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It wasn’t that long ago that the workforce was anchored to their workstations, tethered by the technology that was intended to speed up efficiency. Of course, hauling around a desktop computer (or even a laptop) was either impossible or highly impractical. These logistical challenges also limited the typical range of operations to either on the computer or on the road.
Today’s workers are only tethered to the signal area of wireless access points and cell towers. This makes tools such as Power BI Scheduler even more effective for delivering timely and relevant updates by using the short message service (SMS) texts as a major format for those powerful reports and analyses.
SMS: An Organic Fit as a Delivery Tool
Major businesses have already jumped on the SMS opportunity for connecting to prospects and customers, but there is nothing to prevent small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) from leveraging this same platform for internal communications.
Even better, the big hitters have no true advantage over SMBs when accessing SMS technology. Because SMS is now such a part of everyday life for nearly the entire population, it is the most natural and comfortable method of reaching out to business partners, associates and even clients who rely upon BI from your company.
Even better, thanks to the brevity of SMS, you don’t need a team of writers constructing cover messages or elaborately contrived long form introductions. Through the use of automated scheduling features, you can deliver real-time, actionable insights to your team’s attention on a regular basis and even when triggered by preset event parameters. This keeps your ability to respond to market conditions agile
SMS Distribution of Power BI Scheduler Reports
Power BI Scheduler simplifies SMS distribution. Just as simple as sending and receiving an SMS should be!
Check out these four methods of capitalizing on SMS technology to deliver the information you want immediately.
Text Alerts
Every cell phone owner knows SMS. Many owners are more comfortable using SMS than answering a phone call from a human. This makes text alerts a highly effective method of delivering a quick message to the intended reader.
Communications can be as brief as alerting the recipient of the issuance of a new report, announcing an upcoming sale, or acknowledging receipt of information or materials.
Best of all, text alerts are appropriate for internal communications and external promotions. Judicious and thoughtful use of SMS text alerts can reduce the demand for customer service centers by notifying recipients of actions taken, refunds provided, and discounts offered for future purchases.
Embedded Reports
When delivering timely and relevant information to essential team members, there is no faster pathway than sending an embedded report via SMS. Chances are greater that embedded reports delivered by SMS will be accessed, read, and acted upon faster than traditional email or file-sharing mechanisms.
Local GSM Phone or Device
As a new worldwide network standard, Global Systems for Mobile Communications (GSM) should be implemented for SMS communications. This also means that any local GSM phone or device can be employed to deliver critical messages regardless of location or time. Another advantage of using a local GMS device or phone is that most end users perceive SMS as a less formal method of reaching out. Its brevity makes it irresistible for most users to ignore.
SMS Center
For mass communication efforts within an organization, nothing beats the services offered by SMS centers (SMSC). In a crisis, trade show or other high priority event, a company can also set triggers and automate hourly updates to send to a crisis team or company wide. Simply connect a standard modem to an SMSC and it becomes a valuable new component in a mobile telephone network.
Once enabled, the SMSC can manage SMS operations such as forwarding text messages, storing texts for future retrieval, creating multimedia messages, offering toll-free texting, and integrating group messaging. As one might imagine, the potential returns of a well-conceived and managed SMSC can be phenomenal.
The SMS Advantage
According to a recent Forbes article, Americans send about 26 billion text messages per day, mainly because it is the easiest and simplest way to communicate. These messages range from the mundane, such as saying hi to a friend or sending the latest YouTube sensation, to the more important, such as confirming a medical appointment.
If you ask the typical person on the street, chances are they would rather get a text message than an email, phone call, or voicemail. In fact, the likelihood of immediate action by the recipient is sky-high if the communication comes in the form of an SMS. Emails are quickly buried in a stack of new messages and checking voicemail is time-consuming.
The plain truth is that consumers want convenience. By their very nature, SMS communications are short and sweet. This makes using SMS to attend to the concerns of customers a natural service that consumers will actually use. When a customer has an issue, the last thing they need is to be put on hold because it happens to be a particularly busy time for a call center. Instead, by using SMS to provide on-demand customer service, the customer gets to call the shots instead of the other way around. Fast and positive responses are more likely to bind customers to those companies capable of consistently delivering them.
Finally, of all the computing devices floating out there, more people carry their phones by their side. Consequently, SMS is now woven into the very fabric of modern life. No one thinks of SMS as invasive, junk, or offensive. It’s easy to block any unwanted SMS senders and our natural human curiosity drives us to take that simple action of tapping an icon and reading a short missive. So SMS works very well!
Keep in mind that SMS management is merely one facet of Power BI Report Scheduler. It is now proving to be a crucial and profitable component of this powerful and intuitive software that helps you reach the hearts and souls of your target market through authentic and relevant communications, but this comprehensive software covers all fronts when it comes to valuable and powerful report generation.
Other destinations where Power BI Report Scheduler can deliver reports include:
- Disk/Drive
- Fax
- FTP/FTPS
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Printer
For the ultimate in business intelligence software capable of delivering understandable and actionable Power BI reports in various formats to different recipients, ChristianSteven Software rightfully earns its ranking as the #1 SSRS & Power BI Reports Scheduler.
