The SMS Gateway: Even For Small Businesses

Using the latest and greatest in technology to connect to the SMS gateway is all good and well, but it’s not something every business can afford. The good news is that there’s a solution out there that will get you sending and/or receiving, whether you’re a home-based self-starter or an industry giant.

SMS Web Interface

By far the easiest to implement is the web-based SMS application. It allows for the sending and receiving of SMS messages using any web browser on a computer connected to the internet.

Messages can be sent in bulk or individually, while address book management is usually an integrated function.

Web interfaces that connect to the SMS gateway typically do so using a web-enabled API (Application Programming Interface), and therefore provide functionality that includes reporting, which means that you’ll be able to see who has received your messages and who hasn’t.

Suitable for:

• People on the move.
• Individuals using a variety of operating system environments.
• Situations where more than one computer is used.
• Groups who need to use the same interface from different computers.

For an example of a web-based SMS application, visit Clickatell’s Communicator page.

The Core of SMS Gateway Connections

The API’s (used by both the above interfaces) are programming modules that allow a piece of software hosted on your computer, on your website, server, etc., to connect to the SMS gateway, which will ultimately connect you to your customers.

To ensure compatibility with different environments, there currently exist several API’s compatible with different programming languages or protocols. These include HTTP/S, XML, FTP, SMTP, SMPP, SOAP and .COM.

These API’s are typically employed by companies who have their own development teams or businesses with the technical know-how to implement these API’s with their current infrastructure. As opposed to the applications above, businesses who choose to integrate the API’s with their current software environments will have to cater for their own address book functionality, while reporting is an optional feature of each API.

In all instances, whether you’ll be using the web interface or an API, remember that you’ll need the appropriate account.  For more information to connect to the SMS gateway.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: Clickatell AUS, Developer SMS API's, SMS enable, SMS gateway, SMS Gateway platform, two-way SMS