Many people use their mobile phones to send SMSs to their contacts. Next to occasional SMSs to friends, family, and relatives, people may want to send large amounts of SMSs using their phone subscription to large amounts of contacts for business purposes. Doing so, they might receive a warning notification from their operator about excessive or abused usage of their SMS capability, with a risk of having all SMS traffic being blocked. 



In this article, you will learn about fair SMS usage, typical phone subscription clauses, P2P and A2P SMS traffic, and possible solutions to lower the risk of seeing all your phone SMS traffic being blocked. We&#8217;ll also discover alternatives to legacy sim box solutions.






<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li></li><li></li><li></li><li></li></ul></div>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Unlimited SMSes and fair usage</h2>



As telecom operators often include unlimited SMS in mobile subscriptions, it is important to understand that this SMS usage is most often still capped by a principle of &#8220;fair usage.&#8221; As a customer, you have to understand any conditions related to the services you consume, referring to documents such as, for Proximus, the &#8220;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.proximus.be/dam/jcr:b44f23ca-8cd8-4587-b4ab-9c3558766471/cdn/sites/iportal/documents/pdfs/common/from20191101/Special-Terms-and-Conditions---Mobile-phone---EN~2020-07-01-06-20-45~cache.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener">Specific Terms and Conditions for the mobile phone Service</a>&#8221; (see&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.proximus.be/dam/jcr:84da2c1f-7d97-4b34-8821-aa30c4b24d8d/cdn/sites/iportal/documents/pdfs/common/from20191101/Conditions-particuli-res---T-l-phonie-mobile---EN~2020-07-01-06-20-44~cache.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener">French&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.proximus.be/dam/jcr:034cd46c-77be-4b24-8c4c-8704f11f8947/cdn/sites/iportal/documents/pdfs/common/from20191101/Bijzondere-voorwaarden-Mobiele-telefoondienst---NL~2020-07-01-06-20-43~cache.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flemish</a>&nbsp;versions as well).



In this document, we effectively learn about the following restrictions:



Article 4.2 : In the context of unlimited offers, the following practices are not considered as normal or personal use (non-exhaustive list):



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>When the Customer sends more than 10,000 SMS messages per month and/or 500 SMS messages per day.</li>



<li>When the Customer sends SMS messages to more than 250 different recipients per month.</li>



<li>When the Customer regularly makes calls for more than 6 hours per day and/or 30 hours per week.</li>



<li>When the Customer uses more than 100 GB per month.</li>
</ul>



Article 4.3 : Proximus reserves the right to limit the supply of the Service or to suspend and/or terminate the Contract without compensation when the Customer&#8217;s use cannot be considered as normal or personal. Proof of the above prohibited practices may be provided by any means and by any legal means, including using data and records from Proximus systems or systems provided by third parties. The Customer and Proximus shall consider such data and records as authentic, until proven otherwise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">From &#8220;People to People&#8221; to &#8220;Application to People&#8221; messaging</h2>



As you understand from these 2 articles, the SMS capability included in your mobile subscription is meant to support &#8220;People to People&#8221; communications (P2P). Understand this as you sending a short message to your family members, friends or colleagues. 



This traffic is not considered as regular P2P messaging anymore when it comes to letting all of your 400 or 2000 customers know at once that your business is open again or announcing new specific service hours. When it comes to enterprises communicating to their customers thru large SMS campaigns, the terminology &#8220;Application to People&#8221; messaging (A2P) is commonly used. As the names suggest, all outgoing SMSs are not sent anymore from your mobile phone but using an application that, somehow, interfaces with telco operator&#8217;s platforms to submit the SMS traffic. Applications can be:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>an online campaign management service, allowing to define communication campaigns (the message content, the schedule to have the message sent, the list of targets) and their associated channels (SMS, email, voice calls).</li>



<li>your own application or business workflows, which will use a SMS API (Application Programming Interface) offered amongst others by telco operators to submit messages onto telco mobile networks</li>
</ul>



Contrary to P2P SMSes, A2P SMSes are mainly used in one direction, breaking the balance in incoming and outgoing connections between operators, who are still charging each other for delivering these messages on their network. That&#8217;s the main reason why operators offer P2P for free, while A2P comes at a cost.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What if I don&#8217;t want to switch from P2P to A2P</h2>



If you don&#8217;t want to transition from P2P to A2P messaging and want to solely use your mobile phone to send large amounts of SMSs to your business contacts, you know now about limitations and fair use imposed by telco operators. The only ways to keep sending SMSs from your phone are to:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>lower the number of SMSs you send per day</li>



<li>ensure that each of your SMS messages consumes the least amout of SMS parts (avoiding special characters and staying under 160 characters)</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SMS API? But I&#8217;m not a developer!</h2>



Proximus offers an <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/sms/overview?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;utm_campaign=encoblog" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SMS API</a> via its <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proximus API Solutions</a> platform. With this capability, developers can easily allow their own applications or business processes to send SMSs to mobile phones. 



You are not a developer but are looking for an off-the-shelf solution where you can upload contacts, messages, and schedule campaigns? Or are you looking for an interface where your employees can have simple SMS conversations with your customers? <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/contact-us">Contact us</a>!

About excessive SMS usage and how to deal with it

Automated phone calls to your customers, employees, members or citizens can drastically improve efficiency and effectiveness. Especially when fast feedback is required, a &#8216;robocall&#8217; beats all other channels, on the condition you have the consent of the people you&#8217;re calling.







