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Strava Beacon: Enhancing Athlete Safety with SMS Integration
Technology Category
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Device Management Platforms
- Sensors - GPS
Applicable Industries
- Electronics
- Telecommunications
Use Cases
- Onsite Human Safety Management
- Time Sensitive Networking
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Strava, a leading app for recreational and professional athletes, introduced a feature called Beacon that allows athletes to send a text message to up to three safety contacts, providing a live GPS-tracked map of their run or ride. While this feature was easy to use for athletes who carried their phones, it posed a challenge for those who used wearable devices like Garmin watches or bike computers linked to Strava. These devices were not designed to send text messages, yet they constituted over 40% of Strava's user base. Additionally, Strava needed to ensure that Beacon worked globally, as their community of athletes is spread across the world. The challenge was to find a way to send SMS from wearable devices and ensure that the SMS could be sent to and from anywhere in the world.
About The Customer
Strava is a leading app for recreational and professional cyclists and runners, allowing them to track their progress and connect with a global community of athletes. The app is built around the idea of good-natured competition and is used by tens of millions of athletes worldwide. Strava not only helps athletes track their progress, but also ensures their safety during their activities. A significant segment of Strava's users are athletes who use wearable devices like watches or ride computers linked to the app.
The Solution
Strava collaborated with Infobip to integrate their omnichannel communications API into the app. This allowed athletes to set their three contacts and simply press start on their fitness device, with the app and Infobip’s API taking care of the rest. The solution ensured that the SMS could be sent to and from anywhere in the world, and that it came from the same phone number every time, making it recognizable to family members. This was achieved using intelligent number pooling built into the Infobip omni channel communications API. The solution consolidated all requirements into one company, simplifying development time and resources.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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