Glossary

A2P stands for Application-to-Person messaging. These are messages that are sent from an application to a person, for example One Time Passwords, bank alerts or booking confirmations by means of API or Web App.

An AI chatbot is a piece of software that interacts with a human through written language. It is often embedded in web pages or other digital applications to answer customer inquiries without the need for human agents, thus providing affordable effortless customer service.

The sender ID refers to the "from", so who has sent the message. This can be alpha (containing characters and numbers), numeric (only numbers) or a numeric short code.

An API, or Application Programming Interface, makes the functions of a computer program available to another computer program. APIs operate in the background of software applications and are invisible to users.

Within the Mobile Marketing Cloud, you'll find CM.com's Campaigns: the perfect tool to build and manage your mobile SMS campaigns, both manually and automated.

Direct Carrier Billing is an online payment method which allows users to make a purchase by charging payments to their mobile phone bill. Carrier Billing is available for all consumers with a mobile device containing a SIM card.

Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions describe SaaS applications that provide the functionality to replicate a traditional, fully-fledged contact center. CCaaS software contains a host of communication features, enabling companies to communicate with customers via one solution.

A CDP or Customer Data Platform is a software that collects customer touchpoints and interactions with your product or service from various channels and sources. It aggregates all this data from multiple sources to create a unified profile of each customer.

Conversational AI (artificial intelligence) technology enables computers to engage in natural-sounding text conversations with customers. When chatbot interactions seem natural, consumers feel like they are having an organic social interaction.

Conversational commerce is the idea of enabling consumers to shop and communicate with brands through messaging channels, voice, and chat. Brands can implement conversational commerce using technology like chatbots, social messaging or virtual assistants.

Conversational Marketing is the practice of engaging in real-time, personalized conversations with potential customers to guide them through the buyer’s journey. It is an effective way to build relationships with customers, understand their needs, and improve their consumer experience.

Cookieless data collection gathers user data and insights without using website cookies (data trackers that contain personal identifiers) either because the user rejects them or because they are not permitted. This method is growing given multiple tracking restrictions and privacy regulations.

 

CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) is a cloud-based communications platform that integrates SMS, Voice & OTT Chat Apps into your existing software with the use of APIs. As businesses rely more on cloud-based services, CPaaS enables a fully customizable communications infrastructure.

A customer service chatbot can automatically respond to different queries and use connected databases to find the answer to more complex questions. With the right data, the bot can be very personal. It can adapt the answers based on the customer, context, and intent.

Customer service software is the program or platform a business uses to manage its customer service channels. The best customer service software helps brands manage, prioritize, and handle requests and complaints from customers - from any location, at any time, via the customer’s preferred channel.

A dedicated short code is used to enable companies to send messages with a specific short code dedicated only for their business and enabling response for the end user to that same number (Sender ID).

A digital signature guarantees that an electronic document is authentic. It is an encrypted digital code appended to an electronic document to verify that it was created by a known source and has not been altered.

Direct Inward Dialing (DID) or Direct Dial In (DDI) is a service of a local phone company or local exchange carrier that provides a block of telephone numbers for calling into a company’s private branch (PBX) or IP telephony system. Using DDI, a company can offer its customers individual phone numbers for each individual or workstation within the company without requiring a physical line into the PBX for each possible connection.

A DLR refers to a status of a sent message. Once the message has been received (or not) within the 48-hour retry range, the sender (company or aggregator) receives a Delivery Status Report with detailed information about the processed message.

Dual Tone Multi Frequency is a method often used in IVR systems to choose menu items or enter codes. DTMF is widely used for telecommunication signalling over analog telephone lines in voice-frequency bands, and is used in push-button telephones for tone dialling.

An electronic signature, also known as an e-signature, is a digital version of the paper-based method of signing signatures. It allows a person to electronically add a signature to a digital contract or document, thereby removing the need for ink and paper.

Within the Mobile Marketing Cloud, you'll find CM.com's Email Campaigns: the perfect tool to create and personalize emails, easily A/B-test those emails and send email campaigns in bulk.

Email marketing is a form of marketing that uses email to send, analyze, and manage personalized and customized marketing campaigns to audiences worldwide. It’s an effective way to engage with target audiences that complements other channels like website and video content.

