In response to the numerous challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations of all sizes underwent a radical adaptation of their business processes and, in some cases, their entire business models, in order to survive. Throughout 2020, innovative companies found clever ways to serve their customers, which required a new set of communications tools. In particular, localized lockdowns, quarantines, and in-person COVID protocols diminished face-to-face contact across verticals and required new workflows and procedures. Businesses leveraged digital channels to support completely new customer interactions, such as curbside or contactless pickup, health checks before entering the building, as well as an explosion of telehealth visits. Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) and programmable communications solutions offered businesses a quick tactical response to workflow and channel issues. Across industries and vertical markets, developers were solving these challenges in hours or days, instead of weeks or months, thanks to CPaaS and programmable communications. CPaaS solutions represent a significant departure from the way businesses of any size have become accustomed to purchasing and deploying communications. Their value lies in providing a powerful toolset to make business communications applications richer and more tightly integrated within business workflows. Through application programming interfaces (APIs), CPaaS exposes capabilities either within a business’s existing communications infrastructure or as an overlay alongside established communications solutions. Through surveys of global IT decision makers conducted more than six months after the start of the pandemic, Frost & Sullivan has been able to identify the impact that COVID-19 has had on innovation and digital transformation, and the role that programmable communications is playing. Through our research, it is clear that awareness of CPaaS and programmable communications is not only strong, but organizations are leveraging API-based solutions to address many of the challenges of the pandemic. The value of programmable communications will extend beyond the immediate opportunities and power new workflows and use cases across nearly every industry and vertical market. However, there are challenges to broad adoption of CPaaS, including a lack of skill set to deploy the solution or an inability to find a trusted provider in the relatively nascent CPaaS space. Ultimately, the majority of benefits associated with CPaaS and programmable communications are closely aligned with the goals of most digital transformation efforts undertaken by businesses. In many cases, the pandemic accelerated business’ digital transformation efforts and it is clear that CPaaS and flexible APIs will be a strategic element of those efforts going forward. Author: Michael Brandenburg