SMS is highly effective at enabling you to gain the attention of your users, for situations where immediate action is required. We at ServiceNow have built out a number of frameworks to enable the use of this communication method, however, it may get confusing as to which framework would serve you best.
The options available are:
- Platform SMS: Leverage the carrier's email to SMS gateway (I.e. use email notifications)
- Notify: Leverage a notification to SMS gateway such as Twilio
Exploring Platform SMS
Platform SMS uses Email to SMS gateways, which are free consumer gateways provided by many mobile carriers. The way this works is that mobile carriers will allocate every subscriber an email address (e.g. for AT&T, the email address may look something like 1234567890@txt.att.net, with the digits being replaced with the subscriber’s phone number). When ServiceNow sends an email to that email address, the gateway will convert the message into a text. It is important to note that not all mobile carriers provide this service, so check with the providers in your area.
This service allows for SMS messages to be delivered via workflows to the intended recipient.
This feature is available for all customers without specific licensing requirement.
This method is simple to configure and maintain, however, it does have a number of downsides including:
- SMS messages are limited to 160 characters.
- The mobile carriers don’t have Service Level Agreements for timely (or even guaranteed) delivery, making them occasionally unreliable.
- Anti-spam, rate limits, and IP reputation also are issues for this method.
Learn how to configure Platform SMS Notifications here.
Exploring Notify
Notify is a product designed to increase the ease of connecting your ServiceNow applications with Twilio. Twilio is a communication platform that allows developers to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and perform other communication functions using its web service APIs.
Notify enables users to leverage SMS in a variety of ways including:
- Sending SMS messages automatically from a workflow
- Delivering SMS messages written by agents trying to contact a user
- Allowing for a conversation between the agent and the user via SMS
This feature requires a separate Twilio license.
Configuration is rather straightforward depending on your use case, and results in a solution that is robust, and offers support for expansion of communication channels such as calling and IVR.
To learn more and find steps to configure this integration, review the product documentation or watch our Academy session.
As a note if you are already using Notify:
Twilio has announced the EOL (End of Life) for Twilio Notify, which affects bulk SMS functionality that enables you to send an SMS message to multiple recipients within a short time using one API call to Twilio. For more information, refer to Impact of Twilio's EOL announcement of their Notify product on ServiceNow's Notify-Twilio integratio... article in the Now Support knowledge base.
When to use each one
If you are seeking a solution that is lightweight to configure and maintain, doesn't require additional licenses, and isn't used for delivering time-critical messages, Platform SMS is recommended for delivering SMS messages to your users.
On the other hand, if you prefer a flexible solution with SLAs, inbound/outbound SMS conversations, and require a reliable system, then the Notify with Twilio option is better suited to your needs.
