The Evolution of Message Management

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The past decade has witnessed an explosion in both the volume and variety of digital communications used by consumers. Currently, most of us are wired to email, IM and SMS messages, and many of us are using Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds and other channels to receive info and communicate with others on a constantly increasing basis. Enterprise technology solutions, however, are still lagging behind the changes in consumer behavior. The infrastructure for processing messages at most enterprises is based on twenty-five years of legacy technology, and the explosive growth in message size, complexity and volume (including spam and unwanted messages) is outstripping current infrastructure. This dynamic creates a multitude of problems on all sides. Most ISPs are struggling to keep pace with the complexity of managing email right now, and it’s only going to get worse as additional channels of communications are added. Enterprises can’t communicate with customers the way they prefer/demand. Most email senders and ESPs want to respect the preferences of ISPs and customers, but aren’t sure how to do it without undertaking huge capital investment. And consumers are left to sort out the mess.

Message management technology needs to evolve from a commodity based product (MTA) that simply sends and receives emails to a more holistic framework that serves as a central integration and processing hub for all forms of digital messaging, including email, SMS, and IM. For senders, this means providing new technology to deliver relevant messages that build long-term, profitable customer relationships by constantly monitoring and updating those messages according to the customers’ preferences. For ISPs and telecommunications carriers, this evolution is all about containing costs, reducing customer churn, and exploiting new revenue sources.

The message management solutions of tomorrow will function as the nodal point for connecting internal and external data sources, applications and systems within a company’s messaging framework. A successful message management platform will have multi-faceted capabilities, enabling it to be configured as a controlling gateway, smart router and/or advanced transfer agent for managing messages consistent with a company’s specific business rules. And ultimately, it will be the source for optimizing customer relationships by managing communications across the board.

For ISPs and telecommunications carriers, message management will evolve from a cost center to a profit center in the coming decade by helping service providers to reduce operating expenses and customer churn, better leverage existing infrastructure and capital expenditure, and find new ways to monetize their services. ESPs and enterprises will benefit from new message management technology through increased ROI on marketing campaigns and huge improvements in deliverability. And with the implementation of new message management technology on both sides of the equation, consumers will also enjoy better service and support for their messaging needs as they continue to change. 

About George Schlossnagle

As President and CEO of Message Systems, George Schlossnagle has a dynamic vision for how technology can be harnessed to advance digital messaging for the benefit of all stakeholders and enhance the customer’s ultimate experience. Before co-founding Message Systems in 1997, he was lead systems administrator at iVillage. George is an internationally recognized expert in the PHP language. He earned an M.A. degree in Mathematics from John Hopkins University and a Sc.M. degree in Mathematics from Brown University.