Mail SMS is an email to SMS app that converts standard emails into text messages. By using your own email client, turning email into SMS is as easy as sending an email. You can use every email program to send SMS messages from your Online SMS Gateway account.

External Short Messaging Entities or ESMEs are external applications that connect to an SMS service for sending and receiving SMS messages. Examples of ESME’s are voting systems or automated marketing messages.

Fake DLR’s are a known problem amongst aggregators. In a fake DLR, the supplier of a connection falsely reports a successful delivery to an end-user device. This results in loss of money, because companies pay for messages that are never delivered on a handset.

A FAQ chatbot can be used to automate answers to some of the more common questions your organization may be asked. These types of questions can be a huge drain on your customer service team and often involve repetitive, copy & paste answers that are more easily and efficiently managed by a machine.

First-party data is customer data collected with consent and owned directly by your company (the data controller). It is a valuable source of customer insight in the age of data privacy, as regulations and security measures now make other types of data less secure, accurate, and reliable.

The General Data Protection Regulation is a EU-regulation that prescribes what precautionary measures companies must take to protect citizens from privacy and data breaches, including how to handle breach notifications.

General Admission Ticketing simply refers to the act of allocating tickets for events with no assigned seat or specific area. Often referred to as ‘standing tickets’, event organizers are likely to make use of General Admission Ticketing, mainly thanks to its easy “scan and go” nature.

Geo-redundancy is the practice of replicating and backing up your data, applications, and servers across a number of locations in the real world. Its goal is to spread your risk across multiple or “redundant” points – avoiding any single point of failure.

Home Location Register (HLR) is an MNO database containing all information related to a mobile subscriber’s device. CM.com uses HLR for its Number Lookup feature, allowing you to verify number information and prevent fraud.

Hybrid messaging enables you to send push messages with SMS as fall-back. Mobile messages will be sent via the cost-effective push messaging. If the receiver doesn’t have your app installed or is offline, the message is sent via SMS. This way you’ll realise the highest reach at the lowest cost. If you don't have your own app, you can use CM's Notifire app.

International mobile subscriber identity, unique for every SIM card. The IMSI code is related to one SIM card, so even if the phone number is used again by another user, the sim card will be printed again and with that it will receive a new IMSI Code.

An internal knowledge base chatbot allows you to hold a vast amount of internal company information in one place. This single source of truth is oftentimes based on the input of your customer-facing chatbot and will be optimized continuously by experts and customer service agents.

IVR or Interactive Voice Response is an automated phone system with call routing capabilities. It answers incoming calls and prompts customers to interact with a pre-recorded message or series of messages, taking them to the appropriate business department based on their response.

JSON or JavaScript Object Notation is a standard text-based format for representing structured data based on JavaScript object syntax.

A live event chatbot allows customers to get quick answers to their questions before, during, and after a live event. Moreover, it can enhance the experience of your visitors. Offer support, exclusive content, deals, entertainment, or notifications to not miss out on must-sees at the event.

A Long Code or Long Number is a standard-length (10-digits) virtual phone number that can be used by businesses to send and receive SMS and MMS messages, or to make and receive voice calls. They are cheaper to use than short codes.

Marketing automation refers to the use of software and technology to automate and enhance marketing activities, such as email campaigns, SMS campaigns, social media ad campaigns, chatbot conversations, tracking, A/B testing, and more.

The dedicated code with which particular mobile operators are identified.

Mobile Network Operators such as Vodafone, China Mobile and Airtel.

MNP stands for Mobile number portability. A phone number registered on one network, moves the same number service to another Network (T-mobile to Vodafone NL). During the transferring process, the end user gets a new SIM card printed containing an IMSI code from the new network, which helps Telco companies do proper routing for traffic in voice, SMS, etc.

Mobile commerce (also known as mcommerce or m-commerce) refers to shopping, banking, or making payments online through mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. Mobile commerce is the new form of ecommerce (electronic commerce), which refers to sales transactions conducted online via the internet.

Mobile marketing applies the principles of marketing with a focus on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile Marketing aims to attract, engage, and communicate with customers via content, campaigns, and managed conversations via email, SMS, MMS, social media, and messaging channels.

