Cadoo grows as text messaging surges in Irish and UK markets

Cork-based app developer Cadoo opens new office in UK as use of SMS services doubles during pandemic

Cillian McCarthy, CEO of Cadoo, says that demand for reliable text messaging services has soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mobile messaging services provider Cadoo is set to double its staffing levels within the next 12 to 18 months as it expands in the UK market.

Covid-19 has sparked a surge in critical business messaging, with Cadoo sending two million messages each month — up from 1.2m before the pandemic. The Cork-based app service plans to add five UK-based sales staff and five new Irish-based developers to the ten staff already working in Cork and Dublin.

“We use the traditional SMS platform to allow our clients to be sure they are getting their message through to a person's mobile phone,” said Cillian McCarthy, CEO of Cadoo. “SMS is ubiquitous, so it is guaranteed that the message will get through. Not everyone has WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.” 

Cadoo's Irish business has taken off during the pandemic. Its most basic model offers employers a guarantee that their bulk messaging, including email and any attachments, will reach the mobiles of staff or other target phones.

This offers public sector and education organisations, retailers, financial institutions, services companies and manufacturers a secure and reliable channel for communicating updates to customers, members, employees and the general public.

For example, it has been a critical tool in keeping employees informed about unexpected events, such as flooding and snow days, as well as providing other important alerts and information.

Cadoo can also be integrated into third-party applications. Cadoo has also developed a range of business products for mobile phone messaging around encoded communications, secure payments, business integration and GDPR solutions, with more services currently in the pipeline.

Cadoo’s business messaging platform is used by more than 5,000 organisations globally. It is targeting UK revenue of €2m in the first two years, having opened an office in Birmingham, as well as launching a dedicated UK website.

“We are growing the business in the UK,” said Cillian McCarthy. “After careful evaluation, the UK made the most sense for our initial overseas expansion.

“We have done very well in the Irish market and we see the UK as the next natural step. The core development work will continue to be done in Ireland, and we are aiming to become the market leader in the UK and Ireland for employee messaging.” 

From its headquarters in Cork, Cadoo is delivering a range of reliable, secure mobile messaging services to more than 5,000 organisations globally.

Cadoo has also launched its app in the UK and has plans to launch more services in the market later in 2021, including Cadoo Pay and Cadoo Chat.

“Our growth reflects the renewed focus organisations from every industry are placing on SMS and mobile messaging as a reliable, secure and speedy way to deliver important messages,” says Mr McCarthy.

“We built our platform to use only world-class trusted message delivery options so that quality is guaranteed. In an industry where the prevailing delivery rates are around 95%, this has been instrumental in Cadoo’s success in critical messaging applications.

“Alongside all our usual marketing, employee and service messages, there has been a huge increase in COVID-19 alerts, including closures, and re-openings, as more organisations are turning to mobile messaging and SMS to quickly and directly reach their customers, staff and users. Cadoo is used for important and verified messages only. We are on a mission to eliminate spam and help organisations combat misinformation.

“We distinguish ourselves from other platform providers by offering fully integrated services as well as the best user experience by building an easy-to-use platform, using only high-quality delivery methods. We also provide detailed analytics and read reports to optimise message results. We look at Cadoo as the home for important messages.

“This, along with our focus on market leadership in the employee communications segment — where we can help keep employees informed about unexpected events, such as flooding and snow days, as well as providing general information – will see us build quickly on our initial successes in the UK.”