In our fast paced digital world – it’s easy to take things like text appointment reminders for granted.
From keeping you on time for a doctor’s appointment to giving you easy access to house viewing details – when you really stop and think about it, these reminders have now become embedded in our every day lives.
It’s also a small insight into how communication in our personal and professional circles is constantly changing as the internet and modern technology continues to evolve.
For Bradley Kieser, CEO of SMS Speedway, based in Carlisle, this change isn’t something to fear. Instead, it’s a path of endless opportunities for innovation in business communication.
Originally from South Africa, Bradley moved to the UK and set up SMS Speedway as a consultancy business in 1994 as a side to his work building IT systems for investment banks in London.
It has since grown to operate in 142 countries, employ people across then globe and provide renowned messaging, marketing, automation and ID software – some of which now also incorporate AI.
Bradley’s interest in the internet and technology started at a very young age and saw him land his first job writing software at just 11 years old after he taught himself programming.
Starting out in a world where people were convinced email would never catch on – Bradley had to do some waiting for technology to catch up with the ideas and visions he had for his business.
He says: “SMS Speedway started as a technology playground when the internet was very young. People were asking things like what is a website and why do I need that.
“I remember a debate with someone in one of the investment banks where I said email is the way to go and he took a Post It note, stuck it on my screen and said that is how we communicate and that we have internal post.
“Even when I mentioned operational efficiency, he said it’s never going to take off, it’s just a fad. So I set out to start something around websites and web technology, proving that technology was useful to business.”
It was in 1996 – before the first iPhone was launched – that Bradley had the idea to offer a commercial service for text messaging.
He says: “I saw mobile phones had additional capacity to send text messages like appointment reminders and I thought that’s got legs, that could be useful in business.
“We knew then it would be more important than voice communication and I remember thinking we really needed to start building out the text-based side of the business.
“So we started a commercial service for companies that wanted to send texts out to customers and it turned out we were the first in the world to help companies send out promotional text messages.
“But back in mid-90s texting was all free, so people would say why are you trying to set up a business out of something that is essentially free.
“It was around the year 2000 when we started getting our first set of customers who actually understood it would be valuable.
“It then grew organically through word of mouth and more and more people wanted it.
“But we kept it very small because I wasn’t interested in big business – it was more for the love of the technology and making a point at the time particularly with using open source that it’s not just useable for business, but should actually be a part of business strategy.”
Growing with the internet
After spending several years working in London, Bradley moved to Cumbria after the birth of his first child.
He set up a HQ for SMS Speedway in Carlisle and from 2000 to 2019 the business grew to become a top supplier to estate agents as well as taking on a range of clients in finance and education.
Some of its services include its ReachMe and Ad-hoc messaging services which are integrated with property CRMs.
These involve automated confirmations and reminders for house viewings, interactive property brochures direct to clients’ mobile phones. Its MarketMe service can additionally deliver images, videos and PDFs to clients.
Bradley says: “I always loved Cumbria and walking in the Lakes and the environment here. When my first child was born my wife said she didn’t want to live in London and I said well actually, I know this little place called Cumbria.
“So we moved up and never looked back and I’ve become very passionate about Cumbria and growing our county’s footprint in the IT sector.
“We now have a very large footprint in the estate agency sector and also in financial services. So for example if an estate agent wants to send you information about a house, we can make that happen through text, WhatsApp or Facebook
“Our services to estate agents have proved really popular. Last year we also launched the ability for surveys to be done via text and they were actually our biggest seller.
“Most of the innovation we do is within the property sector. It’s a very competitive market that is open to innovation and using tech for a competitive edge.
“For example, without automated texts if an estate agent forgets to send house viewing details it could mean losing out on commission, so there’s a lot of value in these simple things for our customers.”
The firm is also working on FaceCheck, an ID product that verifies the identity of the person uploading an identity document and DocCheck, a fraud detection and data extraction service for official documents such as utility bills and bank statements.
Bradley adds: “These kind of products affect people at a personal level. If you have a tedious experience it just puts a bad flavour in your mouth.
“For people looking to rent or buy homes for example, having an easy and enjoyable experience with getting details from estate agents and doing ID checks online lets you focus on more important things like furnishing your home and what the local chippy is like.”
The firm was also one of only three businesses recently recognised in the telephony, networking and IT category at the Kerfuffle Supplier of the Year Awards.
Kerfuffle’s online platform is the UK’s biggest marketplace for helping estate agents identify the best suppliers for property technology.
Humans, ethical AI and the future
Many of SMS Speedway’s products now use artificial intelligence to automate routine tasks, giving clients the chance to focus their energy on more important things.
While AI is somewhat a divisive topic – Bradley says that when used ethically, AI is something for businesses to be excited about.
He adds: “We are completely focused on innovation and we tend to be at least five years ahead of where the market is right now.
“So with our AI one of the big motivations and consistent drivers is actually sustainability.”
Bradley says environmental issues and sustainability are a big priority for SMS Speedway – especially when it comes to how they work with AI.
He adds: “I’m heavily focused on then environment and our mission statement is actually very similar to Tesla’s but we came up with it independently.
“It’s to accelerate our move to sustainable living and of course communication is key to that. Everything you do in your life involves communication in some way or another.
“So we are putting a big focus on renewable and sustainable AI. It has the potential to use a lot of energy and have a big carbon footprint but it is a new and growing field and there are ways to avoid this.
“It doesn’t have to have a big footprint, it could actually make us more efficient, reduce our CO2 footprint and improve our quality of life if we handle it correctly.
“But if we do it badly it could be horrible for all of us so we’re trying to do what we can to make sure we all go down the right path by focusing on ethical open source AI to lower its overall environmental impact.”
SMS Speedway also recently installed two 15-kilowatt wind turbines as well as making use of solar to generate electricity for its servers as part of an overall goals to be a green business.
As a side project, Bradley says SMS Speedway is looking into ways to tackle climate change denial with AI tools designed to quickly give people accessible and reliable information.
He adds: “There’s an awful lot of benefit to be found in AI at absolutely no cost to jobs, it could make life a lot easier.
“It’s also inevitable – it’s the difference between if you have to dig a trench, you can use a shovel or you can use a digger that you are controlling it.
“AI is the big powerful digger, but it still needs human control and guidance. Yes there’s a lot of scare stories about it taking over, but the reality is we are very far away from systems that really understand.
“It’s just a clever parrot as things stand right now but there are things humans will always want, and one of them is to connect with other humans.
“This is why I’m very optimistic about how we can us AI whilst acknowledging that if we all don’t get right, there is the potential for mass abuse.”
Bradley says he is excited at the roadmap for SMS Speedway in the coming year.
He adds: “We have products coming out that are not just technologically important, but will put Cumbria on the map in the IT world and will hopefully, as Marie Kondo says, spark joy in peoples lives.
“If we can improve people’s lives and make things easier when they are difficult and give them some joy when things are boring, that’s a success and if we can do it in a way that’s just a little more environmentally sustainable with a lower carbon footprint and less wastage, that would be fantastic.”