CM.com's Mobile Marketing Cloud is an omnichannel customer engagement solution build for B2C marketers. It's the only solution that includes all mobile messaging channels like WhatsApp. This empowers marketers to create superior customer experiences that increase conversion rates and sales.

Mobile communication where the message is sent from an end user to an application.

Mobile communications where the message is sent from an application to an end user.

The Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number is a number used to identify mobile subscribers, and maps the mobile telephone number to a SIM card in a mobile phone.

An HLR based solution to help you optimise routing, to clean up a database of numbers for improved accuracy or to prevent ATM card cloning fraud.

These sender IDs consist of solely numeric characters.

Omnichannel marketing is the integration and cooperation of the various channels that an organization uses to interact with consumers, with the goal of creating a consistent brand experience and interacting with consumers in a seamless way.

A One Time Password or OTP is a security code designed to be used for a single login attempt, to minimize the risk of fraudulent login attempts and maintain high security. It’s a string of characters or numbers automatically generated and sent to the user’s phone via SMS, Voice, or Push message.

Online identification refers to any bit of information associated with a specific individual found on the internet. While online identification is most often connected with entire personal accounts, such as banking profiles, it can consist of any personally identifiable information.

OTT or Over The Top refers to third party content that is sent directly to the end user, where the ISP facilitates the transport of the IP packets. Examples are Skype, WhatsApp and FaceTime.

Person to Person Messaging is SMS messaging between two people, including traffic that connects two people through an API. P2P messaging is used for, amongst others, customer care or order delivery messages.

A payment service provider (PSP) refers to a third-party solution that enables businesses to accept a variety of online payment methods by connecting them to the broader financial system. 

Push notifications are brief alerts triggered by an application. They are an effective way to communicate important information to customers. You can still deliver push notifications, even when the customer doesn’t have your app open.

A Qualified Electronic Signature is an e-signature accompanied by a qualified certificate to ensure the highest levels of authenticity & originality. A QES verifies the signer’s identity with a legitimacy level that equals the legal value & effect of a traditional handwritten signature in Europe.

RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is a communication protocol that enhances traditional SMS text messages by enabling network operators and phone carriers to incorporate richer content, making the messaging experience more similar to using a messaging app rather than native SMS messaging.

A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a collection of tools that allow you to build your own software with implemented CM.com.

Seated Ticketing simply refers to the act of allocating tickets for events with an assigned seat, for example, at a football stadium or tennis championship so that spectators have a dedicated place to observe the game. This is opposed to a ‘general admission’ booking.

This is an easy to use web app to send SMS/Hybrid messages to individuals or lists, and allow them to send replies.

Client and server-side tracking are two routes to collecting audience data. With client-side tracking, the user’s browser (client) sends data to the tracking platform’s server. Server-side tracking sends the user data to your website server first before being transferred to the tracking platform. 

A short code is a specialized 5 or 6-digit number ideal for marketing campaigns, lead generation, and promotions where you want people to easily remember your number. Short codes are used for sending and receiving SMS (and MMS) messages to mobile phones.

The Subscriber Identity Module presents the SIM card used to enable communication over a telecommunication network for a device (smartphone, tablet, etc.)

SIP trunking is a type of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology that lets businesses make calls over a data connection rather than a traditional phone line.

Smishing, a mash-up of SMS and the more familiar cyber scam of “phishing,” is the practice of sending fraudulent text messages to individuals or businesses. The aim of such messages is to convince the target to click on a malicious link or provide sensitive information.

SMS – Short Message Service – is a long-established messaging service, allowing mobile phones to exchange text messages of up to 160 characters. Any mobile phone, anywhere in the world can send and receive texts with SMS, making it incredibly useful as a marketing and customer service channel. 

An SMS API is a type of API that allows your business to integrate SMS (Short Message Service) messaging into your existing software platforms. SMS APIs enable you to send or receive SMS messages quickly and easily through any website or application.

An SMS Gateway enables you to send text messages to mobile phones all around the world. To integrate this functionality into your application, you (or your developers) should implement communication with a SMS API.

