SMS

What Is SMS
SMS (Short Message Service), as its name suggests, is a short text messaging systems that allow mobile users to send and receive text messages using cell phones. Compared to voice calls, SMS messages are text based which can also be stored and retrieved. If a mobile user is unavailable (such as powering off or traveling outside of the service area), SMS messages are stored temporarily on the carrier network. When the mobile user resumes normal network connections, the SMS messages are then forwarded to him. In addition, SMS messages can carry ID stamps to indicate its origin and time of transmission.

Benefits
SMS messages rapidly gained popularity when they first appeared on the market due to their ease of use and low cost. For example, ChinaMobile recorded more than 20 billion SMS messages sent in China during the first six months of this year. Lately, more and more businesses and government agencies are realizing the value of SMS as an effective communications tool and are beginning to put SMS service into commercial use. Companies use SMS to send out news and other information to employees to keep them informed of important company events. One of the advantages of SMS, in addition to low cost and ease of use, is that a single SMS message can be simultaneously sent to a group of recipients. Today, many businesses use SMS messages to strengthen existing communications with clients by sending out new product announcements, marketing news and holiday greetings etc. There are many potential uses for SMS messages in today's information age; the scope of SMS applications is limited only by people's imaginations.

The latest development in the SMS world is the addition of EMS and MMS. MMS greatly enhances the capabilities of SMS by including graphics and audio in text message. These enhanced capabilities will provide ample opportunities for various applications to be developed that target different business needs. The potential downside with MMS is that it requires users to upgrade to new handsets, an undertaking that may take some time to complete. Secondly, MMS messages cost much more to send than the simple SMS messages.

CSOFT SMS Solutions
CSOFT has had much experience in developing SMS based applications. The company's CSMS technology is a full-featured SMS application platform that combines both software and hardware to integrate SMS capabilities with existing Web development. CSMS provides our clients with the following benefits:

• Improved control of information dissemination - It can help control the timing for such messages to arrive. Since SMS can employ a technology called PUSH, it ensures every intended recipient will receive the message.
  
• Elimination of Wired Connections - Since SMS uses the wireless network to send and receive messages, users can be notified of important events and information at locations where Internet connections are not available.
  
• Improved Work Efficiency- Multiple messages can be sent out to a large number of recipients simultaneously, eliminating the need to call each individual separately.
  
• Saving of Customers' Time - Customers use much less time to read a SMS message than logging onto a website or receiving phone calls from businesses.
  
• Increased Customer Satisfactions
  
• Improved Handling of Urgent Events, such as schedule change for an important event.
  
• Low Cost, Ease of Use and Administration

The following diagram illustrates the framework of the CSMS platform:




For more information about CSOFT 's CSMS platform, please click here.