2026 promises to be an exciting year in CPaaS. A 100bn opportunity lies ahead in the vision of Intelligent Engagement, the business dream of dealing with all customers and partners in real-time. We outlined six actions to maximise that potential in the State of CPaaS 2025. This article outlines how we will help develop these actions in our research.
Our research for 2026 will dive directly into four of these six action areas. We will address the remaining two actions through other work with our members, and subsequently update the vision in September at CASA26.
The following chart summarises the six actions and our research focus for 2026.
Action 1: Drive the Intelligent Engagement Narrative
We will be working with our members in two main ways on this:
- Collecting new case studies for our newly launched Case Directory. We welcome our members’ feedback on the new tool (see link), and look forward to updating the contents in Q1. Please share your feedback with the CPaaSAA team and get in touch to let us know about exciting new case studies.
- Reviewing and updating the Intelligent Engagement narrative, and developing the “Roadmap to Intelligent Engagement” – a shared definition of the goals, and an outline of the “map” of the opportunities. How do customers approach it, and what are the benefits? This will be driven by our Accelerate Members and validated across the industry.
Action 2: Prove CPaaS’s Value over Generic AI
This is perhaps the central question and challenge to the entire -aaS industry: how do you prove that your proposition and offering is worthwhile for customers when the fear is that “AI eats everything”?
There are compelling answers to this question although it is not straightforward, and the market continues to evolve. We plan to articulate those answers in a report at the end of Q2 2026, and subsequently in the State of CPaaS 2026 in September for CASA26.
Action 3: Promote the relative benefits of RCS and other engagement media
We will review this ongoing goal through insights from our Inner Circle of analysts and member experts, and take this as input to the State of CPaaS update.
Action 4: Promote Network APIs
In Q1 2026 (Jan-Mar) we are working on a report on Network APIs in CPaaS. The goal is to understand the current state of telecoms network APIs, particularly CAMARA/GSMA Open Gateway APIs in CPaaS, and the views of our members about how it’s going and what is needed.
We’ll be talking to members all quarter, including at MWC in Barcelona, with a view to publish after MWC and capture the updates we will have seen and heard there.
In the Network API report, we are particularly interested to know what we (CPaaS/Intelligent Engagement players) want to see more of in the market and specifically from telcos.
Action 5: Develop New Voice Applications
While writing the State of CPaaS 25 report, we found a significant expansion in voice applications, many of which are driven by the combination of Voice and AI – whether in pre-call, in-call, or post-call applications.
In the Voice AI report for publication in Q1, we are seeking to understand if and how members see AI Voice as an opportunity, where you see the monetisation opportunities, and where/how CPaaS can differentiate from other categories in the market.
Action 6: Promote Trust and Reduce Fraud
We will review this ongoing goal through insights from all members, and take this as input to the State of CPaaS update.
In conclusion: how to contribute
For all of the research, we are looking for:
- Opinions and quotes at a top level that we might include in the reports
- For example, how you see the current situation, the opportunities and challenges, and where you think areas for better industry collaboration could be
- Any data or stats you can share that shed light on developments or opportunities (e.g. your research/customer findings)
- New case studies to add to our Case Directory (https://case-directory.cpaasaa.com/)
We will be working with our membership groups on APIs, AI and Strategic Leadership on all of these themes. If you’d like to contribute to our research please contact andrew@cpaasaa.com.
Andrew Collinson
Andrew Collinson is a telecoms and connected technologies expert, specializing in growth strategy, research, and thought leadership. As founder of Connective Insights, he helps clients translate new technologies into viable business models, with a focus on CPaaS, APIs, platform strategies, AI, and network automation.
Before joining CPaaSAA as Associate Research Partner, Andrew was Research and Commercial Director at STL Partners for 15 years, leading a successful research business. He also moderates events, conducts bespoke research, and advises on telecom innovation, stakeholder dynamics, and digital transformation.
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