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“Thank you Bidvest team for your great service throughout 2024.”
- MTN
“Working with the Bidvest team is a real pleasure. We've thoroughly enjoyed partnering with a local provider for our business' WhatsApp profile - invoicing is simple and our templates are loaded and approved speedily. Prepaid24 would highly recommend Bidvest. Such a seamless process from setup to production!”
- Prepaid24
“We're incredibly grateful to the Bidvest Data Team who go above and beyond to support us with vital customer communication. Their commitment and innovation has kept us at the forefront of electronic customer engagement.”
- Sanlam Retail Mass
“Dear Bidvest team, Just wanted to take the time to say a very special thank you to TEAM BIDVEST. Everyone at OUP thanks all the people involved over the last few weeks and trust me, everyone in our organization now knows how much we can depend on Bidvest and we're all truly grateful for your efforts. Your responsiveness to our changing needs and requests is truly appreciated”
- Oxford
Learn effective methods to transmit large files securely through SMS and email for South African businesses. Explore best practices and strategies for compliance and security.
In the world of business communication, the need to send large files via SMS and email has become increasingly vital, especially for organizations in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and logistics. In this guide, we explore effective methods and best practices for securely transmitting large files through SMS and email, ensuring that your enterprise can operate efficiently while adhering to data compliance regulations.
Large files can include important documents such as financial statements, compliance reports, medical records, and marketing materials. Sending these documents securely is essential for protecting sensitive information and ensuring that your organization remains compliant with regulations such as POPIA in South Africa.
Most email providers have limits on the size of files that can be sent via email, typically ranging between 25MB to 50MB. Standard SMS messages can only handle text, which means larger file formats must be sent using alternatives such as multimedia messages (MMS) or through links to cloud storage services.
While SMS alone cannot transport large files, businesses can utilize SMS combined with links to cloud storage or file-sharing services effectively. Here are some methods to consider:
MMS allows sending media files directly to recipients as opposed to traditional SMS. Here’s how it works:
Although MMS has its advantages, there are often size limitations (typically up to 1MB). If your file exceeds this size, consider alternative methods.
When file sizes exceed SMS or MMS limitations, sending a cloud storage link is an effective alternative:
For sending large files via email, various strategies can help ensure successful delivery:
Compressing files prior to sending is a straightforward way to reduce file size:
If files are too large even after compression, consider using file transfer services like WeTransfer or SendThisFile:
To ensure that sensitive documents are transmitted safely, consider the following best practices:
By mastering the ability to send large files via SMS and email, South African enterprises can significantly enhance their operational efficiency and compliance while ensuring secure communication. Implement the strategies outlined in this guide, and keep your communication channels robust and ready for the demands of the modern business landscape.
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Bidvest Data sends on average more than 10 million personalized SMS/SV SMS messages per month, with daily peaks exceeding 2 million messages. This comprises mainly of transactional notifications and hosted transactional data.

The SMS channel delivers a secure, shortened personalized URL to the consumer, directing them to their unique microsite. All consumer activity can be tracked.

PDF documents, HTML content, videos and animations can be hosted on our Zero Rated Data domains. Reverse billing of data on these domains ensure access for end users to content at no cost. Bidvest Data offers this service on all South African and Namibian mobile networks.

Bidvest Data offers custom-built, screen adaptive, HTML environments, enabling features like animation, rotating GIFs, and interactive buttons.

Our service includes automated large file batch sending through sFTP data transfer. The data can selectively drive template messaging. Near real-time SMS sending is facilitated through our API, using templates or dynamic text.

Where another channel in our omnichannel platform is unsuccessful in delivering a message, we can automatically fail over to SMS. Priority and fail over channels are configurable.

Bidvest Data provides near-real-time and periodic aggregate batched reporting on consumer engagement, including link tracking, SMS and SV SMS delivery status, and customized reports on microsite access.
Get answers to common questions about Sms And Svsms
“Thank you Bidvest team for your great service throughout 2024.”
- MTN
“Working with the Bidvest team is a real pleasure. We've thoroughly enjoyed partnering with a local provider for our business' WhatsApp profile - invoicing is simple and our templates are loaded and approved speedily. Prepaid24 would highly recommend Bidvest. Such a seamless process from setup to production!”
- Prepaid24
“We're incredibly grateful to the Bidvest Data Team who go above and beyond to support us with vital customer communication. Their commitment and innovation has kept us at the forefront of electronic customer engagement.”
- Sanlam Retail Mass
“Dear Bidvest team, Just wanted to take the time to say a very special thank you to TEAM BIDVEST. Everyone at OUP thanks all the people involved over the last few weeks and trust me, everyone in our organization now knows how much we can depend on Bidvest and we're all truly grateful for your efforts. Your responsiveness to our changing needs and requests is truly appreciated”
- Oxford