In our 5 minutes with profiles, MEF members talk about their business, their aspirations for the future and the wider mobile industry.
This week, CCOÂ Mila Budylo introduces global communication platform BSG.
What does BSG do?
BSG offers messaging services, both for wholesale and enterprise customers.
For the Telecom world, we provide A2P SMS and number intelligence products. As well as we have our own SMS|Viber Hosted platform.
People who want to start a messaging business can rent or buy the platform from us and benefit from the product which works for both segments. We also help our sister company, Testelium to sell SMS testing tools.
For enterprise clients, we have a wider variety of services, such as bulk SMS and Viber, Two-factor Authentication, Voicebot, 2Way SMS, URL shortener, Callback widget, and Chat Messengers.
When did you launch and what growth have you seen?
We started back in 2012 but last year wasn’t an easy time for us. As a company with 90% of employees from and based in Ukraine, we suffered (and still suffering) from the Russian invasion of our country. We had to stop business in Russia and terminate agreements with local mobile operators.
The majority of our SMB/Enterprise traffic was Ukrainian and Russian companies. So, those who attacked were blocked, and Ukrainian companies were almost silent for 5-6 months. That’s why we had to change our strategy and put focus on different markets, namely Central and Eastern Europe.
Our company is growing and the business is scaling. The team increased from 60 people to 120 and we have an extra hiring plan for 2023. We keep developing solutions for SMB/Enterprise clients. This year we will launch a new flagship product and we look forward to providing new benefits to our clients.
What are your main goals?
We had a change of strategy last year in terms of focus countries. Our new goal is to become a leading communication platform in Eastern Europe, and of course to grow our wholesale presence in the region.Â
We already have more than 40 direct A2P SMS contracts with Mobile operators worldwide and won’t stop developing our business in this direction.Â
Where do you see yourselves in three years?
Although we are currently investing most of the resources into our CPaaS service for SMB/Enterprise clients, we keep strengthening our wholesale offer as well. So, in three years we’ll still be in the Telecom business but we’ll be much stronger.
What aspect of mobile is most exciting to you right now?
As for the mobile industry, it has always been messaging and different ways we can communicate with our clients. So, it is interesting to see how it will continue to evolve.
What’s the most critical issue that will hit mobile within the next 12 months?
Security is a big issue. Fraudsters are still finding vulnerable spots in mobile systems and trying to harm users. That is why we continue working on our number intelligence, two-factor authentication, and fraud prevention solutions.
Another thing is artificial intelligence services like ChatGPT. How will they influence messaging? I think it would be great and in a good way.Â
Other than your own, which mobile phone companies are ones to watch in the coming year?
For communication platform providers, I would say, those companies who are constantly improving their service and growing their portfolio of products. Those who are also investing in AI solutions.Â
