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Report Shows Hosted Contact Center Market Set for Strong Growth
February 26, 2008
As organizations throughout the world are recognizing the importance of customer service to their overall corporate strategy, many are investigating ways to implement effective contact center operations. While some are equipped to implement in-house operations, others must look to other options to satisfy their need to support customer interactions.
According to recent reports from Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert), the hosted contact center market is set to outgrow its early projections. In fact, companies of all sizes are warming up to the idea of implementing a hosted contact center platform, rather than launching premise-based operations.
The benefits of the hosted contact center model include a reduction in maintenance costs and the ease of provisioning multi-sourced contact centers. For companies in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), such an arrangement is proving to be very attractive, helping the market to grow substantially.
In fact, Frost & Sullivan reports that the market earned revenues of $277.9 million in 2007 and estimates that this will reach $1.45 billion in 2014. The firm also found that the biggest factor driving the growth in the hosted contact center space is the shift from capital to operational expenditure.
”Leasing contact centre technology allows organizations to deflect high upfront capital expenditure, said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Kunal Kakodkar, in a company statement.
“This is an attractive business proposition for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that seek contact centre technology, but do not have access to the capital expenditure (CAPEX) required for expensive premise equipment.”
A significant percentage of the total cost of ownership (TCO
) in a premise contact center is tied to ongoing maintenance, support and upgrades. As such, these organizations need in-house staff to man contact centers at each location.
) in a premise contact center is tied to ongoing maintenance, support and upgrades. As such, these organizations need in-house staff to man contact centers at each location.It is expected that the hosted market will continue to battle the widespread perception that companies tend to lose control over operations and compromise the security of critical customer data once a hosted model is adopted.
These concerns should be met head-on by market participants who can calm concerns about loss of control or data security by offering advanced products and the option of dedicated hosting.
”Hosted contact centre suites have matured to a point where several technology vendors offer robust, secure multi-tenant solutions with tenant self-administration and enhanced data security,” said Kakodkar. “The market can grow further once these technology advancements are communicated to end users.”
Growth in the hosted contact center market will be largely dependent on providers and vendors properly educating companies regarding the benefits of the hosted model. By providing information, these companies can help drive adoption while also clarifying misgivings before they become obstacles.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.
Want to learn more about contact centers? Then be sure to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. The papers are authored by industry leaders, who, in turn, receive qualified sales leads from interested parties. Check here for the latest in CRM information.
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. The papers are authored by industry leaders, who, in turn, receive qualified sales leads from interested parties. Check here for the latest in CRM information.More on Hosted Contact Center »
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