Is UC or CPaaS better for mobile communication and collaboration?

For the most part, you should go with a communications platform as a service or communication APIs to support mobile communication and collaboration. The feature set and capabilities would be broader and far more flexible than deploying mobile communications apps from a unified communications vendor. You can tailor the CPaaS deployment to your exact needs and unique business goals.

However, while CPaaS and APIs offer flexibility, they also present some headaches. You will need to define your application and the workflows that need to be supported. You will also need developers to build the app on top of the CPaaS vendor and maintain it as technology advances.

UC vendors, on the other hand, can offer out-of-the-box products with a predetermined mobile communication and collaboration experience. You can integrate it with your other business applications and maybe even customize its behavior.  

Time to market will probably be shorter with a UC vendor, and the final product will be based on best practices related to unified communications.

If your business needs are internal in nature, but you also need some collaboration across enterprises, then support your mobile communication and collaboration with a UC vendor. The vendor can offer a tried-and-true service that has been deployed in multiple enterprises already, offering a similar set of capabilities.

Some mobile communications require tighter integration into customized business processes, moderated communication among external users or initiatives that stray from classic unified communications. If that's the case, then CPaaS and APIs are probably more suitable for your needs.

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