It is easy to setup workflows in FrontlineSMS to manage many messages including SMS using a series of Activities to automate and manage your communications.  Communications such as SMS messages or API Requests enter FrontlineSMS and trigger your Activities.  

Those Triggers can then have Conditions, such as 'Does the SMS start with SUBSCRIBE?', tested before certain Actions, such as 'Send an SMS to JOHN with the text HELLO JOHN YOU ARE SUBSCRIBED', are executed.  Using these basic building blocks, complex and powerful flows are possible.

SMSs are delivered either through any Android phone or a web-based aggregator.  Getting set up with FrontlineSMS is easy; connect to your mobile network of choice, import your contacts and configure your Activities!

Using a FrontlineSync-enabled Android it's possible to get going in under 5 minutes!

 

Managing your messages through FrontlineSMS allows you to scale your project, reach more people and reduce cost:

  • Automating responses to pre-configured inbound text allows for immediate reaction, perfect to increase engagement and react in urgent situations

  • Delay sending messages so that timely reminders can be sent saving organisations and clients alike time and money.

  • Conversations can be started automatically at certain times of the day convenient to your target audience so that you do not have to be present in every time zone

  • Gather information from users through SMS alongside other media such as radio and events; set up the workflow first and leave it running in parallel

Messages in FrontlineSMS are 2-way allowing people involved with your project to interact, respond and provide input into the workflows

Messages in FrontlineSMS are 2-way allowing people involved with your project to interact, respond and provide input into the workflows

One of FrontlineSMS's key features are our Activities, which allow you to automate actions that are done in response to 'Activity Events' such as inbound SMS or Missed Calls, API requests, the push of a button or a specified time schedule.

Once configured and saved, FrontlineSMS Activities automatically run, responding to your Events and generating reports that are available when you next log in. Our Activity engine can be used to automate entire workflows within FrontlineSMS, and can push SMS, Missed Calls and Activity data to external systems through our easy-to-use API.

(left to right) The DIY Activities; The Inbox; FrontlineSync on an Android phone; supported Integration

 
Consider a centralized system that tracks and manages the states of many members of a team or community and can make automated decisions based on variables types such as numbers (Is the Total Number of Cases > 10?) and booleans (Has there been an…

Consider a centralized system that tracks and manages the states of many members of a team or community and can make automated decisions based on variables types such as numbers (Is the Total Number of Cases > 10?) and booleans (Has there been another SMS received from this person before?), and also push out information over SMS to the human project decision makers. In this example we see how a team practice might be organised using Frontline and SMS and some training configurations.

 

Custom Activities can automate exactly what your project needs, and are hosted in your workspace and operate in the same way as our core Activities.

  • 24/7 availability; always live, always ready. Your workflow runs even when you're away

  • Mobile ready; check in on your Frontline processes even on the move

  • Easy to cloud host; accessible from anywhere in the world

  • Native support for multiple SMS aggregators including Twilio

  • Connect to virtually any other aggregator via our Custom Connection functionality

  • Automate Missed Calls; with our FrontlineSync Android app, you can track and automatically respond to both SMS and Missed Calls

  • Native integration with third party services including Salesforce, Zapier and NationBuilder

  • Manage your projects outside of the country of operation, including your Android's FrontlineSync settings

  • Thorough support documentation to walk you through every aspect

  • Ongoing continuous translation into multiple languages

  • Export anything and everything; analyse in Excel, write your reports your way

  • Highly customisable Contact management; create your own contact fields using any of multiple native types, and filter dynamically using Smart Groups

  • CSV and VCF contact import; pull in your contact data straight from Excel, GMail, Apple Contacts or Outlook

  • Your data is secure, and is not shared in any way with third parties

  • Cross-browser compatible; tested in Chrome, Firefox and Safari