Whether it&#8217;s about notifying people, assembling a crisis team, finding job candidates, confirming/managing appointments, automated phone calls can make a difference.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Proximus&#8217; <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/flexio/overview">NextGen voice</a> platform is uniquely positioned in Belgium, supporting local languages, and a competitive pricing towards Belgian phone numbers.
<cite>Johan De Belie, product owner Customer Interaction Solutions</cite></blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Voice APIs versus managed voice services</h2>



While many CPaaS platforms offer extensive voice APIs, implementing a state-of-art voice application is a specialty on it&#8217;s own. While it&#8217;s easy to build a first working version of any application, managing errors and exceptions related to the complexity of international telephony networks is a whole other story&#8230;



Non-existing numbers, network errors, voicemail detection, number normalization, call forwards, multilingual contexts, call recording, dmf handling, &#8230; each bring their own challenges. On top of that, a voice application needs to manage a lot of real-time events, which keep the call going, while processing data asynchronously&#8230;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/apicalls.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5588" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/apicalls.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/apicalls-300x300.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/apicalls-150x150.jpg 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/apicalls-768x768.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /></figure>



An average voice call needs between 10 to 100 API-calls 



Unless building voice applications is your core business, the better approach is to find a partner that can build a flow for you, taking away the burden of developing and maintaining a your own call code, and offering you &#8216;simple and functional API-endpoints&#8217;. These functional API-endpoints make abstraction of the complex call handling &amp; conversational flow behind, and just let you launch calls and process the end result.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">There is no such thing as &#8216;outbound only&#8217;</h2>



As people have stopped answering calls from unknown numbers, it&#8217;s highly advised to dial out with your company&#8217;s numbers, but this also means that people will be calling back.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/oneway2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5543"/></figure>



Even if you don&#8217;t want customers to call you back, they will still do so



Solutions like NextGen voice can easily handle these return calls in different ways:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>link return calls to the original outbound call, and pickup the conversation from there</li>



<li>let callers leave a message and deliver it to your email or applications</li>



<li>transfer calls to your employees</li>
</ul>



Looking for a partner to help you automate voice calls? Don&#8217;t hesitate to <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/contact-us">contact us</a>

Automate phone calls to your customers

As one of our standard managed offers on our NextGen voice solution, we&#8217;ve built a simple guard duty solution, which allows you to activate or plan one of a predefined list of guards, to which we can forward calls or incoming SMSes. Additionally, an email can be sent for every incoming call/sms/configuration change. 







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Alarm number with 24/7 reliability</h2>



Using a highly reliable 078 or 0800 phone number, running on a similar platform as the public emergency services, we can make sure no call gets lost, forwarding the call to the active guard duty at any time.



For every incoming call, an optional email message with the call details can be sent to the guard, as well as an additional, predefined destination. Optional reports are also available.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/alarmbot.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5629" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/alarmbot.png 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/09/alarmbot-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/09/alarmbot-150x150.png 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/09/alarmbot-768x768.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /></figure>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Forward SMS messages to the active guard</h2>



Being directly connected on the Proximus network, we can intercept incoming SMSes on any Proximus number, and forward it to the active guard. Take into account that SMSes cannot offer the same guarantee as phone calls, as they are being sent asynchronously. This means SMS messages can get delayed, and eventually lost, or silently suppressed by other operators. Luckily, most of the time, they do the job.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Manage the active guards via phone</h2>



When calling your alarm number with a hidden menu and pin code, or from predefined numbers, you can immediately access the configuration menu.



Easily switch the active guard on the spot, or schedule the next guard, and define a switch-over moment. You can select someone from a predefined list, making use of simple DTMF-menus, or by simply saying his/her name, using speech recognition. Input the year, month, day and hour of the switch-over moment, and we will make sure to use the next guard from that moment on.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Web-interface to manage the guard list </h2>



Using the standard NextGen voice interface, customers can easily redefine a list of eligible guards, with their name, number, and email address, as well as list of phone numbers that have access to the configuration flow. 



More information? Don&#8217;t hesitate to <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/contact-us">contact us</a>

Guard duty solution for incoming voice and SMS, with email reports

Combine advanced speech technologies with omnichannel messaging &amp; application integration capabilities, allowing any company to filter, dispatch, or automate any phone call with Proximus&#8217; NextGen voice service.



The <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/flexio/overview">NextGen voice service</a> can be used as an <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/updates/flexio-voicemail-takes-care-of-your-callers-when-you-cant">advanced personal voicemail solution</a>, a general solution to <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/updates/handle-peak-call-loads-or-provide-information-via-phone-24-7-with-nextgen-voicemail">handle missed calls </a>behind IVRs or hunt groups, or full feature voice bot for inbound or outbound calls.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Configure and maintain a conversational IVR via a user friendly web interface</h2>



You can configure your voicebot up to the point of having a natural conversation, capable of providing answers to frequently asked questions, transfering callers to the right person or department, automating ticket creation or order intake, gather customer feedback, booking appointments, &#8230; 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5555" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey.png 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey-150x150.png 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey-768x768.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Send text messages and emails directly from the voice bot flow</h2>



You can configure text &amp; email messages from within the NextGen voice service itself, which means it functions as a stand alone knowledge base, voice &amp; messaging solution.



