Questions to ask when selecting a SMS Provider
The SMS provider industry is one beset with many small resellers that offer cheap but unreliable messaging routes.
Their customers are often initially attracted by their apparently low message prices but ultimately end up wasting much precious time and resource
to learn that messages are often delivered late, or not at all.
The unreliability stems from the fact that the messages are being delivered from dubious foreign SMS sources
in faraway countries. Many such resellers also often go broke and their customers are left with worthless message credits purchased prior, we ourselves get many such customers coming from these unsavoury experiences.
Here are important questions you should ask your provider when making your vendor evaluation:
Does your company own and operate your own SMS network and service infrastructure?
Do you own and operate your own direct connections to the respective Mobile Operators that ultimately deliver the SMS message to the intended mobile recipient?Do you also design and operate all the related service software and hardware behind the service you offer?
If a problem should occur to my message delivery, will you have the access to contact the recipient's home Mobile Operator directly to resolve the problem?
COMMZGATE connects to each SingTel, StarHub and MobileOne's SMS network directly via secure connection equipment. Each message sent and receive via COMMZGATE is individually accountable and backed by the respective Mobile Operator.
The software and hardware systems behind our service are designed in-house as a result of more than 10 years' experience in the industry and from working with some of the largest Mobile operators in the region.
How long has your company been providing SMS services?
SMS resellers testing the market for the first time are often here this year and gone the next. You need to select a provider that will be here today, and many years after.COMMZGATE has been in business since 2001, we are celebrating our tenth anniversary this year!
Who are some of your reference customers?
A provider's customer reference list gives a good indication about the standard and quality of service that you will receive as a customer.Ask your provider who their existing ACTIVE customers and what these customers actually do with their service.
COMMZGATE serves a solid of blue-chip brand names and government agencies such as GE Money,Honda, Sony, and MINDEF. These organizations often have a vigorous vendor selection process that will result in only the best-value provider being selected.
Can you provide a 5-digit shortcode to receive incoming SMS and SMS replies?
The ability to provide a 5-digit shortcode for you to both send and receive SMS messages is proof that the provider owns and operate their own network infrastructure.COMMZGATE operates more than one hundred 5-digit shortcodes for uses ranging from SMS Marketing to mission-critical enterprise usage. You can try out our common 73333 shortcode immediately by getting a free trial account at http://portal.commzgate.com/app/signup.php
Do you have a dedicated support team to help me should I encounter problems?
Does the provider know intimately about the technical workings behind the service he is providing and hence will be able to solve any reported problems expediently?We take great pride in our ability to provide solid technical support manned by the same people who designed and are operating the COMMZGATE service. No problem reported by our users goes unresolved to complete satisfaction and in the greatest speed.
Are you able to provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA) and a Privacy or Confidentiality Agreement?
Will the provider be able to guarantee contractually and in writing that their service will be accessible and operational more than 99% of the time in a year?Will they also be able to guarantee in writing regarding the confidentially of the mobile number data that passes through their service as a result of you using their systems?
COMMZGATE utilizes best-in-class server hardware and software technologies (such as clustering, automated monitoring and self-recovery) to be able to offer contractual SLAs to our corporate customers, to whom this is a huge criteria.
Because we own our SMS service infrastructure, we are also able to provide NDA contracts with our customers to guarantee that any data that passes through our systems will never be re-sold or user by another third party.
Do you have any alternative messaging technology that can help reduce my SMS messaging cost?
Does the provider have a next-generation messaging technology that can help save SMS messaging cost yet complement your existing usage requirement?We designed and developed MACH, a Push-Messaging technology for smartphones that works seamlessly with our Web App and Web API, and the best feature about MACH is that it is free! This means that you will use SMS only for your recipients that do not use smartphones. Find out more about MACH