Are you ready for the future of mobile messaging?

The future is now – but what does this mean in terms of mobile messaging? Rapid digital transformation has brought about dramatic shifts in how we communicate and, more importantly, how we expect to be communicated to by businesses.

In this blog we explain what the emerging trends in mobile messaging are, which tools and solutions you need to win at mobile messaging now and in the future. We’ll also show you how and where to access them for yourself and your users/customers/clients.

Businesses that embraced digital transformation have reaped immense benefits. They made it through the challenges of 2020 by adopting solutions that guaranteed business continuity.

Cloud contact centers allowed businesses to stay in touch with customers, while keeping agents active from wherever they were in the world. AI chatbots helped agents by handling simpler customer service enquiries. And customers received the critical information they needed, when they needed it.

But this isn’t the end of digital transformation, far from it – digital transformation is just starting, and this is the future of messaging.

5G is the emerging global wireless data standard that promises to deliver faster data, lower latency, greater reliability, and increased availability. This supercharged data transfer will change how people, businesses, and things communicate.

As 5G infrastructure expands, so will the messaging capabilities that come with it. As a result, global mobile operators have agreed that operator messaging services in the new 5G world needs to be upgraded. And GSMA has specified RCS as mandatory for 5G handsets.

This doesn’t mean RCS will replace SMS – the two communications protocols can peacefully coexist. RCS will, however, serve to add some functionalities SMS simply cannot provide.

RCS messaging brings multimedia messaging and group chats to the table for person-to-person (P2P) communication. Where things get interesting for businesses is the application-to-person (A2P) Messaging as a Platform (MaaP) which turns the chat into a one-stop shop.

Customers can search brands, have a conversation with the business’ AI chatbot – and even make secure payments. And this is just scratching the surface. The applications of A2P RCS messaging are many.

Find out how Club Comex used RCS to achieve 115% campaign revenue growth

5G messaging will definitely reshape the future of messaging – but the shift may not be that dramatic. Or sudden. This is because a lot of what 5G messaging in the form of RCS bring exists today, just not consolidated in one service that comes preinstalled.

Artificial intelligence, long considered a sci-fi pipedream, is here. And it’s everywhere. Chat with your bank recently? How about retail customer support? Or asked for an update on the status of a delivery? Odds are, you had a chat with an AI chatbot. And odds are, you may not have been 100% sure it was a chatbot.

We’ve passed the point where chatbots were more bot than chat. And although keyword chatbots still have an important role to play, AI chatbots elevate the customer experience.

Wondering what is conversational design and how to create human-like interactions? Click to find out

AI chatbots have reached the level where they can provide customers with human interactions, which elevate user experience. And the more conversations these bots have, the better they get at interpreting user intents, which makes them better at providing quick, relevant assistance.

The best part? While chatbots are “busy” handling countless concurrent interactions, human agents get to focus on more demanding tasks chatbots can’t handle (yet).

Thanks to AI, businesses had an easier time handling the challenges of increased digital interactions in 2020 by providing instant human customer service at scale.

This type of instant customer service coupled with human interaction is what customers will expect now and in the future.

Cybercrime cost nearly $1 trillion in 2020, as hackers took advantage of a world at home to target businesses and consumers, causing the worst year on record.

Add to the constant threat of cybercrime the costs of data non-compliance fines, which in the EU can run up to €20 million or 4% of a business’s annual global turnover (whichever is higher) – it really pays to be data compliant and secure.

But how can mobile technologies help with this? Glad you asked. Here are two simple ways:

Starting with the simplest – businesses can use omnichannel mobile messaging for two-factor authentication (2FA). To boost security, 2FA combines something a customer knows (a password) with something they have (a phone) or are (biometrics).

Adding an extra layer of security whenever a customer logs in can be done by sending an authorization code via SMS, voice call, chat app – or authorize their login from an app installed on their phone.

This is a simple and effective method to prevent unauthorized logins, account takeovers, and just general fraud.

Find out how APAC online marketplace Bukalapak boosted security with SMS 2FA

Biometrics are another possible factor to be used in 2FA. The biometric can vary from using a handset’s fingerprint scanner or front-facing camera to confirm the user’s identity.

Identity technologies can also help quickly and seamlessly authenticate users – without user involvement. This can be something as simple as matching a customer login to their number for instant authentication.

It helps to have a reliable all-in-one partner – one who can help you address all your business customers’ channel requirements.

From helping you boost their channel offerings to offering them the tools and add-ons that allow them build and deploy chatbots, manage customer relationships, and boost security – Infobip can help you boost your portfolio to improve your customers’ business.