These messages can be sent to the caller, or any employee. Typical use casses include guard services, notification services, &#8230;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5558" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email.png 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-150x150.png 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-768x768.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Exchange information with 3rd party applications and databases</h2>



You can easily retrieve and send information from and to other software applications, which means it is possible to authenticate users, provide dynamic information, or capture input from the caller, and trigger any business process using REST APIs.



Using the same APIs, you can easily integrate your own AI capabilities, providing answers to questions that were not preconfigured on the voice bot itself.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/business_process.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5557" style="aspect-ratio:1;width:630px;height:auto" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/business_process.png 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/06/business_process-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/06/business_process-150x150.png 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/06/business_process-768x768.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Compatible with almost any Belgian phone number</h2>



You can forward calls from any Belgian landline, or Proximus mobile number to the NextGen voice service. The NextGen voice service also <a href="https://www.proximus.be/en/id_cl_marketingnumbers/companies-and-public-sector/telephony/landline/order-0800-numbers.html">integrates with Proximus&#8217; marketing numbers (078/0800)</a>, as well as Proximus voice managed services. It is compatible with any PBX/Call control, such as MS Teams, Call Connect, the Proximus&#8217; Forum range, &#8230; as well as private SIP trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Do It Yourself or managed service</h2>



The Proximus NextGen voice service is a consumption based telephony service that starts from € 30/month, and a one time onboarding fee of € 250. From there, customers can choose to develop their own voice bot, or request a quotation for a predefined scope.



In any case, customers will be able to finetune and tweak the resulting configuration, modifying spoken responses, but also adding keywords and expressions to better match spoken intents. <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/contact-us">Contact us </a>for more information.

Automate phone calls and integrate business processes

Answer frequently asked questions, send information via SMS or WhatsApp, can handle callback requests, as well as structure voicemail messages for easier follow-up with the Proximus&#8217; NextGen voicemail.



The <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/flexio/overview">Proximus NextGen voice service </a>can gather or provide information via phone 24/7, but can also be used as <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/updates/flexio-voicemail-takes-care-of-your-callers-when-you-cant">advanced personal voicemail solution</a>, or <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/updates/automate-phone-calls-and-integrate-business-processes">conversational IVR or voice bot</a>.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Provide multilingual information via audio or speech, managed via a simple web interface</h2>



You can easily provide information to your callers in Dutch, French, English, or German. NextGen voicemail converts your written text to audio, and plays it back to the caller. You can present the callers with an option menu via DTMF (for &#8230;, press 1, &#8230;) or give speech suggestions and listen to what the caller said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Send information to your caller via SMS, WhatsApp, or email</h2>



Instead of trying to pass long texts such as urls, email addresses, opening hours, &#8230; via speech, NextGen voicemail can easily send a text message to the caller. When integrated with #Interact, or an external CRM system or database, NextGen voicemail can even send email messages to the caller.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-1.png" alt="Send information to your caller via SMS, WhatsApp, or email" class="wp-image-5565" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-1.png 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-1-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-1-150x150.png 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/voice2email-1-768x768.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /></figure>



NextGen voicemail integrates with popular messaging services, such as the Ring Ring or enco.io SMS service, as well as WhatsApp via the Meta cloud, or Telesign API.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Handle callback requests and structure voicemail messages</h2>



Define your own email templates, and deliver voicemails or callback requests to any email address, including MS Teams Channels. As voicemails can be automatically transcribed, they can be automatically processed, and users don&#8217;t need to listen to them in order to process them further.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey.png" alt="Structure speech information via phone with Proximus NextGen voice" class="wp-image-5555" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey.png 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey-150x150.png 150w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/robosurvey-768x768.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /></figure>



Instead of recording a single message, you can even record a structured conversation, guiding the caller through multiple questions, and record respective answers into a single recording (with transcript). Easily gather customer surveys, automate trouble ticket intake, or create a &#8216;speech form&#8217;, as if it were a form on your website.



Looking for a tool to manage callback, voicemail, or other communciation requests? NextGen voicemail natively integraties with <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/interact/overview">#Interact</a>, an omnichannel conversation orchestrator, that can easily queue, route and report on callback or voicemail requests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Compatible with almost any Belgian phone number</h2>



You can forward calls from any Belgian landline, or Proximus mobile number to the NextGen voice service. The NextGen voice service also integrates with <a href="https://www.proximus.be/en/id_cl_marketingnumbers/companies-and-public-sector/telephony/landline/order-0800-numbers.html">Proximus&#8217; marketing numbers (078/0800)</a>, as well as Proximus voice managed services. It is compatible with any PBX/Call control, such as MS Teams, Call Connect, the Proximus&#8217; Forum range, &#8230; as well as private SIP trunks.

Gather or provide information via phone 24/7

With phone calls being considered as too intrusive, and emails as slow and without impact, companies struggle to interact with their customers in an efficient and effective way.



Meanwhile, many companies have failed in implementing web chat solutions, while employees use their private SMS and WhatsApp accounts to communicate with customers, resulting in commercial, privacy and security risks.



