CPaaS (Communications Platform-as-a-Service) revenue generated in North America will reach $15bn by 2026; rising from $3.7bn this year, as offering conversational commerce becomes a key differentiator for many consumers.
Research by Juniper Research finds that significant demand for mobile channels, such as SMS and mobile voice, from enterprises has created a highly attractive market for CPaaS vendors. CPaaS platforms offer a centralised service for outbound communications.
The research also predicts that this growth will drive investment from leading CPaaS vendors into the North American region. In turn, the region is anticipated to represent 45% of global CPaaS market value by 2026, despite only accounting for 5% of global mobile subscribers.
Conversational commerce to drive US market growth
The new study, CPaaS: Future Market Outlook & Emerging Opportunities 2021-2026, urges CPaaS platforms to invest in AI-based conversational messaging functionality to capitalise on this growth. It anticipates that enabling mobile subscribers to buy digital and physical goods through the native messaging client will further increase the appeal of a vendor’s platform.
CPaaS vendors must then capitalise on the growth of mobile messaging via revenue-sharing agreements that allocate a proportion of commerce sales to their platforms as revenue. To maximise this new revenue channel, the report suggests that CPaaS vendors prioritise the onboarding of key eCommerce retailers in the US and ensure that payment details are stored securely.
Asia Pacific represents next big growth opportunity
The report predicts that, as CPaaS services become increasingly competitive in North America, leading vendors will look to capitalise on future growth in the Asia Pacific region. It forecasts that revenue in the region will rise from $2.2 billion in 2021 to over $9 billion by 2026; representing a growth of over 300% over the next 5 years.
Research author Sam Barker says: “North America represents an immediate opportunity for CPaaS vendor growth, but long-term growth strategies will require vendors to invest their operations in other regions, as North America becomes saturated.”
