In a recent webinar MEF’s Nick Milward was joined by a panel of experts to discuss the latest trends and opportunities in the RCS market. Guests from Mobilesquared, Google, MASORANGE and iBASIS shared their experiences and perspectives about current market dynamics and regional case studies, while exploring the transition from SMS A2P to RCS Business Messaging and best practices. Here iBasis share their overview of the discussion.
The MEF panel featured Mayte MartĂn, Wholesale, Head of RCS at MASORANGE, Nick Lane, Chief Messaging Officer, Messagologist, & Founder at Mobilesquared, Ricardo Martins, VP Global Messaging at BASIS and Nagi Moubareck, Head of GTM for RCS Business Messages, France & Germany, at Google.
According to Mobilesquared, a recent poll revealed that 45% of respondents believe RCS represents the long-term future of messaging revenues for mobile operators. Most of the operators agree that launching RCS is crucial for them to safeguard their messaging revenues over the next five years.
During the webinar, Mobilesquared detailed the RCS landscape, discussed the impact of iOS, and presented the current global availability of RCS, highlighting significant growth in specific Asian and Latin American countries. The next three-year forecast of Business Messaging revenues was shared, along with the primary drivers for medium and large enterprises to migrate to RCS business messaging.
RCS provides a richer, more secure, and interactive experience. Rich content, media advantages, detailed metrics, and campaign measurement tools help brands optimize their communication strategies. Several examples demonstrate how RCS business messaging can drive meaningful consumer actions and improve engagement, such as transaction follow-ups and marketing campaigns, achieving six times more engagement with images.”
RCS Adoption for Enhanced Consumer Engagement
Google, in partnership with carriers, has invested heavily in the technology and infrastructure required to support RCS. According to their findings, 9 out of 10 consumers prefer to connect with brands offering enhanced and secure messaging. RCS provides a richer, more secure, and interactive experience. Rich content, media advantages, detailed metrics, and campaign measurement tools help brands optimize their communication strategies. Several examples demonstrate how RCS business messaging can drive meaningful consumer actions and improve engagement, such as transaction follow-ups and marketing campaigns, achieving six times more engagement with images.
Transitioning SMS to RCS
As Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS begins to decline, early RCS revenues are expected to compensate for the drop in SMS spending. As a connectivity enabler, iBASIS is accelerating the adoption of the RCS channel by bridging the gap in connectivity, service, and security between brands, end-users, and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
Recognizing the limitations of SMS, iBASIS facilitates the transition from SMS to RCS, managing the complexities of registration, administration, and operations, and focusing on Single ID verification to speed up RCS adoption.
With RCS, All Sender ID Verified
As an operator messaging channel standardized by the GSMA, RCS uses the same inbox as SMS for a seamless user transition. The GSMA standard ensures no extra opt-in is required—SMS opt-in is sufficient to start RCS communication, as illustrated in the different successful use cases of MASORANGE. Each message is verified by the operator, including ensuring links and information are trustworthy, enhancing security and control over the communication process. Reliable sender ID verification protects brand image and enhances the user experience.
Converting SMS to RCS is a straightforward process that significantly increases consumer engagement. Starting with basic RCS features, operators and brands can gradually expand to more sophisticated conversational capabilities. This step-by-step approach helps in steadily growing demand and engagement with RCS.