Read more about <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/interact/overview">#Interact </a>and <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/flexio/overview">Proximus NextGen voice</a>.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Challenge 1: Not answering phone calls</h2>



It&#8217;s impossible to answer every phone call, but more often than not, companies frustrate their customers with endless menus and transfer loops, or not picking up the call at all… The result is missed revenue, churning customers, and damage to the company&#8217;s reputation.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img decoding="async" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/desperatecustomer.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5492"/></figure>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Don&#8217;t let your customers wait forever, or frustrate them with endless menu options or transfer loops
</blockquote>



<a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/flexio/overview">NextGen Voice</a> from Proximus can automate phone calls and autonomously answer frequently asked questions, but also perfectly handle missed calls with delivering callback requests or voicemail messages to email, or any other application, for a fraction of the cost of a missed phone call.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Challenge 2: not following-up missed calls</h2>



Even worse: many companies fail to follow up on callback requests, or voicemails left by their customers, or prospects. Employees just don&#8217;t listen to their voicemails anymore, shared mailboxes don&#8217;t offer the proper reporting, and ticketing systems often don&#8217;t deal well with audio files.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="720" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-2.png" alt="Many companies are not properly following-up missed calls" class="wp-image-5422" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-2.png 720w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-2-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-2-150x150.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" /></figure>







Discover how NextGen voicemail can deliver voice messages, including transcript, via mail or API to to shared mailboxes, MS Teams channels, or other applications. These can be CRM or ticketing systems, or tools like <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/interact/overview">#Interact</a> that focus on omnichannel interactions, and that are able to queue, route and report on voicemails and other interactions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Challenge 3: Customers have also stopped answering their phone</h2>



Since ages, customers complain about companies&#8217; reachability, but the opposite: companies complaining about customers, no longer picking up their phone, has become even more problematic. Many people, and especially the younger generation, consider phone calls being very intrusive, and expect companies to communicate when it suits them, on the channels they prefer.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="720" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image.png" alt="Customers have stopped answering their phone" class="wp-image-5419" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image.png 720w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-150x150.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" /></figure>







Messaging channels like SMS, WhatsApp are less intrusive, less formal, more concise, and highly responsive, which makes them the ideal channels to effective and efficiently reach out to customers. Discover how 



Discover how NextGen voicemail can deliver voice messages, including transcript, via mail or API to to shared mailboxes, MS Teams channels, or other applications. These can be CRM or ticketing systems, or tools like <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/interact/overview">#Interact</a> that focus on omnichannel interactions, and that are able to queue, route and report on voicemails and other interactions.



 can unlock these messaging channels to all customer facing employees while keeping costs under control..



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Challenge 4: Many companies have failed in implementing web chat solutions</h2>



While online chat is one of the simplest solutions, to start interacting via a text channel, many companies have failed, to sufficiently automate these conversations, and have them properly followed up by an employee, given that they usually take place, over weekends and in the evenings.



This problem can easily be solved, by continuing web conversation via SMS, or replacing web chat with WhatsApp or SMS in the first place. Discover how <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/interact/overview">#Interact</a> unlocks web chat deflection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Challenge 5: Professional use of personal messaging channels by employees</h2>



Many employees use their personal mobile number to communicate with customers, via text message or WhatsApp, to overcome the challenges mentioned earlier. This not only poses commercial risks, but may also violate privacy, security, and other regulations.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="720" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-1.png" alt="Professional use of personal messaging channels" class="wp-image-5421" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-1.png 720w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-1-300x300.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-1-150x150.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" /></figure>







With <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/interact/overview">#Interact</a>, any customer facing employee can use the company&#8217;s messaging channels. With it&#8217;s distributed and multilayered setup, every branch, or local point of sale can receive voice messages, or communicate via SMS or WhatsApp on a standard Belgian mobile number. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Easily solve the challenges of phone calls and text messages with #Interact and NextGen voice from Proximus </h2>
</blockquote>

Calls and emails fall short in interacting with customers

Companies want to <a href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/200332/right-to-disconnect-boss-may-no-longer-call-employees-after-hours" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protect their employees</a> from burnout situations, but they also want to serve their customers in the best possible way. Find out how the Proximus NextGen voicemail can help you achieve this, while even strengthening your commercial and employer brand!



Proximus NextGen Voicemail is a highly visible way of showing that you care about both your customers and employees:







<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>take care of your callers while your employees can&#8217;t: implement a company standard voicemail message, which can include references to 24/7 customer service and escalation numbers, up to full-blown voice bots.</li>



<li>supporting an advanced out-of-office feature, using a predefined message with the option to assign a backup and forward professional messages, or use custom, temporary greetings</li>



<li>combine professional and personal voicemail greetings, based on time-of-day or even the caller&#8217;s number (family &amp; friends), while keeping this personal data outside the employer&#8217;s systems.</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="314" src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/5benefits.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-5243"/></figure>



From a commercial and employer branding perspective, NextGen voicemail allows to integrate company brand elements (custom jingles/taglines), as well as temporary messages to announce corporate events or career opportunities, and even the possibility to send an SMS with a link to more information.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="314" src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/profgreeting.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-5249"/></figure>



For the user, the NextGen Voicemail makes sure to never miss a voicemail again, combining SMS and email notifications. On top of that, we provide more user convenience, with message transcription, and graphical user interfaces for consulting and managing your voicemail



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="314" src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/emailnotifications-1.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-5254"/></figure>



Click here for <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/updates/nextgen-voicemail-takes-care-of-your-callers-when-you-cant">more information on the NextGen voicemail</a>, or <script>var part1 = "flexio-voicemail";var part2 = Math.pow(2,6);var part3 = String.fromCharCode(part2);var part4 = "proximus.com";var part5 = part1 + String.fromCharCode(part2) + part4;document.write("<a href=" + "mai" + "lto" + ":" + part5 + ">contact us via email!</a>");</script>

Let your employees disconnect while serving your customers

Offer a better user experience, true convergence, email integration, and additional business value with <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/nextgen-voicemail/overview">NextGen Voicemail</a>.



