Mobile Business Messaging Market Set to Explode

Business communications channel continue to evolve as customers demand quicker access to information and interactions. There are the more traditional channels, like voice and email – and now video has become a standard as well.  Messaging, however, is the latest business communications channel to gain momentum. A new study from Juniper Research projects the mobile business messaging market will grow from $48 billion this year to to $78 billion by 2027.

Communicating via mobile isn’t the only thing that’s moving the market forward. With technologies like RCS (Rich Communication Services), businesses are feeling more secure about mobile messaging and are using rich media content via this channel more.

In fact, 63 percent of the messaging growth will come from more enterprises adopting RCS for its end-to-end encryption and verified sender capabilities. This helps to combat the issue of messaging fraud and makes it possible to easily send videos, images, and other information via text message. At the same time, businesses know they are leveraging a communications channel people prefer, increasing effectiveness.

In parallel to the growing market value, the number of messages received will also increase significantly, from 161 billion in 2022 to 639 billion by 2027.  

Many of the industries – like financial services and healthcare – that are looking to grow with modern tools were traditionally held back because of the sensitive data being handled and surrounding regulatory mandates. Now they have a secure channel they can use to transmit information that is accessible and desired by customers.

There is still a lot of work to be done, though, including the need for effective spam detection tools and firewalls to divert bad actors. Still, growth is inevitable.

In the U.S., where Tier 1 operators are already supporting RCS, there is a chance for key growth to occur. Specifically, market growth can be accelerated and RCS will surpass 170 billion by 2027 if one major player – Apple – introduces support for RCS. Currently, it has declined to accommodate the Android market, but several key players continue to put pressure on Apple to support RCS and create a single global mobile messaging ecosystem.

“Apple must support RCS to facilitate smooth and secure communications between mobile operating systems. The RCS protocol is likely to be deployed over the existing iMessage interface on iOS devices, in order to capitalize on user familiarity and maximize adoption,” said Juniper senior analyst and research author Scarlett Woodford.

Edited by Erik Linask