics that can impact communication quality
IVR is already unpopular among customers. The situation becomes worse when the customer finally connects with the representative but there is a 15-second lag for both parties, or, when the customer hears a ringing noise while the representative talks. A provider like BICS, with an offering built on its rich telecoms heritage and fully-owned global infrastructure, ensures high quality communications.
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a. Quality and reliability of international call and message delivery
Customers might reach out to you from international locations with complaints about missing baggage, unavailability of cabs, miscommunication around the availability of hotels, or any logistical hurdle they face during their travel. The CPaaS provider needs to have a solid reach to ensure no calls are missed and the representative has complete information about the customer without them having to provide details.
It’s important to also check whether the provider has the capability to seamlessly route calls and messages to and from different countries.
b. Availability of local numbers
Sticking with the above example, after the representative talks to the customer, they need to connect with the local authorities to work out a solution for the customer. Your provider must cater to that need and make outreach easy and fast. That means your CPaaS system must not merely store local numbers but also integrate with local carriers and telecom providers, and come with a built-in global network — including global SMS and voice delivery and traffic control — to enable local points of presence for your customers. This ensures service quality and reliability.
a. Data privacy and security measures in place to protect customer information
Your CPaaS system must allow you to grant access only to select employees to ensure that the customer's information stays secure. It must also protect your data from external rogue elements. Ask your provider what features they offer to cater to data security.
b. Regular security audits and assessments to ensure the security of the CPaaS infrastructure
The system must also schedule audits to verify the robustness of the existing security measures. Any cracks in the armor must be fixed before they spread. Check whether you get to decide on the frequency of audits.
c. Compliance with industry standards
Does the provider meet the requirements of industry regulatory standards such as PCI, HIPAA, ISO certifications, etc.? Every transaction with the customer, from an SMS to an order, involves communication. Your provider must offer industry-level encryption features to ensure that the intended communication is undecodable if intercepted.
d. Support for local regulations and compliance requirements
Compliance is a complicated arena, especially when operating in a multinational environment, where you have to adhere to local and global regulations. Some countries allow multiple modes of online payment, while others limit the range. In these cases, the payment interface must be different — and so should your outreach messages. Your CPaaS infrastructure must accommodate those infinite permutations without you having to worry about them.
a. User-friendly interfaces and dashboards
Change, though indispensable, is difficult and often met with resistance. Your employees won’t like new systems and practices. But if they understand how simple the new interface is, and how easy it is to use it, they will adapt fast and with enthusiasm. If the CPaaS provider enables a dashboard that not just makes data consumable but also generates insights without human intervention, your employees will love it.
b. Quick and simple setup and integration with existing systems.
While moving from legacy systems to a cutting-edge CPaaS interface, time-to-onboard is an important metric to track. Your provider can’t take months to transition the setup and even more to train your employees.
Also, the new system must seamlessly connect with the existing one to ensure a smooth transition. Essentially, your employees must be able to find the same data via a better interface and your developers must face minimum resistance from the new system.
c. Availability of tutorials, and support resources.
Training employees who are resistant to change is a challenging task. Check whether your provider has easy-to-consume content in the form of tutorials (both video and text) and other resources to support employees through the transition.
a. Ability to support a variety of communication use cases.
What separates CPaaS from legacy systems is its ability to make communication seamless. The CPaaS system you choose must be intuitive enough to support all known and yet-to-be-discovered use cases.
It must also adapt to the ever-changing media landscape. Check if your system is flexible enough to let a new mode of communication piggyback along with the existing ones.
b. Flexibility to accommodate changes in business needs or requirements.
Your business will evolve. You need software that scales with you, with agility. Ask your CPaaS provider if the platform can accommodate a bigger client database and a wider set of communication tools. Also, ask for case studies showing how the platform reacts to fluctuating workloads.
a. Partnerships with carrier networks
Access to other carrier networks is key to supporting high-quality voice and SMS services for your customer engagement platform.
b. Integration with hyperscale cloud platforms
Major hyperscalers – including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle and more – can ensure an easy shift to the cloud.
CPaaS systems costs can vary depending on the features, communications coverage and the reputation of the brand. Whatever provider you choose, ensure that they have:
Also, look out for hidden costs, such as SMS fees, number porting fees, etc.
How can a CPaaS provider help you improve your customer experience if they can’t do it themselves? Check how different providers are rated by their current users for that parameter. If there is a consistent theme, it’s best to avoid that vendor because their reputation will not change overnight. The provider should offer:
You must sign SLAs with your provider even if they are the best in class. It provides a benchmark to measure their performance. The SLA agreement should account for:
Guarantees for network uptime and performance
Key performance metrics — call quality, message delivery time, etc
Industry-specific SLA requirements, such as for financial services or healthcare
You should also negotiate remediation options and compensation in the event of SLA violations.
This checklist might seem like we’re setting you up for unrealistic expectations, but believe it or not, there are CPaaS providers out there who meet all these enterprise requirements. One even exceeds them: BICS CPaaS.
BICS’ CPaaS offering is built on a heritage of market leadership in enabling global communication and connectivity, securely transporting the voice, data, and SMS traffic of billions of people in more than 120 markets around the world. In fact, 50% of the world’s international traffic (including people, applications, and things) is carried on BICS’ networks.
BICS eliminates the need for multiple systems and provides a single, cohesive point of control for your every communication and connectivity requirement. This harmonized platform equates to increased efficiency, undeniable cost savings, and unbeatable customer experience across channels and geographies—and the results from BICS are better than any other enterprise solution in the market today.
Whether your business chooses the development route, co-creation, or turnkey, BICS provides all the flexibility, campaign orchestration tools, and bespoke turnkey solutions without missing a beat.
With so many ways to make the customer experience your key differentiator, BICS truly puts the ball in your court to serve it up to your customers.