Did you know that on average, 20 to 60% of incoming calls are unanswered?When your customers know the direct numbers (fix or mobile) of your employees, their voicemail becomes part of their customer journey. 



While every call represents a chance to capture a commercial opportunity or unsolved problem, standard voicemail systems are considered a burden for the users, an annoyance for callers, and a blind spot in your customer interactions.






<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/240516-NextGen-voicemail-value.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-5570" style="object-fit:cover"/></figure></div>


For the user, it provides voicemail to email functionality, and offers additional smart features on top of a predefined, professional greeting: give your callers to option to flag a message as urgent, inform them of your absence and provide the option to transfer your messages to a backup while being out-of-office.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="314" src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/profgreeting.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-5249"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Take care of your callers with a customized greeting message</figcaption></figure>



Combining SMS and email notifications, you will never miss a voicemail again!



On top of that, the urgency notification and voicemail transcript offer additional convenience. Users can even store contacts, and specify the preferred greeting and greeting language, and providing the caller&#8217;s name in the email &amp; SMS notifications.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="314" src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/emailnotifications-1.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-5254"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Receive SMS and email notifications for each voicemail</figcaption></figure>



The <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/nextgen-voicemail/overview">NextGen Voicemail</a> can be tweaked and customized per account, with specific standard messages, jingles or temporary announcements on the fix &amp; mobile voicemail of all your employees, supporting your commercial and employer brand.



The NextGen Voicemail is compatible with most PABX systems, such as MS Teams, Proximus Forum, Call Connect and other solutions, and offers a visual interface supporting configuration by individual users, with advanced greeting options.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="559" src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FlexIO-Configuration-1024x559.png" alt="FlexIO Voicemail Configuration" class="wp-image-5216" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FlexIO-Configuration-1024x559.png 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FlexIO-Configuration-300x164.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FlexIO-Configuration-768x419.png 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FlexIO-Configuration-1536x838.png 1536w, /wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FlexIO-Configuration-1200x655.png 1200w, /wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FlexIO-Configuration.png 1573w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Manage your voicemail via a speech menu with a visual overview </figcaption></figure>



Proximus NextGen Voicemail is a business oriented converged voicemail service, that is customized on account level (minimum 10 users). It supports one mobile and one fixed number per user, for a fixed user fee, including email &amp; SMS notifications, recording and voicemail transcript.



Proximus NextGen Voicemail works best with <a href="https://www.proximus.be/en/id_catl_telephony/companies-and-public-sector/telephony.html#/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proximus fix and mobile subscriptions</a>, but up to 10% non-Proximus users are accepted within a corporate account. Interested? <script>var part1 = "nextgen-voicemail";var part2 = Math.pow(2,6);var part3 = String.fromCharCode(part2);var part4 = "proximus.com";var part5 = part1 + String.fromCharCode(part2) + part4;document.write("<a href=" + "mai" + "lto" + ":" + part5 + ">contact us via email!</a>");</script>

NextGen Voicemail takes care of your callers when you can’t

At the end of February 2021, we will complete the migration of user authentication on the Proximus API Solutions platform to &#8220;MyProximus&#8221; logins and sunset the older “enco” logins. This may have implications for you so please read the following carefully and thoroughly.






<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li></li><li></li><li></li><li></li><li></li></ul></div>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Case 1 : you use a MyProximus account to log into proximusapi.enco.io today</h2>



Then all is fine and easy: nothing to do, just keep on enjoying our API catalog!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Case 2 : you do not have a MyProximus account yet</h2>



The easiest way to proceed is for you to create a new MyProximus account using the same email address as you have been using for your older “enco” login. By creating a MyProximus account with the same email, the next time you login on API Solutions,&nbsp;&nbsp;using your newly created MyProximus identity, we will recognize the email address as the same and link all your subscriptions and keys. New MyProximus accounts can be created from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.proximus.be/en/id_ENCOregister/customs/spalnsw/apps/register-guest-customer.html?elqTrackId=2239B75926F02322B62F2716029E839D&amp;elqTrack=true" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>. Mind that it doesn’t matter if you are not a Proximus residential or professional customer as MyProximus guest accounts are open to everyone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Case 3 : you have a MyProximus account where your userid has the same email as your enco userid</h2>



In this case there is nothing you need to do. The next time you log into API Solutions, select to login using MyProximus. We will recognize the email address as the same and link all your subscriptions and keys.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Case 4 : you have a MyProximus account where your userid has a different email than your enco userid</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Option 1: you can create a new, separate, MyProximus “guest” account using the same email address as your enco userid. In this case, just follow the instructions as for case 2.</li><li>Option 2: you are not able or do not want to create a new guest account and prefer to use your current MyProximus account. This operation will require manual intervention on our side; therefore we will not support this approach for users who are only registered to Free and Trial plans. Users registered to Premium, Paid or Special Plans please reach out as soon as possible to <a target="_blank" href="mailto:support@enco.io" rel="noreferrer noopener">support@enco.io</a>. Please include in your mail: your enco email login, your MyProximus email and the reason to request manual migration support from us.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Case 5 : you are a Proximus MyAnalytics registered user and have no API asset subscription on Proximus API Solutions</h2>



MyProximus is leveraging the &#8220;enco&#8221; login has a mean of user authentication. Even if you do not have any API asset subscription on the API Solutions platform and only use your &#8220;enco&#8221; credentials to access MyAnalytics, the transition to MyProximus authentication is identical. You can safely follow the procedures described in case 1 to 4 according to your own situation.

