What exactly is SendGrid?
SendGrid is a large-scale messaging delivery platform, now part of Twilio — one of the world's most widely used communications infrastructure providers (email, SMS, voice) for other software companies that need to reliably reach their end users.
Just like Twilio powers the technical layer behind thousands of products that send SMS or calls without the end user ever noticing, SendGrid provides that same messaging infrastructure layer for platforms like Ollynk — the business interacts with Ollynk, not directly with SendGrid.
How does SendGrid work inside Ollynk?
When a studio turns on SMS class reminders or launches an SMS marketing campaign from Ollynk's marketing module, that message is created and scheduled from the Ollynk dashboard, and goes out to the client's phone through SendGrid's infrastructure.
The studio doesn't experience SendGrid as an extra step: no account to open, no sender or template to configure on its own — all of that lives inside Ollynk's channel settings. SendGrid works in the background, as part of the technical pipeline that makes sure the SMS actually gets delivered.
When does this actually matter to a studio?
Day to day, almost never — the studio just needs to know that Ollynk's SMS channel (automatic reminders and marketing-module campaigns) works reliably, without the team having to manage an external provider.
It's worth knowing the name for transparency: if a client reports a missing SMS or asks who's sending these messages, the studio can explain they're part of Ollynk's communications infrastructure, technically operated on SendGrid (Twilio) — not some disconnected third party.
- Automatic SMS class reminders
- SMS marketing campaigns from Ollynk's marketing module
- Infrastructure, not a tool the studio configures separately
Does the studio need to sign up for or configure SendGrid?
No. SendGrid isn't an integration the business activates, contracts, or manages — it's internal Ollynk infrastructure for the SMS channel, the same way other technical providers run underneath different modules of the platform without the studio ever interacting with them directly.
The only thing a studio configures from its Ollynk dashboard is the content and scheduling of its SMS reminders and campaigns — the technical delivery, deliverability, and compliance side stays with Ollynk and its provider.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to create a SendGrid account to use SMS in Ollynk?
No. Ollynk's SMS channel already comes with delivery infrastructure included — SendGrid runs underneath as the technical provider, but the studio configures everything from the Ollynk dashboard, with no external account needed.
Is SendGrid the same as Twilio?
SendGrid is part of Twilio — Twilio acquired SendGrid, and it now operates as Twilio's messaging platform within its broader communications infrastructure portfolio (SMS, voice, email).
What happens if a client doesn't receive an SMS reminder?
That's a messaging-infrastructure deliverability issue, not something the studio needs to troubleshoot manually — since it's part of the Ollynk platform, any delivery issue is handled through Ollynk support, not by contacting SendGrid directly.