Five years ago, "unified messaging" was the mantra of technologists who believed they could deliver an all-singing service that could handle all your incoming voice, text, fax and email. The nightmare of hunting down messages on different media would be a thing of the past. But the dream faded with the realisation that it was an idea looking for a problem. People just got used to handling different forms of media, and at the end of the day the technology just wasn't simple or cheap enough anyway.
But now the idea is having a kind of rebirth - this time in reverse - with SMS text messaging at the centre of the action. It works like this: you see an advert or read an article about a company or product and you want to learn more. The information contains a text message reply code with options allowing you to receive information sent to an email, a fax, voicemail, or even back to your mobile phone.
Currently the market for such services is driven by relatively small firms seeking to develop unique niche services. One example is a company called iTagg, which hopes its "two-way texting" service will do away with the need for business cards. It allows you to buy a personal short code and keyword that you can give to people so that when they text you with your keyword (such as "Paul") they receive your full personal or business details. The beauty is that the reply text can be changed via a dedicated web page as often as you want, and it can also be modified so that replies are sent to email addresses instead of back to mobiles.
Steve Proctor, chief executive of iTagg, says he wants short codes to become as common as domain names: "We started in the domain name business and there is no reason why it shouldn't be the same with everyone wanting their own short code." For individuals, the service starts at around £10 a year with receivers paying 25p per message. Alternatively you can pay in advance for texts to be sent at 7p each.
Although primarily aimed at consumers, the service clearly has business applications. iTagg gives the example of an estate agency that wishes to offer a reply service for each property advertised. It purchases a bundle of short codes that allow prospective buyers to receive house details by text or email wherever they see the estate agent's signs. One further advantage is that all texts are logged and could be followed up with personal calls and therefore support traditional, phone-based marketing.
Steve Almond, chief executive of SMS firm Txt, says the attraction for companies is that it solves the problem of deciding how to communicate with customers: "The headache for any business is to exploit every channel, be it voice, text, email or fax. It's difficult for a small company but an enormous problem for larger firms."
His company offers a service called TxtOrder that even extends to allowing bill payments with confirmations. The service is being used to provide information, newsletter options, competition entries, callback and payment services for customers such as George Wimpey, Barclaycard and Pirelli. For payment services, customers need to register in advance.
"Customers will always want a choice of how information is provided; the trick is to give them the choice and offer them the simplest way to ask for information or make a payment," says Almond.
Few would argue with his claim that customers are increasingly sick of getting stuck in voice response systems that take forever to navigate. Topcall, a company specialising in what it calls unified communication, says that the market for such services is very diverse. Darren Saunders, Topcall's business development manager, says: "There are endless options and variations, and many start-up firms are looking at developing ser vices for particular niches such as healthcare, distribution, finance and property. All are driven by the desire to automate where possible."
For example, Topcall is developing a service that allows hospitals to send SMS texts or automated phone calls reminding patients of forthcoming appointments. The receiver has the option to confirm, reject or arrange another appointment. Because many patients do not have mobile phones, the automated voice option can also be delivered in a range of languages or dialects. Saunders admits it's not foolproof: "Hospitals lose millions of pounds each year through missed appointments. This won't do away with the problem overnight, but it will significantly reduce the losses."
Meanwhile, text to email is being trailed by Kodak to help raise awareness of digital cameras. Its advertising invites consumers to text a shortcode to receive a beginner's guide to photography by email. Kodak says that an enquiry-response service that does away with the need to take telephone requests, but at the same time collates all the customer information, is a major attraction.
The market for such services may be small at the moment, but if these trials go down well with consumers, we can expect to see many more SMS short codes appearing in the press.