Sunset of the “Enco” login

We have the pleasure to announce that the Real Time Crowd Management (RTCM) API is now out of beta and has become a full commercial offering.
<h3>Contents</h3>
<ol>
<li><a style="color: #4d439e;" href="#_Toc5626713">What is Real Time Crowd Management API (RTCM API)</a></li>
<li><a style="color: #4d439e;" href="#_Toc5626714">Making sense of the RTCM data</a>
<ol>
<li><a style="color: #00bcee;" href="#_Toc5626715">Turning zones into bins</a></li>
<li><a style="color: #00bcee;" href="#_Toc5626716">Mapping bins to the cellular network</a></li>
<li><a style="color: #00bcee;" href="#_Toc5626718">Bin overlapping cells</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#_Toc5626719">RTCM data streams</a>
<ol>
<li><a style="color: #00bcee;" href="#_Toc5626720">HTTP destination</a></li>
<li><a style="color: #00bcee;" href="#_Toc5626721">EnCo CloudEngine destination</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#_Toc5626722">How to get started?</a></li>
</ol>
<h3><a name="_Toc5626713"></a>What is Real Time Crowd Management API (RTCM API)</h3>
The RTCM API allows users to access Proximus’ mobile network data and retrieve the number of national and international mobiles detected in a user-defined zone in real-time (or near real-time). Each mobile connected to our network generates data, based on its communication activities (calls, SMS &amp; data). Before being exposed through the API, all this activity data is further aggregated and fully anonymized to prevent individual people tracking (f.i.: no data is returned if less than 30 mobile endpoints are detected in a cell). Mind that as we know our mobile market share, any data we measure is extrapolated to the total possible population. So what you get are not just detected Proximus mobile phones.
RTCM doesn’t require you to deploy any onsite infrastructure, because it relies on the nationwide mobile network coverage of Proximus. Unlike audience measurement solutions that rely on WiFi or Bluetooth sniffing, smart cameras or radar technologies. This doesn’t mean these other technologies are not valid. They may be of greater value when finer-grained audience data is needed. Just think about measuring the audience within a room of a specific building. Reading this article further should help you understand when RTCM can be applicable to your use cases.
Equally important to understand is that being API-based, RTCM is not a complete end-to-end solution including data storage and pre-canned reports. Users in search for such a solution can look at <a href="https://www.proximusanalytics.be/website/en/solution/crowd-management">Proximus Crowd Management</a> on the <a href="https://www.proximusanalytics.be/website/en">Proximus My Analytics portal</a>.
The API allows developers to:
<ol>
<li>Define a geographic zone (using the API or the RTCM microsite on <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io">proximusapi.enco.io</a>)</li>
<li>Establish schedules for generating the data stream on the zone (stream duration and data interval frequency)</li>
<li>Determine the target for these data streams (typically an HTTP endpoint)</li>
</ol>
<h3><a name="_Toc5626714"></a>Making sense of the RTCM data</h3>
<h4><a name="_Toc5626715"></a>Turning zones into bins</h4>
To use RTCM, you start by creating zones that will be divided into “bins”, as described in the <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/rtcm/documentation">RTCM API documentation.</a> The mobile device count that you receive in your RTCM data streams is related to each of these bins. The size of individual bins can range from 100m x 100m to 7,5km x 7,5km, depending on the total area of the defined zone.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4327" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image1-2.png" alt="" width="800" height="320" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image1-2.png 800w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image1-2-300x120.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image1-2-768x307.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" />
It is important to understand that bins in a zone will be related to some cells of the mobile network. This has a direct influence on the precision of the data you are expecting to receive.
Let’s dig in!
<h4><a name="_Toc5626716"></a>Mapping bins to the cellular network</h4>
Let us take an example where you would need to count the number of people in the “Cinquantenaire Park&#8221; in Brussels, as shown in the picture below:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-4325 aligncenter" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image2-2-1.png" alt="" width="400" height="320" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image2-2-1.png 400w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image2-2-1-300x240.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 85vw, 400px" />
We can see that the bins of the defined zone are matching quite well with 2 of the network cells. Therefore the reported data will be quite accurate.
