20

I would like to send a verification code to a specific user (only one) via email or text message. I have successfully done so through Amazon SES but I have not attempted through Amazon SMS yet. I have found myself going down the rabbit hole of investigating AWS Pinpoint.

It seems to me Pinpoint is meant for mass user messaging (text/email) rather than one-of individual messaging. I'm hoping I gathered that correctly.

My question, is there an advantage/disadvantage of using Pinpoint over Amazon SES and SMS for my use case?

John Rotenstein
  • 241,921
  • 22
  • 380
  • 470
mfs_1990
  • 203
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6

2 Answers2

16

This may be addressed by the Pinpoint FAQ

Q: I already use Amazon SNS or Amazon SES. What do I gain by switching to Amazon Pinpoint?

In typical Amazon SNS and Amazon SES use cases, you have to set up your application to manage each message's audience, content, and delivery schedule. These same features are built in to Amazon Pinpoint. With Amazon Pinpoint, you can create message templates, delivery schedules, highly-targeted segments, and full campaigns.

Pinpoint also appears to be able to push notifications to users through the users preferred contact mechanism. This means that you are not limited to SMS and you reach your users with activation codes through the means they want to be reached. It also allows two-way communication.

The Pinpoint homepage also says:

You can send direct messages—such as order confirmations, welcome messages, and one-time passwords—using the console or the Amazon Pinpoint REST API. You can also use the API to build custom applications that deliver campaign and transactional messages across multiple channels.

This suggest it is suitable for your uses, though it has additional mass-communication features you do not currently need.

Freiheit
  • 8,408
  • 6
  • 59
  • 101
  • 1
    Thank you, this is quite helpful. – mfs_1990 Sep 11 '18 at 16:10
  • 4
    https://docs.aws.amazon.com/pinpoint/latest/userguide/channels-sms-two-way.html Refer the use case for 2Way communication which seems can be done only using Pinpoint, but not using SES. For eg, medical practices can send messages to their patients asking them to confirm their appointments. Patients can respond, indicating whether they're able to keep their appointments. Patients who respond that they can't keep their appointments are sent a list of available times, and can reply to the message to reschedule. This use case can be applied to several other types of businesses, such as restaurants – binary Mar 13 '19 at 12:39
0

In addition to above points mentioned by @Freiheit you can send and receive SMS messages through Amazon Pinpoint. This will help you to track user response and create surveys, reviews and quiz like scenarios. Check this AWS Documentation link

cherish sham
  • 144
  • 7