Features to look for in an SMS API

Businesses use SMS (Short Message Service, a.k.a. text messaging) to communicate with customers and prospects. SMS messages are useful for sending alerts and notifications to individuals and delivering bulk marketing messages to long lists of recipients.

The best way to integrate text messaging into existing applications is through an SMS API (application programming interface). An API gives developers a standard way to programmatically send and receive SMS messages. It lets developers integrate messaging capabilities into any application.

SMS APIs serve as the front end for cloud communications platforms. On the back end is a communications network, which delivers the text messages to their destination. By using an SMS API, businesses can circumvent the details of working with multiple telecom providers; the API communications platform handles that complexity for them.

Businesses that want to add texting to their applications have a number of platforms they can choose from. Reviews site G2 lists more than 100, ranked according to customer satisfaction.

What makes a good SMS API? Customer satisfaction ratings are one good indicator, but what specific features should companies look for? The answer to that question differs depending on whether you’re a developer or a business manager.

Top SMS API features for developers

Familiar APIs

For developers, one key feature of a good SMS API is logical construction. Does the API provide all the arguments necessary to customize a message and to track sending?

Better yet is if the API has a familiar look and feel. Many companies already have experience with an SMS API and are evaluating other platforms either because they’re considering migrating away from the one they use, or they’re planning to add a second provider to increase reliability. Having a familiar API to work with lowers the learning curve.

SDKs

The SMS API platform should offer a software development kit (SDK) for whatever language the company’s developers already use. That means the platform should support multiple web development languages, such as Python, PHP, JavaScript, Java, C#, and Ruby.

Automation features

The whole point of an SMS API is to automate messaging, so the platform must provide status tracking and event callbacks so developers can write code that can handle any anticipated situation, either by creating a programmed response or by alerting someone who’s responsible for the messaging job.

Top API features for business managers

Scalability

Enterprise businesses use SMS APIs to send hundreds of thousands of text messages a day. The API platform needs to be able to scale to meet large volume demands. That’s why most businesses nowadays use cloud communications platforms, or communications platforms as a service (CPaaS). Cloud services can scale quickly to meet almost any demand, then scale down again, saving on costs because the business pays only for the resources it uses.

Reliability

If you’re evaluating CPaaS, check the service level guarantee. You should expect 99.99% reliability. If your business demands 100% reliability, consider contracting with two CPaaS providers, so that even in the event of the total collapse of one platform, another is available.

Ask about the scope of the CPaaS’s network. The provider should have redundant links to its carriers. It should connect directly with both Tier 1 telecom network operators and local operators in every country where it operates. Having direct relationships means fewer interconnections and less chance of packets being dropped or misrouted.

Global reach

The CPaaS should support a global network, so message senders don’t have to worry about where their customers are located, because their provider can get messages to them wherever they are in the world.

Deliverability

A network may be architected for reliability, but glitches happen. Since a key metric for messaging is deliverability, the provider should continually test its network connections and automatically reroute traffic in the event of performance issues.

Compliance

The telecom world is full of laws and regulations that all businesses must follow. An SMS API platform must build in compliance features for SMS messaging to ensure that the business’s messages aren’t considered spam. 

Reporting and tracking 

An SMS API must track how well it performs its primary task, message delivery. It should allow developers to build dashboards and reports that tell managers how their campaigns are doing. Delivery delays or high levels of failed deliveries should set off alerts and potentially trigger additional actions.

Bottom Line

Many CPaaS platforms support most of these criteria, but one that stands out is Plivo — which not coincidentally stands atop the G2 customer satisfaction list linked above. Any business that’s looking for a primary or secondary SMS API platform should put Plivo on their evaluation short list.