Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

We supported a Future of Mobile Summit at MWC19, a panel session hosted by Nick Lane from Mobilesquared, which featured none other than our very own Chief Evangelist Robert Gerstmann. Robert was in great company, with the likes of spokespeople from Google, mySalesforce, RealNetworks and Vodafone. The reason for the panel session? To dive into what messaging looks like now, and what it might look like in 10 years’ time.

Nick fired out some great discussion points that really got the panel talking, covering topics from omnichannel messaging through to RCS, AI and more.

Here’s a quick run-down of the highlights, if you’d like to read the full article head on over to the MEF site.

What’s the state of the enterprise messaging market?

There’s lots of market predictions flying around at the moment, particularly when it comes to RCS and how it’s set to impact the enterprise messaging space. With estimations that a full RCS roll out could generate $41 billion, it’s no wonder everyone wants a piece of the pie!

Is the future of enterprise messaging omnichannel?

In short the panel agreed that yes, it is. Ultimately it’s up to consumers to decide which channels they want to communicate on – everyone will have their own preference, so it’s important to be active across all channels to stay relevant.

Robert commented “Consumers are shaping the future direction (of the market). Brands need to delight consumers, and MNOs and service providers like FSFSMS.com have a responsibility to enable this for enterprises.”

Is RCS the future of enterprise messaging?

Vodafone Global Head of Smart Communications, Oscar Gallego strongly believes that this is the case for 3 specific reasons: reach, trust and the ecosystem. Robert agreed, urging MNOs to get a move on with the roll out, stating that “FSFSMS.com’s customers are already asking where they can get messages out today.”

What role will AI play in the future of messaging?

General consensus was “that artificial intelligence is central to the evolution of the channel”, with Eugene Oksman, Vice President & GM Messaging at mySalesForce making the bold statement “brands that don’t invest in AI will be replaced by start-ups that do.”