In Conversation with Alexandros Mygdalias, Senior Carrier Partnerships, iBASIS Business Messaging

If you’ve ever wondered what it really takes to make business messaging work on a global scale, Alexandros Mygdalias has some answers, and they might surprise you. With years of experience connecting telecommunications companies and mobile operators around the world, Alexandros has a knack for turning complex networks into seamless opportunities.

In this conversation, Alexandros pulls back the curtain on the messaging industry, challenging some common misconceptions along the way. Brands and marketers often assume mobile operators think like social platforms, chasing engagement. In reality, Alexandros explains, operators prioritize trust, compliance, and predictable outcomes, less flashy, but far more sustainable.

He also shares his vision for the next era of messaging. Forget simple notifications or OTPs, he sees a world where AI-driven systems handle verification, authorization, and even transactions, all within the conversation itself. “Messaging is no longer just a channel”, Alexandros says. “It’s the Digital Front Door to your business. And if that door isn’t secure and frictionless, the customer experience suffers”. 

From RCS adoption to AI agents negotiating on behalf of customers, and from strategic supplier relationships to why face-to-face meetings still matter in a digital-first world, Alexandros blends sharp industry insight with practical, real-world wisdom. His message is clear: trust, empathy, and smart execution will define who wins in the next generation of messaging.

Let’s dive into Alexandros’s vision.

You’ve built partnerships across the global telecom value chain. What’s the biggest misconception brands and marketers have about how mobile operators actually think, and how can businesses better align their messaging strategies with carrier realities?

Brands and  marketers assume Mobile Operators think exactly like media platforms, chasing engagement. The truth is that they don’t. Operators are mostly customer centric, prioritising network excellence, regulatory compliance and predictable revenues. In the Messaging sector that works completely as a Bulk  service provider. 

Contrary, enterprises are more marketing oriented. To align, mobile operators need to sell outcomes not volumes. MNOs should preserve subscriber trust, reduce fraud and create stable, and enrich monetizable services for the brands.

Messaging is evolving fast, from SMS to RCS to API monetization and now AI-driven conversations. From your perspective, what will define the “next era” of business messaging over the next 2-3 years?

The next era will be defined by where identity, automation, and network intelligence meet.

Messaging will move beyond notifications and OTPs into verified, frictionless interactions powered by APIs.  Instead of asking users to insert pass codes or click links, systems will increasingly rely on silent verification, SIM-based authentication, and real-time risk checks through network APIs.

At the same time, AI-driven automation will transform conversations from reactive support into proactive engagement, where messages don’t just inform, but execute actions securely on behalf of the user.

The real shift is that messaging will evolve from a communication tool into a trusted transaction layer, where identity, consent, and execution happen seamlessly within the conversation.

RCS has long been positioned as the future of rich mobile communication. What still needs to happen, for brands, operators, and platforms, to unlock its full potential at scale?

There are 3 main things that will bring RCS to its full potential at scale: 

1. Mobile operators coordination on at least national level, this will provide unified agent rollouts.
2. Business cases with monetisation outcomes while ensuring clear consumer value proposition and channel awareness 
3. Commercials to be charging per session or per outcome rather than per message. 

As a channel it's not here to compete but to go beyond the traditional capabilities.

Many marketing leaders see messaging channels as tactical tools. How should they start thinking more strategically about conversational infrastructure as a core business asset?

Marketing leaders need to realize that messaging isn't a "channel" anymore, but it’s being transformed into a Digital Front Door.

The difference now is that we don't "run a campaign" on our front door, but we make sure the door is open, secure, and leads to the right place. Businesses must stop asking "What’s the ROI of this SMS?" and start asking "What is the cost of my customer having to leave my chat to call a customer care  number?" Infrastructure is about friction removal, not just promotion.

As AI agents and conversational AI become more autonomous, what role do mobile operators and telecom partnerships play in ensuring secure, ethical, and trusted communication?

Operators in the near future will be acting as trust anchors of the AI economy.

