Multi-factor authentication to generate $27 billion globally for mobile operators in 2022

A new study by Juniper Research has found that operators will generate $27 billion from the termination of SMS messages related to multi-factor authentication in 2022; an increase from $25 billion in 2021. The research predicts this 5% growth will be driven by increased pressure on digital service providers to offer highly secure authentication that reduces risk of data breaches and protects user identity.

Multi-factor authentication combines two or more credentials to verify a user or transaction. This includes sending an SMS that contains a one‑time password or code to a user’s unique phone number.

The new research, Mobile Authentication: Future Strategies & Market Forecasts 2022-2027, urges operators to capitalise on the growth in demand for multi-factor authentication SMS traffic, by leveraging firewalls to monitor and identify SMS traffic specifically used for multi-factor authentication. In turn, operators will then be able to charge a premium on this traffic and further increase business messaging revenue.

For more insights, download our free whitepaper: Strategies for Succeeding in Mobile Authentication in 2022
 

Machine Learning Needed for Identification of Traffic

The research predicts there will be over 1.7 trillion multi-factor authentication messages delivered globally in 2022; representing 60% of total SMS business messaging traffic. Operators must develop machine learning algorithms that automate the monitoring of this vast amount of traffic to efficiently identify messages that can be charged at a premium.

Research co-author Keith Breed remarked: “Automating traffic detection is crucial for operators as we expect multi-factor authentication traffic to grow to 2.1 billion messages by 2027. SMEs have typically not invested in messaging for security in the past. However, rising pressure to implement greater security for users will drive adoption amongst SMEs over the next 5 years, and increase global traffic.”

CPaaS Platforms Enable SMS Growth

To manage this increase in demand for multi-factor authentication SMS messages, the report urges operators to partner with CPaaS (Communications Platform-as-a-Service) platforms. These platforms offer the necessary user interface to SMEs to manage authentication processes and subsequent traffic from which operators will attain additional SMS business messaging revenue.