You might know this already. The short message service (SMS) platform requires users to pay additional fees for transmitting short-form text information over it. Meanwhile, the over-the-top (OTT) platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram allow you to conduct unlimited voice, video (for WhatsApp) and text communications as long as you are covered by internet connection.

Although lots of professionals have already understood the core difference between the SMS and OTT platforms, not a lot of business people have truly understood the different purposes of the two. Thus, you can use both platforms for different business purposes more effectively. 

Will OTT platforms kill SMS?

Due to the fact that OTT platforms can be used for free, capable of transmitting infinite volumes of text and voice (even video, for WhatsApp) among people (well, they are called “over the top” for a reason), a lot of people are speculating that OTT will render the SMS platforms obsolete. 

Well, not so fast. While OTT messaging with the likes of WhatsApp, Facebook, WeChat, Viber, etc. have already left significant marks in the global market, yet the fact remains that businesses still rely heavily on mobile messaging to conduct their business (we’ll revisit this in more depth in the next section). 

Furthermore, we also must take into account the fact that many developing and emerging markets have also yet to be covered with proper internet infrastructure. A University of Indonesia (UI) researcher, for instance, recently revealed that about 12,000 villages across Indonesia are yet to be covered by the internet, out of the country’s 70,000+ villages. How can the OTT platforms reach out to people among those places? You have no choice but to get back to the simple yet powerful platform of the SMS.

So, when to use OTT, and when to use SMS?

While OTT instant messaging platforms are great to use for casual, everyday conversations, from the business point of view, they are not so useful or maybe, also not ideal in terms of security?

First of all, OTT instant messaging apps are not capable of handling bulk messages, inherent to various marketing and other public information activities usually conducted by companies and public institutions. Bulk SMS through the SMS application-to-person (SMSA2P) solution allows you to craft different messages targeting different audiences and send them automatically, en masse to these different segmentations. As we have addressed in our previous articles, the SMS A2P solutions have become even more significant among businesses and public institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them engage with their homebound customers.

In addition to that, in terms of digital security, the SMS platform is also a great solution for two-factor authentication activities conducted by various digital platforms. SMS platforms are heavily used by these platforms to send users one-time passwords (OTP) so they can verify their identities upon logging in to their accounts. Thanks to these functions, it is estimated that around 52.5 trillion messages were sent via SMS throughout 2020.

Simply put, the SMS is far from being dead; if anything, the SMS can take your businesses to the next high, as a medium of choice for you to fulfill your business marketing and digital marketing purposes. You can trust the SMSA2P solution to achieve that.

Telkom DWS can help you to obtain your business marketing purposes through SMS A2P solution. If you are interested in learning how this solution is working, do not hesitate to contact our representatives or simply visit our website at mycarrier.telkom.co.id/sms-a2p-domestik