The right tech stack – with automation both enabling real-time data management and facilitating the creation of new client channels – is a game-changer for MNOs. But successful A2P monetisation lies in the combination of automation with human insight and agile processes.

Of all areas of mobile network operators’ business, it is messaging that has seen and undergone some of the greatest transformations.

And there are further changes to come. As organisations accelerate the shift towards digital communications, use cases for business messaging, apps and machine comms will become even more varied and essential.

Brands continue to embrace A2P SMS for its combination of engagement, security, and functionality. Millions more organisations globally, each year, are set to further embrace 2FA and RCS, with enterprise A2P demand forecast to reach $100.1 billion by the end of 2028.

But, MNOs have historically been sluggish to capitalise on the channel. This inability to keep pace – and a willingness to farm out capacity to aggregators, to the detriment of long-term revenue capitalisation – has been largely down to a slew of assumed and actual barriers.

By addressing these obstacles – using a combination of advanced technology, people and processes –  carriers can EXECUTE a messaging revenue optimisation (MRO) strategy that will enable them to take control of the channel, and finally profit fairly from it.

In doing so, they are also engaging in a cascading process of operational streamlining that could extend to their entire business.

Many of the challenges cited by carriers for a failure to adapt to the ever-changing A2P market boil down to a lack of granular control over messaging data.

As the renowned management thinker Peter Drucker said: “You can’t manage what you can’t measure” – a maxim with particular resonance for MNOs struggling to both see and categorise their A2P traffic.

So, together with insufficient visibility over their airwaves, the lack of automation and a reliance on legacy systems have frequently stymied MNOs attempts to take control of their SMS value chain.

Additionally, there has been a problem of perception. Managing A2P revenues was seen as complex, time-consuming and relatively low income per client – obscuring business messaging ROI’s.

But HAUD – one of the world’s leading strategic partners in effective A2P monetisation – have worked to dismantle these barriers one-by-one. 

By building an AI-powered platform that both automates and simplifies A2P business opportunities and existing revenues – enabling teams to manage their entire SMS offering in a single setting – HAUD has shifted the dial on these obstacles.

So, for this last part of our A2P monetisation series, we look at Execute – which is achieved, firstly, through finding and implementing the best AI tools to automate an MNO’s processes.

Secondly, it involves using technology and data to build new products and services – but then having the ability to deliver these services at the speed and scale necessary for today’s rapidly-evolving A2P market. 

And, lastly, delivering these services without costly development and delays.

But first let’s recap the stages of our tried-and-tested A2P monetisation strategy, based around PACE: Protect, Action, Create and Execute.

As explained here, Protect refers to the vital first step of installing a next-generation SMS firewall, to guard against revenue leakage via grey route messaging fraud and spam.

A progressive firewall crucially grants 360 degree real-time visibility and categorisation over messages passing through an MNO’s airwaves, essential for monetisation.

Then comes ‘Action’, both as a spur to begin the process of A2P monetization and also the process in which illegitimate messages are grouped together – so that gaps in remaining traffic, which frequently equate to missed revenue opportunities – can be addressed.

The next step is ‘Create’ – where, after combining a next-generation firewall with a powerful SMS monetising tool, such as HAUD’s industry-leading Smart XChange – carriers can construct new revenue drivers and charging strategies to dramatically boost the paid-messaging volumes on their network. 

Execute relates to bringing all these steps together and understanding that, at the heart of a successful A2P monetisation strategy, should be connectivity and ease of use.

Rather than being locked in burdensome and unaccountable Excel workflows, the right automated system – one powered by AI and data – can both enable carriers to adopt a range of charging strategies AND empower and join-up teams through frictionless working.

By simplifying the operational experience of MNOs around A2P, with UX and dashboarding functionality, the right platform supports carriers and their partners with specific actions needed to oversee client management.

These include margin protection through configurable alerts and a profitability filter, and a routing engine – to automatically route messages across connections using preferred parameters.

Additionally, there is a need for automated billing and charging through ‘least cost routing’, – so carriers can choose the messaging gateways for best pricing and quality, and route the traffic accordingly. This type of routing is invaluable for pricing and revenue generation.

Technological solutions not only widen the funnel with positive recurring revenue streams, but they enable a host of reporting, categorisation and segment-matching capabilities.

So the key to dismantling A2P monetisation barriers lies in highly granular but simple-to-use automation, but with human-input strategic control – governing decisions such as who to work with directly or which industry verticals to prioritise.

Utilising a dashboard that delivers real-time data – and supplies easy-to-understand actionable insights – allows carriers to track and improve revenue goals, which in turn enhances organisational processes.  

Dashboards that collate all data into one setting, serving as a ‘single source of truth’‘, help to remove data silos, facilitate more accurate decision making and enable execution at speed – which in turn reduces time-to-revenue.

Equipped with this advanced real-time data, teams can then review what’s worked well, to further refine processes and A2P messaging opportunities.

So, with the right firewall and platform in place, effective A2P monetisation is achievable without costly development, upheaval or lengthy training.

As Joanna Kuligowska, HAUDs Head of Global Market Intelligence, explains: “HAUD’s advanced CRM tools make managing a carrier’s tech stack simple.

“Our AI-powered functionality supports business operations and enables automated reporting on KPIs and OKRs

“It enables MNOs to easily create new client channels and value propositions. So for a one-stop service for A2P monetisation – HAUD’s best in class MRO strategy is the best there is for handing back messaging control to carriers, so they don’t miss out on the channel’s meteoric rise.”

Find out more about MRO and HAUD’s suite of tools to enable A2P revenues, enforce network protection and grow market share here or visit our contact page here.