Skip to main content

Infobip’s Kevin Britt, Country Manager for UK & Ireland discusses the evolving role of A2P SMS as an essential communication channel for enterprises, and how more than ever, collaboration is the key to securing its continued future.

It’s an exciting time in business messaging as mobile users’ habits and preferences have shifted squarely to chat apps.

However, A2P SMS remains an established communication channel and its role in customer engagement, user authentication and transactional messaging such as alerts and notifications is virtually unrivalled.

This shift has led to communication platforms looking to integrate various chat apps into their offering and combine with SMS and other channels – push notifications, voice, email and most recently RCS, for a truly omnichannel experience.

MEFTV Spoke to Kevin Britt and Nina Knezevic, Director of Telecoms Solutions during Messaging & SMS World in London.

  A joint approach with communication platforms gives operators a way to generate new revenue and expand their enterprise reach at a time when enterprises are looking for solutions that understand the behaviour and the habits of end users.”

Omnichannel sees the enterprise harnessing different communications channels to deliver the right message at the right time to the right user. The cornerstone of a true omnichannel messaging strategy is a seamless flow for both the brand and the user, resulting in efficient communication and a satisfying user experience.

While chat apps have affected the performance and revenues of P2P SMS, A2P SMS continues to grow and offers a monetisation opportunity for mobile operators.

The possibilities are numerous and range from a more focused approach to the enterprise segment, to SMS firewall solutions that bring network security in addition to traffic monetisation.

A joint approach with communication platforms gives operators a way to generate new revenue and expand their enterprise reach at a time when enterprises are looking for solutions that understand the behaviour and the habits of end users.

In particular, as an operator-driven initiative RCS is getting a lot of attention from different players in the ecosystem. 2018 will be the year of first commercial deployments of A2P RCS and the focus will be on crafting business models and the user experience that will meet the expectations of all the stakeholders.

User authentication is one area where A2P SMS has been employed with great success for one-time PIN delivery. Enterprises are increasingly looking for new, more streamlined and more user-friendly authentication methods, and GSMA’s Mobile Connect initiative is one solution. Cooperation between platform providers, enterprises and mobile operators will be the key to building a viable mobile authentication flow built on existing technology and guidelines.

The theme of cooperation is clearly visible – the ecosystem is only as strong as its commitment to collaboration, transparency and security. Committing to user protection from spam and fraud, on both the network and client level, and exchanging information as part of industry initiatives will go a long way towards ensuring the viability of the business communications industry.

Kevin Britt

Country Manager, UK and Ireland, Infobip

  

Want to be featured on the MEF Minute?

The MEF Minute is an award winning blog that provides a cross-ecosystem and international perspectives on all things mobile. With contributions from MEF’s members and other industry experts it is a dedicated global news resource and thought leadership platform.

We welcome contributions from members and non-members across a range of formats including opinion pieces, industry views, stats, videos and infographics. MEF Minute offers a 360 look at any given topic impacting the mobile ecosystem whether that be from a MNO, enterprise, developer or provider perspective.

Download the info pack to find out more.

One Comment

  • SPEC INDIA says:

    Excellent write-up in depth detail. This tool/software is going to provide great benefits to the enterprises. Thanks for sharing details.

MEF