Juniper Research has released a new study projecting that the Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) market will generate over US$34 billion in revenue by 2026, up 13% from US$30 billion in 2025.

The forecasted growth is attributed to CPaaS platforms repositioning themselves as 'customer interaction solutions' equipped with campaign management tools for rich media messaging.

The report indicates a significant shift in the use of CPaaS platforms. Previously, these platforms were primarily utilised for sending authentication traffic, such as one-time passwords (OTPs) over SMS. However, they are now evolving into more comprehensive customer interaction solutions.

A key strategy identified for CPaaS growth is forming partnerships with AdTech platforms. These partnerships are particularly focused on leveraging click-to-chat features. Click-to-chat enables enterprises to direct customers from external sources to messaging channels, thereby enhancing user acquisition and monetisation opportunities.

Juniper Research underscores the necessity of verifying customers' ability to receive messages via rich communication services (RCS) or over-the-top (OTT) apps. This verification is crucial to ensure the effectiveness of click-to-chat solutions. "We advise CPaaS platform vendors that they must be able to verify customers' ability to receive messages via rich communication services (RCS) or over-the-top (OTT) apps before broad implementation. Failing to do so will harm the tool's reputation by providing a solution that does not work for all users," said research author Molly Gatford.

The research suite offers a comprehensive assessment of the CPaaS market, providing market analysis and forecasts for over 60 countries. It also includes a 'Competitor Leaderboard', which ranks the leading players in the CPaaS industry.