Switching to a different SMS provider: how does it go?

Replacing an SMS integration is usually simpler than feared, apart from three points.

Your sender name

It is not automatically transferable. In countries with registration you have to register it again, and that takes time. Start with that before anything else.

Your virtual number or shortcode

Porting is sometimes possible, not always, and requires coordination between both parties. If you want to keep the number, check that explicitly before you sign.

Your block list

This is the point most often forgotten. Everybody who ever opted out sits in the old system. If you do not carry that list over, you send again to people who explicitly did not want it — with complaints as a result.

The approach

Run both for a while: send part of your traffic through the new provider and compare the delivery reports. Switching on the basis of a demo is a gamble; switching on your own figures is not.