One in seven people in the US get their paycheck via ADP. During her tenure at ADP, Sonal Doshi was responsible for security initiatives that provided over 40 million users of its WorkforceNow platform with a unified login experience. Using an industry-first, patented solution that leveraged Rich Communication Services (RCS) for frictionless, passwordless login, she set a new standard for secure, scalable platforms in global enterprises. On the telecom side, working with Sonal and her team to bring this use case to market was a fun collaboration.

This groundbreaking work reflects the blend of technology product expertise, security insight, and customer-centric innovation that Sonal has cultivated over two decades in the industry.

Today, as the Product Leader for a Customer Experience Transformation portfolio at a major telecommunications company, Sonal applies that same vision and skill to redefine how customers interact with brands.

Her strategic use of RCS and Generative AI enriches the customer journey, while her experience with conversational AI, Supervised Machine Learning (SML), AI Agents, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) has significantly improved customer satisfaction metrics. Sonal’s influence extends beyond her organization’s walls—she has shared her knowledge on global stages, including Mobile World Congress Americas.

Outside of her professional realm, Sonal is a mom to teenage twins, a devoted reader, and a passionate cook, balancing multiple responsibilities with grace and efficiency. This personal dimension informs her leadership style: transformative, collaborative, and focused on inspiring teams to deliver solutions that truly delight customers. Sonal’s philosophy, “In the intricate dance of life’s challenges, I choose to see purpose in every moment—transforming obstacles into opportunities, and complexity into clarity,” guides her approach to the evolving business landscape.

In this installment of One Expert, One Topic, Sonal shares her insights on transforming the customer experience using RCS.

About The Series

This is the fifteenth installment in the “One Expert, One Topic” series, where field experts select a topic and share essential insights using Matt Abrahams’ What/So-What/Now-What format. Presented in written form, it allows you more time to absorb the topic and guides you on where to go for further learning. Writing is both challenging and time-consuming; we are grateful to our contributors for sharing their wisdom in this format. 

What 

Rich Communication Services (RCS) is revolutionizing mobile authentication, particularly in the realm of multifactor authentication (2FA/MFA). RCS enables a frictionless, secure authentication process that goes beyond traditional password-based systems, offering enhanced features that significantly improve both security and user experience. 

Key aspects of RCS in authentication include: 

1. Advanced Messaging Protocol: RCS enhances the traditional SMS experience with interactive and multimedia-rich capabilities, supporting images, videos, and interactive buttons . 
2. Enhanced Security Features: RCS offers encryption and delivery receipts, ensuring messages reach the intended recipient and making it harder for malicious actors to intercept or block messages 

3. Improved OTP Reliability: RCS addresses SMS OTP reliability issues by providing more reliable message delivery with support for read receipts and delivery confirmations 

4. Fraud Prevention: The encryption and interactive elements of RCS, such as buttons for confirming or rejecting transactions, add an extra layer of security and make it harder for fraudsters to exploit OTPs 

So What 

As mobile devices become our primary gateway to sensitive information and transactions, the need for robust security measures has never been greater. Traditional authentication methods often struggle to balance security with user convenience, leading to frustration and potential vulnerabilities. 

Sonal Doshi partnered with RCS Team in Google to come up with a patented system introduces a novel method for authenticating transactions using two devices: 

1. A secondary device initiates the transaction request over one network. 
2. A primary device, typically the user’s smartphone, verifies the transaction over a separate network using RCS 

. 

This dual-device, dual-network approach significantly enhances security while maintaining a smooth user experience.

Link to Patents: 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10944743B2/en

https://uspto.report/patent/app/20200236105

The adoption of RCS in authentication systems at ADP has led to measurable and impressive improvements in both security and user satisfaction: 

1. Streamlined Authentication: With 15 million unique active users per month and 120 logins per second, RCS provides a scalable solution for secure access. 
2. Reduced Password Dependency: A 22% year-over-year decline in password reset call volume demonstrates the effectiveness of eradicating passwords through RCS. 
3. Fraud Prevention: Step-up authentication processes allow businesses to avert fraud by verifying sensitive transactions directly with legitimate users in real time. 
4. Enhanced User Experience: Features like surface notifications, visual cues, and easy navigation make the process intuitive and timely for users.  

The RCS-based Human Capital Management (HCM) experience offers several enhancements, including surface notifications, visual elements complementing text, easier navigation, and increased trust in the authentication process. This technology allows for one-click logins and step-up authentication for sensitive transactions, effectively averting fraud while balancing user convenience and security. 

Now What 

To effectively implement RCS-based multifactor authentication and achieve desired business outcomes, Sonal Doshi suggests organizations should adopt a strategic approach: 

1. Begin with Business Outcomes: Start by identifying critical business goals—such as reducing fraud or improving user satisfaction—and work backward to determine the right technology fit. RCS should be part of a broader strategy to solve real problems rather than a forced solution for every use case. 
2. Focus on Fundamentals: Ensure that clean data, robust infrastructure, and seamless integration with existing workflows are in place before deploying RCS or any advanced technology. Without these fundamentals, even the most sophisticated tools will fail to deliver value. 
3. Solve Real Problems Incrementally: Identify specific pain points in your current authentication processes—such as password fatigue or fraud vulnerabilities—and address them incrementally with RCS features like step-up authentication or one-click logins. Small improvements across multiple touchpoints can create a “magic” user experience when tailored and stitched together. 
4. Zero-Friction Adoption: Design the user experience so that new features fit naturally into existing workflows without requiring extensive training or guidance. For example, surface notifications, or gentle nudges can guide users through the process intuitively at the right time with relevant context included. 
5. Iterate for Continuous Improvement: Treat implementation as an iterative process by gathering feedback from users and monitoring performance metrics to refine the system over time. This ensures that the solution remains aligned with evolving business needs and user expectations. 
6. Think Beyond Technology (AI) Hype: While AI can enhance certain aspects of authentication, it’s important to focus on solving the problem first rather than forcing AI into every use case unnecessarily. Sometimes simpler solutions like RCS-based workflows can be more effective in delivering meaningful outcomes. 

By following this structured approach, businesses can harness the full potential of RCS to create secure, user-friendly authentication systems that align with their strategic goals while providing a seamless experience for end-users. As RCS technology matures and becomes more widespread, we can expect to see innovative authentication methods that leverage its capabilities to provide secure, user-friendly experiences across various devices, applications and services.