The Future Of Customer Facing Technology In The Outsourced Contact Center (Review Report)

Publication Date	October 2007
Publisher	Datamonitor
Product Type	Report
Pages	34
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	DAT07929

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Summary

Introduction

An agglomeration of all qualitative and statistical research conducted through Theme 3

Scope

The role of IVR in the outsourced contact center
Multichannel contact center environments and how outsourcers can increase customer face time
How the at home agent phenomenon continues to grow in outsourced contact centers

Highlights

Market growth rates for various contact center technology deployments

Strategic discussion of issues facing outsourced contact centers and how technology can play a role in eliminating pain points

Reasons to Purchase

Learn about Datamonitor's up to the minute conclusions about how outsourcers can profit by adopting the right technology solutions
Understand the newest trends pertaining to IVR self-service, multiple contact channels and at-home agents

Content

Overview
Catalyst
Summary
Methodology
Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Profiting from at-home agents in contact center outsourcing (Market Focus)
- How to profit from emerging contact channels (Strategy Focus)
- Leveraging the IVR Self-service Phenomenon in Contact Center Outsourcing (Strategy Focus)
Table of figures
Table of tables
- Deriving value from at-home agents (Market Focus)
- Summary
- At-home APs will grow through the coming five years
- Overall market size
- Regional concentration and trends
- At-home agents are a compelling option to potential and existing outsourcing clients
- Added-value to end-user interactions
- Alternative to offshoring
- Lower cost than domestic agents
- Positive publicity
- Outsourcing vendors can profit from at-home agents
- Vertical specialization
- Business contingency planning
- Reduced overheads
- Facilities
- Contractor model and agent empowerment
- New pool of quality agents
- Different demographic
- Unlimited geographic pool
- Stay-at-home parents
- Senior citizens
- Professional qualification
- Individuals with reduced mobility
- Lower rates of attrition
- Different demographic
- Entrepreneurial attitude
- New regional opportunities
- Established markets
- Developing markets
- Environmental positioning
- However, vendors need to address ongoing home agent concerns
- Agent monitoring
- Data protection / fraud
- Lack of team atmosphere
- Home environment distractions
- How to profit from emerging contact channels (Strategy Focus)
- Summary
- Voice remains the key customer service channel of choice
- Immediacy
- Pervasiveness of telephony
- Comfort
- Cost perception
- Email is emerging as a preferred method of contact for non-critical issues
- Rapid response times
- Specific functions targeted
- Standardized contact forms
- Web-chat is an excellent alternative for technical support
- Limitations may limit deployments
- Expense
- Agent ratios
- Security concerns
- SMS is regionally and demographically limited, but has the chance to grow globally
- Age demographic
- Regional limitations
- Functionality
- Actions
- Promote multichannel capabilities as a means of customer satisfaction
- Let clients drive multichannel mix
- Anticipate changes in the channel mix
- Avoid agent blending
- Provide efficient email services
- Explore new uses for web chat
- Deploy SMS based on targeted demand
- Leveraging the IVR self-service phenomenon in contact center outsourcing (strategy Focus)
- Summary
- Speech automation continues to grow as a means of customer care
- Global analysis
- Regional analysis
- Reasons for growth
- Reduced costs
- Reduced complexity
- Better functionality
- Pervasiveness
- IVR can help outsourcers increase quality interaction
- Effective routing
- Shorter call times
- Alternative to offshoring
- Brand re-enforcement
- IVR can reduce outsourcing costs and improve efficiencies
- Reduced AP count
- Fewer agents
- Check against rising agent costs
- Automation of basic tasks
- Outsourcers need to be conscious of IVR's limitations
- Client push-back
- End-user resistance
- Commercial opportunities
- Simple tasks
Appendix
- Methodology
- Further reading
- Datamonitor consulting
- Disclaimer
List of Tables
- Table 1: Global at-home agent positions, 2006 - 2012
- Table 2: At-home versus onshore bricks-and-mortar agent - characteristic differences
- Table 3: Global voice business value chain revenues, 2005 - 2010
- Table 4: Global voice business value chain revenues: regional analysis, 2005 - 2010
List of Figures
- Figure 1: Global at-home agent position growth, 2006 - 2012
- Figure 2: US in-bound agent comparison, facility versus at-home: 2006
- Figure 3: Mobile and fixed line telephony penetration, selected countries: 2006
- Figure 4: Mobile telephony versus internet penetration, selected countries: 2006
- Figure 5: Global voice business value chain revenues, 2005 - 2010
- Figure 6: Global voice business value chain revenues: regional analysis, 2005 - 2010
- Figure 7: What are your major headaches with regard to your call centre? (1 - Smallest Headache; 4 - Biggest Headache)