Independent Software Vendors (ISVs)
Independent software vendors or ISVs offer messaging as part of their services. If you are an ISV this means you are most likely providing numbers on behalf of your customers or text enabling existing business landlines which adds complexity to the number selection process.
Content control
The first question that is unique to ISVs is who controls the content of the message––you or the brands or individuals you are servicing? Controlling the content means that you are providing a templated message, such as an appointment reminder, receipt, or order confirmation. Your platform does not allow customers to customize or change the majority of the message.
For example, restaurant reservation management software may offer SMS alerts for reservations. Controlled content would look something like:
You have a reservation at $restaurant_name at $time.
Please enter “confirm” to confirm and “cancel” to cancel.
If your customers control the content, we recommend approaching number selection using the criteria outlined above on behalf of your customers. If you are sending out templated Two Factor Authentication (2FA) or One Time Passwords (OTP) on behalf of your customers, you may also be able to use a short code.
Customer needs
As an ISV, you are not just asking questions about throughput, identity, and voice on behalf of your business, but on behalf of your customers. Depending on your service and customer size, you may even want to offer multiple number types.
Operational requirements
In addition to per phone number and per message costs, an important thing to factor in is operational costs and your customer onboarding experience. A2P 10DLC does require brand registration for your customers. This means that there are associated applications and information needed from your customers in addition to registration fees. Similarly, toll-free customers will need to be verified to reduce filtering of compliant messages. Short code has these registration requirements on top of a 6-10 week waiting period. Depending on the volume/throughput required by your customers you may even consider starting with one number type for a trial and migrating to a short code longer term.
