Communications Automation Platform: Everything you need to know

Ongoing advances in low-code communications workflows allow businesses to automate complex processes and deliver service instantaneously to customers, representing a new and exciting market called Communications Automation Platforms (CAP). With Aragon Research expecting the worldwide market for CAP to reach $27.4B by 2027, it’s no wonder many believe these platforms will disrupt the legacy Communications Platforms as a Service (CPaaS) market.  

Why the change?

Customers continue to expect faster and more convenient access to information, requiring everyday business processes to become more efficient. At the same time, enterprises must support multiple channels and layers of communication. To keep up with these demands, business leaders must automate and streamline their organizations. Unfortunately, many of today’s tools do not possess the speed or integration capabilities required to support such digital transformation.

For the longest time, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) were the default approach to achieving digital transformation for communications and collaboration – platforms like Zapier epitomized this trend. Nevertheless, APIs create siloed applications, making digital transformation untenable. Moreover, they make it challenging for enterprises to build workflows that can automate reoccurring processes or quickly route customers.  

To achieve true transformation, enterprises must leverage CAPs to integrate communications into every business process via low-code workflows. By freeing themselves from siloed and stand-alone applications and utilizing low-code methods that don’t require programmers or development cycles, companies can drive new customer experiences. Likewise, because easy-to-use, low-code workflows aren’t rigid like hard-code apps, businesses can edit and change their apps during production, allowing them to reach a greater audience.  

Key elements of CAP 

A range of industries, such as hospitality, commerce, travel, customer support, defense, healthcare, and manufacturing, can benefit from using a CAP. However, there are some core elements every enterprise should look for when selecting from available options, including:

• Low-effort development: Best-in-class offerings will provide low-code tools such as drag-and-drop workflows and pre-built templates, permitting any business user, regardless of programming proficiency, to quickly build and design new features. The ability to edit on-the-fly and rapidly create new workflows is pivotal while the inability to continuously update a communication app will eventually render that application useless.
• Intelligence: Every leading CAP platform must have intelligence, whether that is AI-powered tools that augment analytics and tracking across channels via reports and dashboards or workflow functions that automate app building. Intelligent routing capabilities and conversational AI will also reduce the workload on overworked and understaffed customer service representatives. Additionally, AI-powered self-service features, such as chatbots, will allow customers to solve some of their own inquiries.   
• Over-the-top orchestration and integrations: Multi-vendor environments require orchestration and sequencing of communications so that applications can effectively interact with each other. When examining a CAP offering, be sure it can work across multiple environments. It’s also important to understand the current base of vendors and any potential vendors. Additionally, ideal CAP platforms should include integrations for frequently used apps and social media tools.

Find out more about IntelePeer’s CAP offering

IntelePeer is a lead player in the emerging CAP market, which will revolutionize how communications and applications get developed and designed. Our platform lowers costs, improves customer experience, and accelerates ROI. Contact us today to see how IntelePeer can help you simplify communications automation for your business and contact center.