Chinese startup phone-maker Xiaomi has tapped enterprise software company SAP (NYSE:SAP) to help its users send global SMS with ease. This will be especially useful for Xiaomi as it expands overseas, which it started doing recently by commencing sales in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Perhaps it’ll be especially welcome among the Chinese diaspora.
But this isn’t about online messaging, so it’s not comparable to Whatsapp or Apple’s iMessage – or Xiaomi’s existing social messaging app MiTalk, which is keen to expand its appeal across East and Southeast Asia.
Instead, Xiaomi’s finessed global SMS system – called iSMS – improves the current short-message system for those who need to send them overseas. An SAP representative explains to us:
Xiaomi’s service is purely based on SMS, meaning text messages are sent through SAP Mobile Service’s global SMS interconnection service – where the company is connected with over 990 operators globally. This means that SAP Mobile Services “sits” in between mobile operators and enterprises/phone manufacturers and provide these enterprises/phone manufacturers with mobile interconnection (in this case SMS) without the need for enterprises/phone manufacturers to negotiate individually with each operator in each market, as SAP is already connected to over 990 operators and 6.1 billion subscribers globally.
That means fees do apply, but at least it simplifies the system. It’s interesting that Xiaomi is thinking more globally these days.
Xiaomi sold 7.19 million phones in mainland China in 2012, and plans to double that number this year with help from HK and Taiwan. By 2014, Xiaomi might be launching online sales in North America.
Xiaomi’s flagship phones right now are the Android-based Mi2A and Mi2S (pictured above).
(Editing by Anh-Minh Tran Do)
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