SMS marketing combines the oldest and simplest channels available to any marketer - SMS - with marketing platforms and software to send timely, personalized, and interactive messages and campaigns at scale while staying compliant with privacy legislation.

SMS pumping, or Artificially Inflated Traffic (AIT), exploits automated log-in systems. By triggering sharp spikes in traffic toward premium rate numbers, or to a range of numbers controlled by a specific mobile network operator (MNO), fraudsters receive a share of the revenue generated.

The SMS Center, usually the end party, that delivered the message to the handset.

An SMS test tool which lets SMS aggregators, MNO`s and MVNO`s check the quality of SMS routes, using live nodes, limiting the risk of whitelisting and grey routes.

Ticketing is an integrated technology used by event organizers, venues, and promoters. Ticketing provides brands with a centralized platform where they can optimize the online customer experience, and enhance the transaction process; end-to-end.

Time Slots simply refers to the act of allocating dedicated windows of time to a ticketed event. 

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) protects online accounts by imposing two methods of user identification when a log-in is attempted. In addition to the traditional username and password, another piece of evidence – or factor – is required for verification, usually a passcode from a personal device.

Two-Way Messaging is an SMS service that allows businesses to send and receive SMS, to give their customers an easy way to respond. Two-Way SMS can be sent from a short code or long number via a messaging platform with the use of APIs, to communicate with large numbers of customers effectively.

Verification chatbots are a simple and secure way to verify the identity of customers, allowing them to access and update their information online without the need to contact customer service teams directly.

Verified SMS becomes RCS Business Messaging. From October 2022, Google will focus solely on RCS Business Messaging.

Virtual phone numbers are not directly terminated, but rather forwarded to another number. With a Virtual phone number you can have a Dutch number which forwards to a US one, so a US company has a "virtual" number in the Netherlands.

Vishing is the fraudulent use of voice messages or phone calls to convince an individual to hand over sensitive information. Often, vishing scams work by fraudsters pretending to be from a reputable organization, and they can involve threatening or forceful language.

With a Voice API, any developer can create and maintain call flows. You won’t need to integrate voice systems yourself to build IVR applications.

This voice API converts text to speech and is much used for notifications and Two-factor Authentication. Voice notification is available through API and our platform and consists of notifications (call, play and hang up), OTP and Get DTMF apps.

The CM Webtool to create simple IVR Inbound campaigns. Upload and sort voice prompts, design scenarios and get reporting.

A voicebot is a conversational agent that uses artificial intelligence and natural language understanding (NLU) to interpret the intent and meaning in the speech of its conversational partner. We also refer to this technology as 'Conversational IVR'.

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is a technology that allows people to make phone calls over the internet, instead of a legacy analog phone line. With VoIP you can make calls using your laptop, tablet, smartphone or VoIP-compatible office phone hardware.

Besides API and SDK integration, CM offers most products as web apps as well. By using the web apps on our platform, you’ll gain easy access to all CM’s products for messaging, payments, voice and authentication.

A WhatsApp Chatbot is a computer programme that simulates text-based human conversation via the WhatsApp messaging platform. WhatsApp Chatbots can automatically respond to various customer communications, from customer service to sales, and can be integrated via the WhatsApp Business Platform.

WhatsApp Commerce provides brands with a means of connecting with users and selling their products and services directly to them. It does so by allowing companies to engage in two-way communication between themselves and their customers as a form of conversational commerce.

With the WhatsApp Business Platform you can deliver exceptional customer service in real-time and make sure your customers have all the information that they need in one familiar place, and can ask questions regarding their order whenever they like.

WhatsApp Marketing is the sending of messages from a brand's WhatsApp Business account to a specific audience of customers for promotional purposes. In doing so, it allows businesses to establish a direct line of connection between themselves and potential consumers.

Testing SMS routes with the same numbers, as done with SIM boxes, results in Whitelisting. This means that algorithms will determine these numbers as priority numbers. Whitelisting of mobile numbers gives a distorted view of messaging delivery rates and route quality.

A WISMO, or Where Is My Order, chatbot is designed to assist customers in tracking the status and location of their orders. These chatbots are commonly used in eCommerce and logistics industries to provide real-time updates to customers regarding the delivery progress of their purchased items.