Now let’s assume you want to measure audience at a golfing event. You create a zone made of 5 bins, as shown in the picture below. In the RTCM microsite, you can see the border of the network cell (“Show shapefile” option on the RTCM map) which covers these bins. The mobile data we are using is not based on GPS info from the mobile devices. This means we know how many mobiles are detected in a network cell, but not how they are spread within. Therefore, each bin within that cell will return an average value proportional to the cell size. For example, if my cell can hold 300 bins, then each of the bins will report 1/300th of the total cell count.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-4329 aligncenter" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image3-1.png" alt="" width="400" height="320" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image3-1.png 400w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image3-1-300x240.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 85vw, 400px" />
Back to our golfing event. RTCM will not allow you to know the number of people on the golf green in these bins: the selected bins are a too small area compared to the hosting network cell.
As we can understand from this example, RTCM will return more adequate counts when the selected zone is close to the size of the cells in that area or covering multiple cells.
<h4><a name="_Toc5626718"></a>Bin overlapping cells</h4>
As in any data project, it is key to understand the source data you will be using. As we understand from this article, the reported mobile count by bin in an RTCM data stream will depend on the relation between the bins and the hosting mobile cells. The following principles should therefore always be taken into account when working with RTCM:
<ol>
<li>A bin in a macro cell will report data that is in proportion of the bin’s size compared to the macro cell&#8217;s size</li>
<li>A bin overlapping 2 macro cells will follow the same principle as #1 above. Except this applies to the 2 macro cells (ie. will report proportional mobile counts from both macro cells).</li>
</ol>
<h3><a name="_Toc5626719"></a>RTCM data streams</h3>
Once you defined your zone, you can start planning your first data stream. A stream can be programmed to start immediately after creation or at a scheduled moment in the future. Streams are always bound in time. Actually, they can only be defined for periods between 1 hour minimum and 12 hours maximum, with new data being pushed every 1 or 5 minutes.
You will be presented with 2 options for streaming your data:
<ol>
<li>HTTP endpoint destination (your web service)</li>
<li><a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/cloe/overview">Proximus CloudEngine</a> : our integration event hub</li>
</ol>
<h4><a name="_Toc5626720"></a>HTTP destination</h4>
The first possible destination for your stream is your own HTTP endpoint (web service), which must support both HTTP POST and HTTP OPTION methods. As soon as your data stream kicks in, your endpoint will start receiving a json structure as below at each interval:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4346" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Code.png" alt="" width="900" height="280" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Code.png 900w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Code-300x93.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Code-768x239.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" />
<h4><a name="_Toc5626721"></a>EnCo CloudEngine destination</h4>
The second way to deal with your stream is to send it to the EnCo CloudEngine, which allows you to do things such as:
<ul>
<li>Duplicating the incoming RTCM data stream towards multiple destinations at one</li>
<li>Summing up the count of national/international mobiles, and only send these sums at every interval</li>
<li>Send the stream data to a MQTT broker, to Microsoft Azure IoT Hub, and other type of destinations and protocols.</li>
</ul>
To leverage CloudEngine you only need to specify a unique tag identifier in your stream definition. Then use the same tag(s) in the RTCM inbound endpoint in CloudEngine:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4352" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image4-1.png" alt="" width="900" height="260" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image4-1.png 900w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image4-1-300x87.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Image4-1-768x222.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" />
<h3><a name="_Toc5626722"></a>How to get started</h3>
First of all, create an account on <a href="http://enco.io/">enco.io</a>. Anyone can create an account on the platform, regardless if you are a Proximus customer or partner already. Once done, simply register to the RTCM Free Plan in our <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/rtcm/price">marketplace</a>. The free plan allows you to trigger up to 3 data streams on a predefined zone defined around the Proximus Towers in Brussels. To create your own zones and have full flexibility on data stream definitions, you need to subscribe to the RTCM Premium plan which will be billed on a per usage basis.
On our GitHub, you will find a <a href="https://github.com/Enabling/RTCM">sample Java application</a> ingesting data from RTCM and displaying it live on a Google Map. You can also find a <a href="https://github.com/Enabling/CloudengineScripts">sample CloudEngine script</a> which ingests an RTCM data stream. It sums up the national and international mobile counts of all bins, and then sends this results over HTTP in a new json structure.
Don&#8217;t hesitate to contact our team of experts on <a href="mailto:enco@proximus.com">enco@proximus.com</a> if you need more information or some help on using the API.

