Proactive Alerts
SMS is a reliable communication channel that usually works flawlessly when implemented correctly — but a blip in SMS delivery can wreak havoc when your users depend on SMS for account signup, security, chat, or notifications.
When it comes to fixing issues, proactive error correction is better than reactive fire-fighting. Plivo’s proactive alerts let you know ahead of time that there could be a dip in your SMS delivery rate, giving you the chance fix an issue before it arises. They help you better manage your SMS traffic, warn your end users about potential issues, and find solutions to mitigate problems.
The logic behind proactive alerts
Plivo’s traffic pattern monitoring algorithm doesn’t access text content or destination numbers, but rather looks at SMS volume and delivery rate percentages. We check your account SMS delivery rate every 15 minutes for deliveries in the last 60 minutes and compare that rate with the average performance of your traffic over the previous seven days. If the variance between these two data points is higher than 25%, we’ll send an email warning to a registered email address you set up.
Enable proactive alerts
Proactive alerts are optional. To enable them in the console, visit Messaging > Alerts.
Once enabled, you’ll receive an alert to your registered email address should there be a drop in your SMS delivery rate. Here’s an example of the kind of alert you may receive.
We find a few common reasons for SMS delivery failures. Technical issues and outages, for instance, can impact both outbound and inbound SMS delivery.
When an outbound message’s destination number’s format is flawed — without country code or area code, for instance — the text message will fail.
Carriers have added systems and algorithms to detect spam content and block spam messages before they get delivered. US and Canadian long codes should only be used for two-way P2P messaging. Spam filters are implemented by most carriers and mobile operators in the US and Canada to identify A2P traffic originating from long codes.
For inbound messages, when there’s an issue with your server URL, an inbound message will not be delivered.