Mobile Messaging to Become the New Communications Tool for Businesses
February 12, 2004 Data revenues for Vodafone increased to 15.9% of controlled service revenues for the year to December 2003 from 13.9% for 2002. SMS, however, still accounted for nearly all of the data revenues (Ref: 160Characters.org) . This, along with the fact that the number of text messages sent in one day in the UK reached an all time high on New Year's Day 2004, in excess of 110 million, is a clear testimony that data revenues (and specifically SMS) are still very much on the increase. Mobile message aggregator Clickatell confirms this and have themselves experienced a significant increase (140%+) in their mobile messaging for 2003, due to businesses rapidly starting to accept the benefits of mobile data services. These services include messaging (SMS, EMS, etc), alerts, mobile marketing, content, premium rated messaging and a host of other applications. The use of mobile communications has increased substantially in a short space of time, and with the key motivations being lower expenses, improved workflow and higher productivity, industries are now responding positively to the mobile messaging offerings currently available by Clickatell and its resellers. This is becoming increasingly evident by the growth in spending by Clickatell's clients and Clickatell's rapid increase of its customer base over the recent years. But, it's not only Clickatell's client base that seems to be increasing. EMC reports that they expect the total number of mobile data subscribers to be close to, or even exceed '115 million', fuelled primarily by the continued growth in the Asian region. Clickatell expects that this growth will have an indirect, positive impact on mobile messaging and mobile data figures. Says Pieter de Villiers, Clickatell's CEO, "We are in a growing market with the right product, and we have every reason to be excited about 2004." Traditionally many companies, and even those deploying early solutions, simply did not understand mobile data well enough. This resulted in inconsistent performances, disappointments and poor user experiences that could have easily impeded mobile data's progress: luckily this was not the case. Clickatell's strategy of providing access to mobile messaging technologies, and offering zero barriers to entry for businesses and resellers alike, has ensured that its clients could deploy solutions rapidly across the globe. Clickatell's clients comprise industries such as banks, content providers, international airlines, consumer brands and marketing agencies, as well as international mobile data resellers, proving that the need for mobile data solutions is definitely not industry-specific anymore. "Mobile messaging is no longer just a subject of discussion during marketing meetings, but is now very much an active business communications tool for all competitive industries," comments Don Lange, sales manager of Clickatell. "Businesses are now able to increase their revenues by means of simple processes such as better customer services, info on demand, alerts and subscriber data. Clickatell expects SMS for business application to rise in 2004, as applications of the technology prove themselves," Lange continues. "With our global coverage and advanced routing ability over numerous gateways, we have a competitive advantage as aggregator for our clients, including service providers, developers, application vendors and businesses that utilise our carrier-grade technology platform for immediate deployment of various mobile messaging solutions. We expect exciting growth for the next couple of quarters." "The power of mobile data's ability to push key information to individuals, such as alerts, interactive content and gaming ensures that its position as a key communications technology is maintained. But there are many providers who lack the capacity to transmit such data, or what they are promoting is inadequate for what their customers need. Our global messaging gateway enables mobile text message delivery to over 550 mobile networks," says Lange Clickatell is renowned for the leadership role that it has played over the past few years with regard to mobile messaging. Apart from providing access to developers around the world, with an active developer clientele of over 4500, Clickatell has also, on invitation from mobile operators, hosted SMS workshops in the USA and Africa and will be holding an SMS Workshop this month at the 2004 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France.
|
