While session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking is widely used among enterprises to equip communications, larger enterprises are often wanting more than the option offered in bundled form with hosted cloud solutions. SIP trunking is the transport that all unified communications (UC) solutions require, and while it started out as an inexpensive alternative to public switched telephone network (PSTN), it has become indispensable.

Three cloud platforms are becoming increasingly important to enterprises with more than 1,000 employees, and they require higher-quality SIP trunking: 

CPaaS: Communications platform as a service (CPaaS) allows developers to add communications features into existing interfaces and infrastructures using application programming interfaces (APIs). In order to access CPaaS APIs to utilize voice, SMS, video, email, and security features, there are some things that must be in place:

• Reliable bandwidth that offers fast SIP trunks
• Global facilities for SIP that cover dozens of countries, up to 100 or even 150

When evaluating SIP trunking options, enterprises need to be aware that while SIP trunking can do all of these things, not all providers are equipped to offer this level of the technology. Most solutions are bundled with SIP infrastructure built into services. When an enterprise needs CPaaS to add communications into their applications, this bundling approach won’t be appropriate because it can cause operational costs to be higher, there may be variations in quality, and the enterprise may lose control in areas like privacy and security.

CCaaS: A contact center as a service (CCaaS) is a call center that is hosted in the cloud. Like CPaaS, a lot of providers offer bundling, but more and more enterprises are requesting that the provider deconstruct the bundling for several reasons. Security, reliability, and, particularly, efficiency are all important. Contact centers may include a number of overseas locations, and enterprises benefit from buying from a single SIP trunking provider rather than regional providers.

This effect is multiplied when you consider that a global SIP provider can also scale up with the enterprise as they expand, and they can accommodate compliance needs for different local regulations.

VaaS: Videoconferencing as a service (VaaS) allows users to log in from any browser across the world. Unbundling SIP trunking allows enterprises to better address security, productivity, customer communications, and mobility concerns. The enterprise needs to be comfortable with the service provider and not have to deal with the threat of being locked into a particular solution.

As more enterprises scale up their digital transformation strategies, communications technology is one of the more disruptive solutions that can act as a catalyst for areas like productivity and customer experiences. As they invest in their solutions, enterprises need to ensure that the underlying SIP trunking is ready to handle their expansion into new technologies.

For more information about SIP trunking and communications solutions, contact us at eXemplify.