While all AI agents will communicate constantly performing booking, authenticating, negotiating for their customers/subscribers. Someone must answer: 

• Is this agent real? 
• Is consent valid? 
• Is identity verified? 
• Is communication secure? 

Since only operators control SIM identities, maintain network presence, and hold verified subscriber data, they are the ones responsible for ensuring trust in digital identities. In an age of deepfakes, the mobile operator remains the last sovereign verifier.

From your experience scaling supplier relationships by over 40%, what frameworks or mental models do you use to assess whether a partnership is worth deepening, or reconsidering?

I envision supplier relationships through the lens of Strategic Alignment rather than procurement. 

To scale effectively, you must invest in a clear, honest 'Integration Manifesto' that explains the product's purpose. But that’s only half the battle. The other half is ensuring the partner shares the same vision for long-term strategy. 

I don’t manage suppliers, I manage a Portfolio of Capabilities. If a partner isn’t hungry to find the 'next' value, whether that's RCS or Network APIs, they become a drag on our agility. In my experience, the friction of a passionless partnership costs more in time-to-market than the effort of replacing them with a true innovator.

There’s often tension between speed-to-market and regulatory compliance in messaging innovation. How do you balance rapid deployment of new technologies like RCS automation with long-term sustainability?

The idea that speed and compliance are in tension is changing. That’s a legacy mindset from the starting stage of Messaging. In the world of RCS and AI-driven automation, compliance shouldn't be an obstacle, it should be a competitive advantage.

By automating KYC and content filtering directly into the workflow, we don't just move fast, we make it impossible for the brand to accidentally violate a policy, which protects the long-term sustainability of the channel.

You’ve participated in many industry events and on-site engagements. In an increasingly digital world, why do face-to-face interactions still matter in telecom and messaging partnerships?

Initially I was asking the same myself. But then I realised that if a route goes down or a bypass fraud hits at 3 AM on a Sunday, you don't call a "platform" you call a person. You can’t debug a broken trust over a video call. Meeting in person creates the "Bandwidth of Trust" so that when the digital systems fail, the human partnership holds. A handshake accelerates accountability, it compresses months of risk assessment into a single conversation.

Looking ahead, how do you see agentic platforms, where AI agents proactively manage conversations, changing the relationship between brands, telecom operators, and end customers?

We are moving from B2C to Agent to Agent. Soon, a brand’s AI will talk to a customer’s Personal AI. The "customer relationship" won't be a human reading a screen, it will be two agents negotiating a refund or a booking. The carrier’s role shifts to being the Secure Interconnect, the encrypted tunnel where these agents meet. The brand that wins is the one whose AI is the most polite and integrated into the network layer.

Rapid Replies:

SMS, RCS, or WhatsApp for the next 5 years?

SMS, universality wins, but it will be soon a hybrid world.

One word that defines the future of business messaging?

Trust

Most underrated skill in telecom partnerships? 

Commercial empathy, understanding the other side’s constraints.

AI agents in messaging: game-changer or overhyped?

Game changer,  timing may lag, but impact is real.

A leadership habit you swear by?

Listen to weak signals before they become obvious trends.

If messaging ecosystems were a sport?

Formula 1, tech matters, but strategy and execution win races.

(Thank you, Alexandros, for sharing your perspective on what it takes to drive growth and innovation in the global messaging ecosystem. Your emphasis on strategic alignment and operator-led trust offers a roadmap for businesses ready to thrive in a world where messaging is both human and highly intelligent. We appreciate your honesty and your dedication to making messaging smarter and more human.)

iBASIS Business Messaging at a Glance:

iBASIS Business Messaging is the global messaging division of iBASIS, focused on delivering secure, scalable, and high-performance SMS and RCS solutions to medium and large enterprises around the world. With direct connections to over 100 mobile operators and deep expertise in telecom messaging, iBASIS helps brands in finance, retail, travel, healthcare, and beyond engage customers through trusted, compliant, and mission-critical communications.

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