Real Time Crowd Management API goes out of beta

A lot of new features have been brought to the EnCo CloudEngine since the beginning of 2019. We thought it might be a good moment to pause for a second and quickly summarize all what we have added as well as give you a sneak peek at what’s coming next.
<h3>HTTP module : explicit support of OAUTH2 and internal EnCo API calls</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4254" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/3.png" alt="" width="108" height="72" />Next to basic authentication and Authorization header, the HTTP module now explicitly supports OAUTH2. It is now also possible to make API calls, using the HTTP CloE module, to any EnCo API. You can use your permanent bearer tokens in Authorization headers as well as <a href="https://docs.enco.io/docs/authentication-1">OAUTH2</a>.
Why might you find this useful?
<ul>
<li>Push your <a style="color: #808080;" href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/cloe/documentation#usinggoogleapifromencoscript">IoT data to Google Sheets</a>, like <a style="color: #808080;" href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/updates/proximus-enco-helps-goodplanet-to-measure-the-impact-of-their-activities">GoodPlanet</a> does</li>
<li>Use MyThings API in a script to send a downlink message to a LoRaWAN device</li>
<li>Create a simple monitoring script to check for CloE script execution errors and warn you by email or SMS</li>
<li>Use our Address AutoComplete or Address Scoring API from within your scripts</li>
</ul>
<h3>Loopback inbound &amp; outbound modules: calling a CloE script from within a script</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4258 alignleft" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1-2.png" alt="" width="108" height="72" />We make it now possible to call a CloE script from within another script using 2 new inbound and outbound modules. The Loopback outbound module is used to call another CloE script. This module is qualified with user-defined tags and can pass data to the script being called. The Loopback inbound module is the trigger for called scripts. Scripts are triggered based on the associated user-defined tags.
Why might you find this useful?
<ul>
<li>You may have a script performing payload decoding, integration to external platforms or specific data conversion used as a “meta function” by your other scripts</li>
</ul>
<h3>CRON inbound module: triggering scripts based on predefined schedules</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4255" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4.png" alt="" width="108" height="72" />Using the new CRON inbound module, CloE scripts can be triggered based on predefined schedule(s). The schedule definition is done in the CloE Settings page, using common CRON notation. The CRON inbound endpoint on CloE is then configured with tags corresponding to the name of your defined schedule(s). For instance, a schedule such as “*/5 8-18 * * 1-5” could trigger a script at every 5th minute past every hour from 8 through 18 on every day-of-week from Monday through Friday.
Why might you find this useful?
<ul>
<li>Checking log status at predefined moment</li>
<li><a style="color: #808080;" href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/tutorials/bridging-iot-and-legacy-systems-with-cloudengine-2-scheduled-scripts">Send accumulated IoT sensor data as a CSV file to an external system</a></li>
<li>Trigger a script to poll data via a HTTP GET to an external system – until now CloE scripts could only be triggered based on incoming events</li>
</ul>
<h3>IoT Store module : storing data in csv structures</h3>
A <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4259" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2-1.png" alt="" width="108" height="72" />module that allows you to persist and retrieve multiple value lines from within your scripts (only string values are supported). Multiple values can be stored with the same key and retrieved as a single concatenated string. This allows for example to store CSV lines when data is received and to retrieve them concatenated with line separators as a CSV file.
Why might you find this useful?
<ul>
<li>Accumulate IoT sensor data in <a style="color: #808080;" href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/blogs/tutorials/bridging-iot-and-legacy-systems-with-cloudengine-2-scheduled-scripts">CSV files</a></li>
<li>Manage multiple data and data keys cross scripts</li>
</ul>
<h3>sFTP outbound module</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4256" style="margin-top: 0.857143rem; margin-right: 1.71429rem; margin-bottom: 0.857143rem;" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/5.png" alt="" width="108" height="72" />
A simple new transport module allowing you to push files – which you can generate with the IoT Store module for instance &#8211; onto an SFTP server.
Why might you find this useful?
Integrate IoT data into legacy systems not supporting modern transport protocols such as HTTP or MQTT.
Are you not using CloudEngine yet, but are you interested? Register on <a href="http://www.enco.io">proximusapi.enco.io</a>, read our documentation and get started!
________________________________
<h3>What’s coming next?</h3>
Over the next sprints we intend to bring you the following new capabilities.
<ul>
<li>Script Collections : instead of a flat list of scripts in the CloE overview, we will allow you to group scripts into Collections (think of it as “folders”)</li>
<li>RTCM Inbound module : receive data from <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/rtcm/overview">Real Time Crowd Management</a> straight into CloE, and leverage its outgoing modules to stream your audience data to even more platforms.</li>
<li>Microsoft Azure IoT Hub : make it easier to integrate your IoT sensor data flows and device management with the Microsoft’s leading solution.</li>
</ul>
We have other things considered for our menu but we’ll tell you later about these… Let’s keep a bit of surprise for later. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to share your new feature desires or requirements with us, by dropping a note to <a href="mailto:enco@proximus.com">enco@proximus.com</a>

Discover the latest CloudEngine features

SAP has an IoT platform within its rich portfolio that offers strong data analysis &amp; reporting (e.g. with the leonardo solutions). The platform manages devices from multiple origins and consolidates sensor &amp; meta data.
Proximus offers the <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/mythings/documentation">My Things API</a> as part of the LoRa network. MyThings allows you to administrate the LoRa sensors (f.e. with decoding profiles and auto activation of sensors) and basic data sending. Proximus EnCo makes LoRa data integration possible in your own applications via easy scripting.
Therefore <a href="https://proximusapi.enco.io/asset/cloe/overview">Proximus CloudEngine</a> is extended with different modules and a pattern that allows you to integrate on both platforms. Of course, without loosing the flexibility and still matching the security requirements of both systems. To support this, we have added 2 modules to CloudEngine that allows you to script your engine based on the input of data coming from MyThings.

<h3>1. The SAP Iot Device Management Module </h3>
The SAP IoT Device Management Module gives you the possibility to create and/or update SAP Devices, Sensors, SensorTypes, Capabilities and Properties in your SAP IOT environment. This is based on events from the &#8220;MyThings -Thing&#8221; input connector in the CloudEngine. The module will check if the provided capabilities exist. If one of them does not, it will be created. This module will update the existing capability when it lacks a provided property by one. The same mechanism will be used to make sure the provided sensor type and device exists and is up-to-date.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4109" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1-1.png" alt="" width="723" height="362" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1-1.png 901w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1-1-300x150.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1-1-768x384.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" />
<h3></h3>
<h3>2. The SAP data module</h3>
This module allows you to send data to the SAP IoT platform. It will use MQTT as an underlying transport. Therefore, you need to make sure you activate an MQTT gateway on the SAP IoT platform, when you send data to devices on SAP. &#8220;MyThings Data&#8221; is in this case eligible as the input for the CloudEngine.
It&#8217;s possible to expand this solution with multiple SAP capabilities/properties per device. What&#8217;s the maximum value reached for this sensor for instance? A concrete implemented case is the Proximus cable yard. To be efficient, it&#8217;s important to have a good view on the distributed stocks. Therefore Proximus installed IoT LoRa sensors on its reels. The Omniplex sensors are measuring GPS, temperature and movement. This information is sent to the SAP IoT platform via MyThings &amp; Proximus Enco. As a result, we can use their advanced reporting to see for example which reel is present where.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4121" src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/5.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/5.png 900w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/01/5-300x167.png 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/01/5-768x427.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" />
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LoRa data integration made possible in your own applications via easy scripting

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