MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT
SMS King or knave? SMS dominates the messaging world: it is ubiquitous, convenient and cheap. But it does face challenges, not least fraud, which are holding it back from its true potential. Paul Skeldon finds that, with SMS, we ain’t seen nothing yet Connecting consumer with content, along with providing businesses with ways to reach out to consumers, has become big business. And there has certainly been a blurring of the lines between ‘business messaging’, marketing and consumer messaging – a blurring that has seen messaging start to become a vital bridge between content consumption and payments (see page 8). According to HORISEN’s CEO Fabrizio Salanitri, SMS still dominates the business messaging market, but it is increasingly becoming fragmented as services such as RCS, WhatsApp, Telegram and social media messaging start to becoming preferred channels for consumers to interact with businesses. But with everyone using it, it
is very hard to standout, he says. “Making sure that SMS support offers all the features and services that businesses need for both A2P and P2A messaging with SMS is the most important thing. Reliability and feature-richness are what will attract users.” Salanitri also emphasises that modernisation and scalability are also key. “A lot of platforms are 10 to 15 years old making them difficult to scale,” he says. “And scalability is key, because the two way messaging we now see with AI driven dialogue will generate so much more traffic that the platform’s has to be ready to swallow and to be able to process reliably without downtime. It also needs to be able to connect thousands of customers and suppliers. So, from an engineering point of view, this is no piece of cake.”
He continues: “Then, if we talk about the basic technology, what is very important is that this platform has to be driven by someone; it needs a pilot and the pilot needs a cockpit. The user which works with this platform needs a user interface that makes even complicated processes look easy. This is something we see as fundamental and where we at HORISEN put a lot of effort to make things look easy for our customers optimise a lot of processes, so that they can focus really on the important stuff.”
CHALLENGES FOR SMS
But SMS has its challenges. More than 3 trillion A2P SMS messages were delivered globally in 2022, averaging a staggering 8.2 billion messages daily. Despite such robust numbers, many mobile operators are yet to implement optimal pricing strategies that
An innovative solution to SMS pumping? In the digital age where SMS communication is paramount for businesses worldwide, the rise of bots inflating SMS traffic and creating fake accounts has become a rising concern. To solve this issue, global cloud communications platform Infobip has introduced “Signals,” an innovative solution designed to combat the problems caused by SMS pumping. “Infobip Signals” employs machine learning to automatically detect and block fraudulent traffic without any interventions from the business. This tool is vital for brands that want to protect their financial resources and maintain a genuine user base by preventing fake accounts that can harm their value.
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“In an ecosystem where every active user counts, and brand integrity is a priority, Infobip Signals is our answer to ensuring businesses can thrive without the burden of SMS fraud. This is not just about financial security; it’s about upholding the genuine value of every brand, “says Adrian Benic, Chief Product Officer at Infobip. Available for global adoption now, Infobip Signals underlines Infobip’s commitment to providing innovative solutions for modern communication challenges. All businesses employing SMS in their operations can now shield themselves from potential financial setbacks and reputational damage by including Infobip Signals in their security framework.
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would maximise revenue from this burgeoning business messaging traffic. While SMS remains a dominant force in the A2P messaging traffic landscape, its market share is projected to decline over the coming years. It underscores the urgency for mobile operators to reassess and recalibrate their pricing strategies to drive positive top line impact, ensuring the long-term sustainability of their A2P SMS business. According to data from Juniper Research, the wholesale pricing for A2P SMS remains unpredictable with disparities across key regions and the evolving A2P landscape requires dynamic pricing strategies that align with regional benchmarks and discern between national and international services. The ability to identify SMS use cases, such as OTPs, notifications, and marketing, can aid in more consistent and accurate pricing, finds the study. “One of the prime challenges that the industry faces is the unpredictable nature of wholesale SMS pricing. This unpredictability is not just a global phenomenon but also a regional one, with stark variations in average pricing across different areas. Therefore, mobile operators need to be agile, employing strategic pricing models that resonate with the market’s needs and drive sustainable growth,” says Ehsan Ahmadi, CEO & Founder of VOX Solutions. Adding to this, Sam Barker, VP of Telecoms Market Research from Juniper Research says: “The intricate web of A2P SMS pricing is a reflection of the diverse strategies employed by operators. But, as the market dynamics shift, it’s imperative to revisit, realign, and recalibrate pricing structures to remain competitive and relevant.” Juniper Research emphasises the need for mobile operators to re-evaluate, innovate, and adapt in these dynamic times to ensure they capitalise on the immense
