Introduction:

Alibaba Cloud has been positioned in the Visionaries quadrant of the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service, recognized for its AI-enhanced, API-first CPaaS platform.

The recognition, we feel, covers Alibaba Cloud's core communications offerings, such as SMS, Voice, Number Verification, Intelligent Contact Center, and Chat App Message Service. It marks another milestone for us at Alibaba Cloud Communications’ continued commitment to the CPaaS market and its evolution toward an AI-native communications architecture.

In the report, Gartner defines CPaaS providers as cloud-based platforms for enterprises, developers, and other business roles to build communication workflows that digitally operationalize customer engagement and experiences via APIs, SDKs, visual builders, and AI. Gartner predicts that by 2029, 95% of global enterprises, including multinational corporations (MNCs), will leverage communications platform as a service (CPaaS) to operationalize customer experience (CX) and engagement, up from 60% in 2025. By 2029, 85% of global enterprises, including MNCs, will require enhanced security based on AI in their CPaaS toolsets, focusing on preemptive cybersecurity to mitigate threats arising from use of AI, up from 40% in 2025. . The report further notes that AI is transforming CPaaS from simple communication conduits to intelligent engagement layers, orchestrating seamless, personalized interactions across channels.

Fansheng Kong, Head of Cloud Communications, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, remarked: "Communication platforms are undergoing a fundamental transformation from mere 'pipelines' to intelligent hubs. Alibaba Cloud's direction is clear — we are evolving comprehensively towards AI Native and Agent Native architectures. Rather than layering AI capabilities on top of existing applications, we are reconstructing communication interactions from the ground up, enabling large language models and AI agents to serve as native participants within communication workflows, rather than bolt-on modules. Our goal is simple: when enterprises need intelligent communication capabilities, Alibaba Cloud should be their first choice."

Looking ahead, Alibaba Cloud Communications will continue to deepen its investment in AI Native and Agent Native capabilities, advancing intelligence across the platform, from underlying architecture to upper-layer use cases. Be it for enterprises expanding globally, e-commerce and logistics players, fintech innovators, or organizations seeking to reshape customer engagement through AI, Alibaba Cloud CPaaS offers solutions purpose-built for diverse business scenarios.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Communications Platform as a Service, By Lisa Unden-Farboud, Pankil Sheth, Ajit Patankar, 18 May 2026

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