"With research findings recently released by mobile marketing firm On Device revealing that WhatsApp has now overtaken Facebook as the leading mobile messaging service, it’s clear that the consumer appetite for OTT messaging services is showing no signs of slowing.
While the research found that 86% of respondents from the US Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and China, use social messaging apps daily, findings also indicated that users are unlikely to stick to just one platform, instead combining messaging technologies to communication with their peers. For example, 75% of respondents revealed they still send text messages on a regular basis – and more often than voice calls (73%) and emails (60%).
Acision’s own research unveiled similar findings, revealing that 80% of UK Smartphone owners are now using Over-the-Top (OTT) or Instant Messaging (IM) services, with 76% of these using both SMS and OTT/IM messaging services together. Multi-channel messaging is a reality and consumers are utilising different messaging platforms to fulfil their different messaging needs.
Operators are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this harmonious consumer appetite for all types of messaging whether it SMS, OTT or even Instant Messaging (IM). The reality is that today, network operators stand in a far superior position to other individual app providers as their networks offer the only ubiquitous messaging service capable of reaching over 6 billon mobile devices. Combine this with the ability to deliver one messaging platform that address the divergent messaging habits of today’s tech savvy consumer and they really have the potential and the means to evolve their business by engaging their subscriber base."