Despite the operator support behind Rich Communications Services (RCS), it will only be the very biggest international players that deploy the technology in their own networks. The rest will look to cloud-based offerings to fulfil their needs, according to business systems firm SAP Mobile Services.

John Sims, president of SAP Mobile Services, recently told telecoms.com that “only the biggest operators in world will deploy RCS in their networks. But beyond the top five or ten operators globally, the rest of the industry will look for a hosted solution.”